Symptoms

The acute inflammation in the throat becomes noticeable in the affected patients at an early stage through the appearance of a scratchy feeling in the throat. As a rule, this scratching develops into a sore throat within a very short time, which can radiate into the ears. In addition, affected patients typically experience painful swallowing difficulties.

For this reason, eating is often felt to be very unpleasant.Patients suffering from acute inflammation of the throat typically report that their throat feels rough and dry. Those affected often feel the need to clear their throat. Dry coughing is considered another symptom of acute inflammation of the throat.

During the medical examination, the mucous membrane in the throat is clearly reddened and inflamed. Since this disease is mostly a viral infection, those affected often experience further respiratory symptoms. For this reason, dry cough is one of the typical accompanying symptoms of acute inflammation in the throat.

In addition, an acute inflammation of the throat caused by viruses can lead to a cold and/or general symptoms such as fever, fatigue and chills. In very pronounced forms of acute pharyngitis, the inflammatory processes can spread to the larynx, vocal folds and/or bronchi. As a result, the affected patients experience pronounced hoarseness.

In bacterially caused inflammatory processes, whitish-yellowish coatings can also be seen in the area of the rear pharyngeal wall. Severe flu-like symptoms with high fever, sore throat and headache indicate the presence of a bacterial superinfection. In this case, swollen lymph nodes can typically be found in the area of the neck.

An acute inflammation in the throat usually heals completely within a few days. However, if the symptoms are very severe, a physician should be consulted urgently and the presence of an Epstein-Barr virus infection, Pfeiffer’s glandular fever, should be ruled out. In contrast to the acute form, the symptoms of chronic inflammation of the throat do not occur suddenly.

The symptoms typical of chronic pharyngitis usually increase continuously over a period of several weeks. The affected patients usually notice a dry feeling in the nasopharynx and have to clear their throat frequently. In addition, coughing with mucilaginous sputum may occur.

In particularly pronounced forms of chronic inflammation of the throat, patients often have the feeling that a foreign body is located in their throat (so-called globular sensation). Based on the symptoms that occur, the chronic form of the inflammation in the throat is divided into two subclasses. Atropical pharyngitis is clinically characterized by an extremely delicate, pale pharyngeal mucosa that shows signs of dehydration.

During the examination, the mucous membranes appear as if varnished and are covered with tough coatings. Patients suffering from a hyperplastic inflammation in the throat often have the feeling that a foreign body is lodged in their throat. For this reason, they often suffer from gagging and/or the compulsion to clear their throat frequently.

In the case of the atropical form, the lymphatic tissue (part of the body’s own defense system) in the area of the throat steadily recedes.
In contrast, hypertrophic inflammation of the throat (synonym: hyperplastic inflammation of the throat) leads to progressive tissue proliferation.

Inflammation of the throat can also occur without pain. While acute inflammation is usually accompanied by sore throat and difficulty swallowing, chronic inflammation tends to develop more insidiously. Due to the gradual process, there is no sudden onset of severe inflammation of the throat.

Therefore chronic pharyngitis is usually not so strongly associated with pain. In most cases, chemical toxins such as nicotine or radiation therapy are the trigger of chronic pharyngitis. When the throat is inflamed, the pharyngeal mucosa is usually particularly sensitive and easily irritated.

This sensitivity means that even the slightest irritation can trigger sore throats. For example, the pain occurs when speaking or swallowing. This is mainly due to the fact that different muscles in the throat area are moved for speaking and swallowing.

These small movements of the muscles already trigger stimuli to the pain-conducting nerve fibers. When swallowing, foreign bodies (chyme/liquid) also enter the throat. If these touch the sensitive pharyngeal mucosa, this also triggers pain.

Depending on its location, an inflammation of the throat can also be accompanied by difficulty in swallowing. Especially if the inflammation has existed for a long time and large parts of the throat are affected, pain often occurs when swallowing. Due to the pharyngitis, the mucous membrane is irritated and therefore reacts to every contact with pain.

When swallowing, foreign bodies such as chyme and drinks reach the mucous membrane of the throat.The symptom sore throat in combination with pus suggests a bacterial infection of the throat. In this case, antibiotics must usually be used. The most common bacterial pathogens are streptococci.

They often also attack the tonsils and cause whitish-yellowish coatings there, which are also called pustule due to their characteristic distribution pattern. With a pharyngitis it comes occasionally also to suddenly occurring bad breath. This is not due to poor dental hygiene.

Instead, the bad smell comes from the bacteria that have settled in the throat. These pathogens excrete various substances due to their metabolism. These can cause bad breath. If you do not normally suffer from bad breath and suddenly notice a bad taste in your mouth or halitosis, you should therefore risk a look in your throat to notice signs of infection such as a reddening of the throat or deposits in the throat.