A sore throat is pretty common, as far as symptoms of illness go. Sore throat can be caused by illnesses ranging from the non-serious to the dangerous.
If you’ve ever woken up with a sore throat after spending the day before cheering your heart out at a football game or screaming along to the lyrics at your favorite band’s concert, you also know you don’t need to be sick at all to get a sore throat. The common cold can also cause a sore throat. And, more recently, we’ve discovered that a sore throat is a sign of COVID-19.
We’ve all likely experienced a sore throat before, but when should it be a cause for worry? And when a sore throat feels the same no matter what the cause,how can we tellif it’s a cold, too much yelling, allergies or a COVID sore throat?
What does COVID sore throat feel like?
Have COVID-19 questions?
Well, it can feel exactly the same as a cold, according toBrian Curtis, MD, vice president of Clinical Specialty Services for OSF HealthCare. That makes it hard to tell the difference between a cold and a mild case of COVID.
It’s even harder to tell the difference knowing that sore throat is a COVID symptom. The common cold and the virus that causes COVID-19 are both the same type of virus – called a coronavirus – and can cause similar symptoms.
One of the early symptoms of COVID is a fever. However, as different strains of COVID spread, it’s possible to have a COVID sore throat and no fever or other symptoms.
But, Dr. Curtis said, it’s more common to have other symptoms in addition to a sore throat if you have COVID.
“Only about 5-10% of COVID-19 patients will have an isolated sore throat. Usually, they will have a touch of fever, loss of taste and smell and difficulty breathing.”
Catching COVID symptoms
“We have to be very vigilant with cold symptoms,” Dr. Curtis said. “We as a society used to be kind of dismissive of cold symptoms, but we can’t be dismissive of them now. If you have just a sore throat with no other symptoms, it’s less likely to be COVID-19. But with other symptoms, it is possible you have COVID. Sore throat, cough, fever – I would be worried about COVID.”
If you develop any other symptoms – even milder symptoms you typically associate with a common cold – you should contact your physician orget testedfor COVID-19. Tests can be done easily with an at-home test.
Even if you have a mild case of COVID-19, you couldspread the coronavirusto someone who suffers a worse infection. You need to be sure you aren’t putting others at risk if you have any possible COVID-19 symptoms.
COVID喉咙痛持续多长时间?美国疾病控制与预防中心(CDC)表示，COVID的症状通常会持续5天至两周。但如果持续时间超过5天，柯蒂斯医生说，可能是其他原因，值得你去看医生。
COVID sore throat remedy
为了缓解症状，可以使用泰诺或布洛芬等非处方药物来治疗发烧、身体疼痛。对于鼻窦问题，充血，耳朵或面部疼痛，尝试减充血剂或过敏药物。对于会产生粘液的持续咳嗽，Mucinex是一个不错的选择。继续休息，多喝水，喝花草茶。
What else could it be?
Did you recently get a new pet and are now experiencing a sore throat? Could be allergies. There are many causes for your sore throat, such as:
If you also have difficulty swallowing, you should be seen by your physician. If you experience shortness of breath, youshould be evaluated. If you have a single lump on one side of your neck, you should get evaluated.- If your cold symptoms turn out to be due to an actual cold, you need some fluids and rest, and you should be back up in a couple days.
- If you’ve got a sore throat with a fever, but no runny nose or cough, you might havestrep throat. Check for white spots on the tonsils – a sign of a secretion caused by inflammation of the tonsils – and tender nodes on the front of your neck. Contact your physician.
- 如果你的喉咙痛伴有低烧和极度疲劳，那可能是单核细胞增多症(单核细胞增多症)，这在青少年和20多岁的人中最常见。与你的医生联系。
- Influenzacan cause a sore throat that is typically very abrupt, and commonly joined by body aches, fevers and headache.
If you also have difficulty swallowing, you should be seen by your physician. If you experience shortness of breath, youWhen to worry about a sore throat
“A sore throat by itself is typically not something to worry about,” Dr. Curtis said.
Your throat could be irritated fromallergies, air pollution or overuse. It could also be due to smoking, in which case the solution is simple (QUIT).
If it lingers longer than a week, however, you should contact your physician.
根据柯蒂斯医生的说法，最重要的是，有这么多的诊断，去检查一下是最安全的。You shouldcontact your physicianif you have any questions or concerns about your health and any symptoms you experience.