Medicines for sore throat

September 9, 2022 Treatment of throat diseases in children is a rather difficult task. This is due to the fact that, for natural reasons, some treatment methods are not yet available to the child. One of them includes rinsing the mouth and throat: not being able to hold your breath, the baby can harm himself during such a procedure.

Does this mean that local treatment, which helps to provide a disinfecting and analgesic effect, is impossible? Fortunately, there are children's throat sprays that can be used in this situation by both adults and children.

Why does my throat hurt?

Most cases of sore throat are caused by bacteria. It appears as a result of acute inflammation. The focus is located either in the tonsils, and then they talk about tonsillitis, or in the pharynx (pharyngitis).

With bacterial infections, pain appears suddenly and quickly intensifies, accompanied by a sharp increase in temperature and a significant deterioration in general well-being. You should immediately contact a therapist. The following treatment is usually prescribed:

• a course of antibiotics, and it is important to drink them to the end;
• regular rinsing: timely cleansing of mucus and pus is of fundamental importance for a quick recovery;
• lozenges;
• antiseptic spray;
• plenty of warm drinks.

Another large group of pathogens that cause throat diseases are viruses. The sore throat gradually intensifies, the person feels weak, aches throughout the body, and has a headache. The throat may not hurt very much, but it is constant, and in some cases quite sensitive, and enlargement of the cervical lymph nodes is also observed. The temperature rises slightly or remains within normal limits. The disease is accompanied by a profuse runny nose.

In such cases, antiviral drugs are prescribed and the same recommendations are given as for bacterial throat infections: antiseptic sprays, rinses, lozenges.

Another common cause of sore throat is irritation of the mucous membrane, which can occur due to allergies, inhalation of tobacco smoke, or prolonged exposure to dirty or dry air. It is accompanied by severe itching, but the general condition does not worsen, the temperature remains normal. If the pain is the result of an allergy, then itching, sneezing, watery eyes, runny nose, and dry cough may also occur.

Treatment for irritation is as follows:

• elimination of the allergen irritant;
• rinsing with a warm solution of sea salt;
• Irrigation of the throat with soft moisturizing sprays.

Why is a sore throat dangerous?

Never wait for a sore throat to go away on its own. You can drown out unpleasant symptoms with lollipops or folk remedies, but you will not remove the cause of the disease.

Throat infections that are not treated in time become chronic: as soon as local immunity weakens a little, inflammation will certainly arise again. In addition, bacterial and viral infections can cause serious complications.

When should you see a doctor?

Sometimes the pain goes away with self-treatment. But it’s best to immediately start treating your throat by contacting the clinic for help, especially if you are concerned about the following symptoms:

• pain lasts more than 48 hours, and there are no signs of flu or cold;
• the temperature rose sharply;
• accumulations of mucus and pus are observed at the back wall of the throat;
• The lymph nodes in the neck area are greatly enlarged, which causes pain when moving the lower jaw. If mononucleosis develops, then other lymph nodes also enlarge;
• hoarseness, shrunken voice;
• pain occurs when swallowing, localized on one or both sides;
• sensation of lump, soreness, dryness.

Medicines for sore throat

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From an anatomical point of view, the throat is the entrance gate not only for food and air, but also for many different infections. Each of us at least once in our lives suffered from a sore throat during the cold season. How to treat it correctly with such an abundance of drugs?

For clarity, let’s imagine the throat – the “entrance gate” to our body – as a window in the room. When the wind blows through the window (the throat becomes inflamed), cold and street debris enter the room. The room needs cleaning, and our window needs repairs: strengthening the frame, plugging cracks, etc. If the damage is severe, more serious intervention may be required.

Getting rid of drafts

If the wind blows through the apartment due to poorly foamed seams at the double-glazed windows (viral infection), the master seals the gaps between the frame and the window opening. For us, the sealant in the frame will be antiviral drugs.

So, Rimantadine (Remantadine®), oseltamivir (Tamiflu®)

or interferons (
Grippferon®, Viferon®
) destroy viruses and block their reproduction.

Analogy: sealant prevents air from passing between the frame and the wall.

The production of your own interferon is stimulated by Cycloferon®, Tiloron (Amiksin®, Lavomax®)

or
kagocel
.

Analogy: their action can be compared to a sealant that expands in volume and covers the smallest cracks.

If the problem is due to dry wood frames (bacterial infection), sealant will not help. It is necessary to use classical methods: usually penicillins or macrolides.

Penicillin antibiotics: phenoxymethylpenicillin (Ospen®), amoxicillin (Flemoxin Solutab®), amoxicillin with clavulanic acid (Amoxiclav®, Augmentin®)

They work like cotton wool: they plug up cracks and keep the cold out of the house.

Macrolides have a targeted effect and specifically destroy streptococci (they cause rheumatism as a complication of sore throat).

Analogy: for better tightness, foam tape is used, which fits tightly to the sashes and window frame.

Azithromycin (Sumamed®), midecamycin (Macropen®), clarithromycin (Kladits®, Klabax®)

destroy pathogens of sore throat.
Taking these drugs, like their parent erythromycin
, requires strict adherence to the instructions: they should be taken on an empty stomach, that is, half an hour before meals or two hours after meals. Self-adhesive tape does not stick to an uncleaned frame!

We compensate for “production costs”

Treatment of the throat should not cause digestive disorders. Just as over-sealing window frames leads to glass fogging, taking antibiotics can upset the balance of microflora.

In order not to wipe the window sills every time, you need something that will effectively absorb moisture. In our case, antifungal agents are suitable: nystatin, fluconazole

. The drugs have different prices and duration of work, but the mechanisms of action are almost the same.

We eliminate the consequences and recover

What do we do to protect ourselves during window repair? We dress warmly and eliminate the draft. When treating a throat, allergy medications or antihistamines are used for this purpose, for example, the substance loratadine
(Claritin®, Lomilan®)
or
mebhydrolin (Diazolin®)
- they do not cause drowsiness and do not inhibit the central nervous system.
Children under three years of age can be given cetirizine (Zyrtec®, Cetrin®, Zodak®)
,
desloratadine (Erius®)
;
over two years - levocetirizine (Xyzal®)
.

Medicines that will relieve inflammation and relieve headaches: ibuprofen (Nurofen®), paracetamol (Panadol®, Calpol®)

.

To regain your voice, it is necessary to relieve swelling of the vocal cords. By analogy with window frames, we need to lubricate the hinges. Irrigation of the pharynx with a 3% solution of ascorbic acid

will help great.

Repair without a technician - self-help

While waiting for a meeting with a specialist - in emergency situations when it is impossible to promptly call a doctor - we use available means: medications sold in pharmacies without a prescription.

We destroy the pathogen at the point of its penetration

In many cases, a window that is not tightly closed is caused by trivial things: dust, sand, and dirt have accumulated in the sashes. Therefore, first we gargle with decoctions of sage, chamomile, oak bark

.
If a well-known solution helped previously, for example furatsilin
or
rivanol
, we use it. Mechanical flushing of bacteria is effective at any stage of sore throat. If it is not possible to deal with mud deposits with water, we use special “solvents”.

Local medications

These drugs destroy bacteria exactly where they enter the body. (In case of a draft, we close the window tightly after we clear the joints between the doors and frames.)

Aerosols ( Stopangin®

etc.) contain a mixture of antibiotics (levomenthol and hexethidine) based on essential oils: the oils are absorbed into the mucous membrane, “pulling” the antibiotics with them.

Another effective antimicrobial drug Novosept forte®

.
Contains a powerful analgesic substance tetracaine (4 times stronger than the usual novocaine!) and zinc ions
- an anti-inflammatory component.

Important: you can use aerosols from a conscious age, since after irrigating your throat you must not eat, drink, or swallow anything for five minutes.

Lollipops, lozenges, and dissolving tablets act similarly to sprays.

, for example,
Septolete® or Strepsils®
. Their reception is designed for a longer period of time. By analogy with washing window frames, after using such products a thin film is formed that repels dust.

****

Treatment of the throat should be comprehensive and selected depending on the causative agent of the disease. Personally taken measures are good at the very beginning. If, despite active treatment, the sore throat does not go away, you should consult a doctor. No matter how much you repair the window frame, if the glass is cracked (in medical terms, an abscess has formed - a purulent inflammation of tissue), you cannot do without the intervention of a specialist.

There is no point in sealing the crack with tape, and it is dangerous - the glass can fall out, break, cause injury, and even cause death. In the same way, the resulting abscess is extremely dangerous. Therefore, the window should only be replaced by a master, and the abscess should be removed by a surgeon. Regardless of location, all patients with a throat abscess are subject to emergency hospitalization.

Sergey Buyanov

Photo thinkstockphotos.com

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What is more effective: sprays, tablets or lozenges?

The choice of dosage form directly depends on the cause of the disease and the nature of the pain. In particular, if the sore throat is caused by bacteria, then the best choice is a spray with a pronounced antiseptic effect. It is important to consider that with prolonged use, infectious agents develop resistance to the drug, so if after 2-3 days you do not feel relief, the medicine needs to be changed. So, how to treat a throat?

For a disease of viral origin, it is best to choose a throat spray that relieves pain and fights inflammation. In the case of chronic pain, it is necessary to regularly irrigate the throat with a spray with a moisturizing effect that does not contain aggressive substances and carefully relieves unpleasant symptoms.

Many drugs reduce symptoms due to the local anesthetics they contain - phenol, benzocaine or dyclonine. Under their influence, the mucous membrane becomes numb, and the pain noticeably weakens.

Throat tablets can be divided into several groups. For example,

• with enzymes that eliminate viruses and bacteria;
• NSAIDs that relieve inflammation;
• with fragments of bacteria and viruses that enhance local immunity;
• with extracts of medicinal plants that reduce pain.

Throat lozenges are effective only in the initial stages of the disease. They usually contain menthol, which has a distracting effect rather than a therapeutic one. Therefore, you should not get carried away with candies.

TOP 5 sprays against sore throat

• Miramistin is a broad-spectrum antiseptic spray to combat bacterial and fungal infections. Quickly reduces pain. It is odorless and tasteless. Suitable for adults and children from three years of age, as well as for pregnant women. Disadvantage: relatively high price, analgesic effect lasts several hours.
• Hexoral destroys infections of bacterial and fungal origin. It has an analgesic, disinfecting, deodorizing and enveloping effect. The therapeutic effect occurs within 1-2 minutes after treatment and lasts 10-12 hours. Application: twice a day after meals. Cons: components of the drug can cause allergies, read the instructions carefully.
• Yox can be called an analogue of the legendary Lugol's drug. It has a powerful antiseptic, antiviral, antifungal effect. Reduces pain well. Processing Disadvantages: cannot be used for a long time, contraindicated for people with iodine intolerance.
• Proposol contains propolis extract and a large amount of vitamins. Complete disappearance of pain occurs within 5-7 days. It works well as part of a complex treatment of inflammation. Cons: not suitable for people allergic to bee products.

TOP 5 tablets for sore throat

• Faringosept copes well with pain and fights inflammation in the oral cavity. Has a pleasant sweet taste. Recommended course is 3-4 days. Quickly relieves pain and restores voice. The packaging is enough for a full course. There are few contraindications. Disadvantage: effective at the initial signs of the disease.
• Hexoraltabs contain a local anesthetic, peppermint oil and menthol. They have an antiseptic effect. A decrease in pain is observed during the first minute of resorption. Available in different flavors. Cons: the drug only helps with the initial signs of the disease.
• Neo-Angin has a pronounced disinfectant and anti-inflammatory effect, relieves pain well, quickly restores the voice, and relieves coughing attacks. Large packaging. Dosage: one tablet every 2-3 hours. The permissible number of tablets per day is six. Cons: irritates the gastric mucosa.
• Grammidin contains the antibiotic gramicidin C; tablets with lidocaine are also available, which not only destroy pathogens and cleanse the mucous membrane, but also immediately relieve pain. The anesthetic effect lasts about 40 minutes. Enhance the effectiveness of medicinal rinses. Disadvantage: cannot be taken during pregnancy and lactation.
• Lizobakt has a powerful antiseptic effect. The drug contains vitamin B6, which increases local immunity, and the protein enzyme lysozyme, which breaks down bacteria, fungi and viruses. Suitable for pregnant and lactating women. It is used for all infectious lesions of the oral cavity.

TOP 5 lozenges for sore throat

• Strepsils plus. The active ingredients fight bacteria, lidocaine reduces pain, anise and peppermint oils have a distracting and enveloping effect. Dosage: no more than 1 lozenge within 2 hours. Disadvantage: short period of action, effective at the initial signs of the disease.
• Halls. Due to eucalyptus oil and menthol, it temporarily relieves pain, cools a sore throat, and relieves hoarseness. Minus: it is not a medicine.
• Carmolis contains extracts of medicinal herbs, honey, and vitamin C. The drug quickly reduces pain, refreshes the oral cavity, has a pleasant taste, but does not last long.
• Gorpils quickly relieves pain and has a pronounced antiseptic effect. Helps with initial and acute forms of the disease. Available in different flavors. Disadvantage: short period of action.
• Agisept relieves pain, has a pronounced antimicrobial effect, and significantly reduces unpleasant symptoms at the onset of the disease. Disadvantage: not suitable for people with allergies to medicinal herbs.

These recommendations do not replace visiting a doctor. There are contraindications. Before purchasing the drug, be sure to consult with your physician.

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Complications of sinusitis

• inflammation of the optic nerve;
• inflammation of the membranes of the brain (meningitis);
• osteomyelitis (purulent lesion of the bones around the sinus).

What you can do See your doctor if your condition worsens or your symptoms persist. Drink more fluids to thin mucus. If you are a smoker, stop smoking immediately. Smoking irritates the lining of the sinuses and makes them vulnerable to infection. Avoid alcoholic drinks because... they can lead to swelling of the mucous membranes in the sinuses. Inhalations may alleviate the condition somewhat.

What the doctor can do The doctor must make a diagnosis, which may require examination (x-ray of the sinuses and some tests). Prescribe the necessary medications, sprays and drops for nasal congestion, decongestants, antibiotics, painkillers or antihistamines. Your doctor may suggest surgery if all else fails or nasal polyps develop.