Persistent Sore Throat: How to Feel Better

Do you have a persistent sore throat in Singapore? Itchy and sore throat symptoms can really affect your quality of life, making it difficult to sleep at night. Your sore throat may make it difficult to concentrate on your work in the daytime. In fact, it is a super irritating problem for many people! They don't realise that actually, itchy throats and sore throats can be treated quite successfully!

As top ENT specialists in Singapore, we see many ENT patients with sore, itchy throats. We will always try to isolate the cause of the sore, itchy throat first. Making the right diagnosis is the key to starting the right treatment for your itchy throat. Itchy and sore throats in Singapore may be caused by a postnasal drip of mucus from the back of your nose, acid reflux and tonsil infections. If you notice white spots on your tonsils which keep recurring, then these may be tonsil stones. Tonsil stones may be a sign of recurrent throat infections or chronic tonsil inflammation.

Some patients with sore throats may also notice bad breath (halitosis). They get this constant urge to keep clearing their throats, making throat noises frequently. Sometimes, after a bout of the flu or common cold, backdrip of watery mucus flowing from the back of your nose may irritate your throat. It can take a long time for this drip to settle down. Maybe even a few months!

If the postnasal drip is yellow or purulent, then it might be caused by an infection of your sinuses. Sinusitis may result from a complication of the flu in some patients. If you notice a yellow postnasal drip, suffer from headaches or fever, or throat pain, then you may need to see your ENT specialist in Singapore for a course of antibiotics.

What can you do about your sore itchy throat, before you decide to see an ENT specialist in Singapore?

1. Make sure you drink 6 glasses of warm water daily to keep your throat from feeling too dry.
2. Soothe your irritated itchy sore throat with regular Difflam anti-inflammatory gargles.
3. Starting a saline sinus rinse to keep your nasal passages clear of mucus helps to reduce any postnasal drip flowing down into your throat.
4. Trying a course of antihistamine medication such as Telfast, Clarityn or Zyrtec can help to clear nasal congestion. This can alleviate the persistent backdrip of mucus from causing the itchy throat.
5. A trial of anti-acid reflux medications may be necessary to treat any underlying acid irritation coming up from your stomach. Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) can affect your throat to cause persistent throat itching and discomfort. Bloating and burping may also be troublesome symptoms. Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that can live in your stomach to cause persistent GERD symptoms. This carries an increased risk of going on to develop stomach cancer if not eradicated with proper medication. Simple over-the-counter medications such as Gaviscon may help to relieve GERD symptoms first until you find the time to see an ENT doctor in Singapore for investigation and stronger treatment of your persistent sore throat.

I hope your throat feels better soon with these simple tips, my friends!