Sore throat is one of the most common infectious diseases that affects our tonsils (tonsils). In the medical literature you can find another name for this diagnosis: acute tonsillitis. Purulent sore throat in an adult is an infectious disease that is provoked by pathogenic microorganisms, namely hemolytic streptococci of groups A and B, and less commonly staphylococci.
The disease is extremely contagious. The disease is transmitted not only by airborne droplets. You can become infected through contact when sharing the same dishes or towels with a sick person. Both children and adults are susceptible to the disease.
This disease has a clearly defined seasonality and most often appears in the autumn-spring period.
Despite the fact that many people treat the diagnosis of “acute tonsillitis” as something natural and commonplace, nevertheless, this disease is not as simple as it seems. If there is a careless attitude towards it, when proper treatment of purulent sore throat in adults is not carried out, severe complications can develop, involving associated organs (kidneys, joints and myocardium - heart muscle) in the chronic inflammatory process.
Why does infection occur?
In the vast majority of cases (60-80%), the causative agent of the disease is streptococcus bacteria. Less commonly - staphylococci and pneumococci. There are always microorganisms throughout the human body and in the palatine tonsils in particular. When a person’s health is normal and his immunity is not weakened, they do not manifest themselves in any way. But as soon as the body’s defenses fail in the presence of factors predisposing to the disease, pathogens become more active. If a person shows the first signs of a sore throat, it means that pathogenic microorganisms have penetrated deep into the tonsils and triggered the inflammation mechanism.
The reasons that provoke the inflammatory process include:
- prolonged exposure to the cold, cold drinks or food (sometimes it is enough to eat ice cream or fall asleep with the air conditioner on);
- tonsil injuries;
- reduced immunity;
- lack of full breathing through the nose due to the anatomical features of a person (adenoids, polyps, cysts in the nose and nasopharynx);
- inflammation present in the body;
- bad habits, especially smoking;
- unfavorable environmental conditions;
- unfavorable working conditions.
Rinses
What you can gargle with a sore throat, the attending physician must decide. He will select the optimal remedy, taking into account the characteristics of the disease. After this, you can search for medications online on our website and place an order in the same way.
Sometimes it happens that a person is not helped at all by a drug that is effective in most cases. However, the doctor will definitely select another medicine that will definitely have an effect. Over time, it will become clear what is better to gargle for tonsillitis in this particular case.
Types of purulent sore throat
In otorhinolaryngology, several forms of the disease are distinguished: catarrhal, follicular, lacunar, and phlegmous, ulcerative-necrotic, dental and latent (Simanovsky-Plaut-Vincent). Immediately after diagnosis, qualified treatment of the disease should be started on the same day in adults and children, regardless of the form of the disease. In this article we will describe the most basic forms of sore throat.
With follicular tonsillitis, the tonsils become greatly enlarged, and purulent spots appear on their surface. The disease begins rapidly with a sharp rise in temperature to 40°C. The lymph nodes become enlarged, and when pressed on them the patient experiences discomfort. The patient is overcome by headaches, “aches” throughout the body and general malaise.
With lacunar angina, purulent masses penetrate into the thickness of the entire tonsil, filling its lacunae. To the symptoms of follicular tonsillitis, a reaction from the gastrointestinal tract is added: vomiting, diarrhea, nausea. A characteristic yellowish coating is noticeable on the tonsils, upon removal of which the patient feels improvement and the body temperature drops.
Phlegmonous is the most severe form of the disease. It is characterized by the accumulation of purulent masses in the tonsil, the patient’s temperature reaches 40°C. In parallel, swelling of the neck and perimaxillary area occurs. Possible respiratory arrest. The patient experiences severe pain: it becomes impossible to speak or swallow. The patient must be immediately sent to hospital, since in the absence of prompt assistance there is a risk of death.
Such a division, of course, is quite arbitrary, since one type of disease can transform into another and cause serious health problems (provided that qualified treatment of the disease is not provided to adults).
Rinse rules
How to gargle correctly for a sore throat? The temperature of the solution should approach 36 degrees. A hotter liquid can damage the mucous membrane and cause a burn. A cold solution may slightly reduce pain by blocking receptors, but local immune defenses are reduced. As a result, pathogenic microorganisms begin to multiply more actively, meaning treatment will take longer.
Rinsing for purulent sore throat can be done using different methods. The usual technique boils down to the following: a person, having filled his mouth with liquid, seems to be trying to clearly pronounce the letter “O”. The first portions of the product can be immediately spat out, but the next portions must be kept in the mouth. This is necessary for a longer effect on the affected tonsils.
Thorough gargling for purulent sore throat is carried out as follows: after taking liquid into your mouth, you need to throw your head back and try to clearly pronounce “GLU”, stretching one sip into several stages. This method ensures thorough rinsing of the back of the pharynx, tonsils and root of the tongue.
One gargle for tonsillitis and sore throat requires about a glass of the chosen medicine. This volume is sufficient for mechanical cleansing of the tonsils.
While rinsing, you should try to pronounce the sounds “YYYYY” - in this case, the medicine will be able to wash away pathogens from all parts of the oral cavity. The head should be tilted back strongly, while the tongue should be pulled forward.
With lacunar or follicular sore throat, you have to gargle the sore throat until recovery, that is, until the palate, tonsils and vocal folds are cleared of plaque and fungal deposits. How long this will take depends on the severity of the disease (the average duration of the period is from 3 to 10 days).
When using this or that product, contraindications must be taken into account. This information is always indicated in the instructions that come with the drug.
Symptoms
The first signs of the disease appear almost immediately (from ten hours to a day from the moment of infection!). Symptoms of purulent tonsillitis first appear similar to the symptoms of ordinary tonsillitis. The patient tries to cure a sore throat by gargling, but such measures have no effect. Then the following symptoms appear:
- high body temperature (up to 40°C);
- “lump” in the throat, increasing pain in the throat: ranging from a slight soreness to a “pain” when swallowing;
- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea;
- enlarged lymph nodes, pain when pressing on them;
- tonsil hypertrophy;
- the appearance of purulent plaque or pustules on the surface of the tonsils;
- pronounced intoxication of the body - the patient loses appetite, feels weak and lethargic.
Patients need to remember the first and main rule: it is necessary to treat purulent sore throat immediately: the sooner you start treating the disease, the faster the recovery will come, and the risk of developing pathologies will be minimized.
The therapeutic effect of rinsing
Anyone can gargle, with the exception of children under 3 years of age (not every child is able to cope with the procedure without swallowing the solution or choking). The main advantages of this treatment method are as follows:
- powerful symptomatic effect;
- mitigation of symptoms of intoxication;
- ensuring long-term therapeutic action;
- washing away plaque from tonsils and softening plugs;
- reduction of inflammation;
- destruction of pathogenic fungi.
The symptomatic effect of rinsing is that after the procedure the soreness in the throat, as well as burning and soreness, decreases. Wounds and microcracks on the mucous membrane heal.
A reduction in general intoxication is achieved due to the fact that the concentration of toxins released by pathogenic organisms decreases. The rinsing procedure is a mechanical washout of viruses and bacteria from the tonsil area. In addition, drugs create an unfavorable environment for microorganisms, thereby ensuring a prolonged therapeutic effect. For purulent sore throat, it is rinsing that helps eliminate pus and get rid of the unpleasant taste and odor from the mouth.
Complications with purulent sore throat
The disease is dangerous due to its complications, which can affect not only the respiratory system, but also spread to other human organs.
One of the common pathologies is the transition from an acute form of the disease to a chronic form (chronic tonsillitis). In chronic tonsillitis, inflammation is constantly present in the tonsils, and exacerbations occur 2-3 times a year, and in severe cases, more often.
Delayed treatment of the disease can lead to inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis), joint diseases (rheumatoid arthritis) and kidneys (glomerulonephritis and pyelonephritis). It is possible that a sore throat may develop into an abscess. This happens when the infectious pathogen has little space in the thickness of the palatine tonsil, and streptococcus begins to look for new sites for itself. Thus, inflammation can move to the paratonsillar and parapharyngeal tissue and provoke a paratonsillar or parapharyngeal abscess.
The pathologies listed above are powerful arguments for promptly starting treatment for purulent tonsillitis.
We care about your health
Tonsillitis is one of the most common diseases. Infections of a viral or bacterial nature enter the respiratory tract (often one of them is joined by another), causing an inflammatory process. A surge in tonsillitis is most often observed in the spring and winter, when many people have a weakened immune system. Also, this disease can develop against the background of existing foci of infections in the body, for example, with dental caries, periodontal disease, sinusitis and others.
Tonsillitis is transmitted mainly by airborne droplets, pathogens: staphylococci, streptococci, fungi, bacilli.
Tonsillitis can have both acute (called sore throat) and chronic forms. Acute tonsillitis most often occurs as a result of an exacerbation of the chronic form, when a person with reduced immunity could, for example, become hypothermic.
Symptoms of tonsillitis
Compared to chronic tonsillitis, acute tonsillitis occurs in a more severe form: the body temperature can rise to 40 degrees, the patient feels a very strong pain in the throat, and it is difficult for him to swallow. The tonsils are swollen and enlarged, with the presence of purulent plugs. Patients feel headache, weakness, and their lymph nodes are enlarged.
Depending on the type of sore throat, which can be lacunar, herpetic, catarrhal, follicular, etc., ulcers, follicles, and a film called plaque form on the palatine tonsils.
With chronic tonsillitis, the temperature can rise to 38. The patient has a light coating on the palatine tonsils, and the tonsils themselves look enlarged and reddened. A person feels weakness, muscle pain, and aching joints.
Chronic tonsillitis is characterized by stages of remission and exacerbation. During the period of remission, the focus of infection is passive, and the person is not bothered by unpleasant symptoms. But as soon as one becomes hypothermic (especially with reduced immunity), he immediately begins to feel an unpleasant sore throat, pain when swallowing, cough, fatigue, poor general health and lack of appetite. The patient's lymph nodes may become inflamed.
Chronic tonsillitis is a long-term inflammation of the pharynx and palate. Its simple form has only a local symptom: sore throat. But if the picture is complemented by persistent lymphadenitis of the neck, changes in the functioning of the heart and high temperature, then this is already a toxic-allergic form.
Chronic tonsillitis has several stages: compensated, when the source of infection is not active, and decompensated, when exacerbation occurs due to repeated sore throats, inflammation of the ear and nose.
Tonsillitis (tonsillitis) - what inflammation looks like (photo of the disease)
Photograph of the throat with purulent sore throat
Photo - throat with follicular sore throat
Catarrhal sore throat - photo
Photo - lacunar tonsillitis
Possible complications of tonsillitis
Like many other diseases, tonsillitis is dangerous due to its complications . These include, first of all, rheumatism. After suffering from a sore throat, a person may feel severe aching in the joints and an increase in temperature.
In second place, as a rule, are cardiovascular diseases. Interruptions in heart function, shortness of breath, tachycardia are sure signs that a sore throat has caused complications.
Another unpleasant symptom after tonsillitis is swelling and tenderness of the lymph nodes, which have become infected from the tonsils. This is lymphadenitis.
The infection can also spread from the tonsils to the surrounding tissues of the upper respiratory tract, leading to pain when swallowing. And this disease is a complication of tonsillitis and is called paratonsillitis.
It should be noted that more than a hundred diseases are known that arise as a result of complications after acute tonsillitis. These include a variety of kidney, eye, skin and thyroid diseases.
Diagnosis of tonsillitis
It begins, of course, with an examination by a doctor, who determines whether the tonsils and adjacent tissues are swollen and red, and whether the ear and cervical lymph nodes are inflamed. The patient is sent for a general blood test.
Before prescribing treatment to the patient, the ENT doctor determines the nature of the inflammatory process: in what form does tonsillitis occur - chronic or acute, the type of inflammation (purulent, catarrhal), is the sore throat primary or secondary, what is the causative agent (this is determined in the laboratory - a culture is done from the throat ).
Treatment of tonsillitis - specifics of therapy
In the treatment of tonsillitis, both conservative methods and surgical intervention can be used. Treatment methods depend on the specifics of the disease.
For chronic tonsillitis, if necessary, antibiotics are prescribed in tablets, and for sore throat they are often administered intramuscularly. Local treatment is also carried out: purulent plaque on the tonsils is removed, the lacunae are washed with antibacterial solutions, physiotherapy and a course of vitamins with immunomodulators are prescribed.
In case of acute tonsillitis, it is recommended to irrigate the oral cavity with antiseptic solutions, rinse, treat the tonsils with iodine-containing preparations (if there are no allergic reactions to iodine), inhalations, and resorption of antibacterial tablets are useful. You should also drink a lot (weak teas, fruit drinks, juices, rosehip decoctions, etc.), take antipyretic and painkillers.
Acute tonsillitis is not recommended to be treated with antibiotics, because they reduce local immunity. But if the form of the disease is more severe, then the patient requires mandatory bed rest and antibiotic therapy. However, the prescription of antibiotics should be preceded by an analysis of the results of culture in the pharynx area, which will identify the causative agent of the infection. It is recommended to include in the course of treatment drugs that enhance immunity, as well as general strengthening and anti-inflammatory drugs. Physiotherapy will also be useful.
If a person suffers from tonsillitis more than twice a year, has complications from this disease, and conservative treatment does not bring the expected results, then removal of the tonsils may be recommended. There are many modern methods of performing this operation (infrared laser, ultrasound, biopolar, radiofrequency ablation and others), but many consider the cold plasma coblation method to be the most effective and gentle. However, it should be remembered that the tonsils are the first protective barrier that stops and disarms pathogenic bacteria . But in many cases (especially after frequent colds), the tonsils stop performing their functions and themselves become a source of infection, causing serious complications. In this case, it is better to remove them.
Treatment of tonsillitis (tonsillitis) at the Medkvadrat ENT center in Moscow, Kurkino and Khimki.
