Health Topics
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Summary
Your throat is a tube that carries food to your esophagus and air to your windpipe and larynx (also called the voice box). The technical name for the throat is pharynx.
You can have a sore throat for many reasons. Often, colds and flu cause sore throats. Other causes can include:
Treatment depends on the cause. Sucking on lozenges, drinking lots of liquids, and gargling may ease the pain. Over-the-counter pain relievers can also help, but children should not take aspirin.
Symptoms
- Sore Throat: Symptoms and Causes (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Throat Problems (Symptom Checker) (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
Diagnosis and Tests
- Difference between a Sore Throat, Strep, and Tonsillitis (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
-
Strep A Test
(National Library of Medicine)
Also in Spanish
Treatments and Therapies
- Mouth Dryness or Thick Saliva (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- Sore Throat: Diagnosis and Treatment (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
-
Sore, Scratchy Throat? Soothing Pain from Illness or Allergy
(National Institutes of Health)
Also in Spanish
Clinical Trials
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Pharyngitis
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Find an Expert
- American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery
- Find an ENT (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
-
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Children
- What to Do About a Sore Throat (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- When a Sore Throat Is a More Serious Infection (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- Pharyngitis - sore throat (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Pharyngitis - viral (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice. Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health.