Sore throat is a very common symptom in both children and adults, and become one of common diaseses, usually accompany with symptom of sneezing and coughing . It is also a common cause of presentation to medical practitioners and accepted by public as common cold.
Sore throat is a frequent indication of antibiotic prescription in the community, resulting in significant healthcare costs and may potentially contribute to increasing antimicrobial resistance with widespread and inappropriate use of antibiotics.
Causative agent
Viral pathogens are more frequent causes of sore throat compared to bacterial pathogens.
Group A Streptococci is the most common bacterial cause of acute pharyngitis ,accounting for approximately 15-30% of cases in children and is also the only common form of pharyngitis for which antibiotic therapy is indicated.
Sore throat Signs & Symptoms
Symptoms of a common cold usually appear about one to three days after exposure to a cold virus. Signs and symptoms of a common cold may include:
*Runny or stuffy nose
*Itchy or sore throat
*Cough
*Congestion
*Slight body aches or a mild headache
*Sneezing
*Watery eyes
*Low-grade fever
*Mild fatigue
In sore throat that are due bacterial infection, signs and symptoms as below:
Symptom in child or adult commonly present with high grade fever and toxic (more ill).
Symptoms
sudden onset of sore throat, pain on swallowing, fever, headache, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.
Signs
tonsillopharyngeal erythema, tonsillopharyngeal exudate, softpalate petechiae; beefy-red swollen uvula, swollen and tender anterior cervical lymph nodes and rash. Not all patients have the full-blown syndrome and many cases are milder and do not have exudates.
