With the onset of the autumn-winter period, people massively begin to get sick with inflammation of the ENT organs. We used to call any inflammation of the nasopharynx a cold. Meanwhile, there are many diseases of the throat and nose. Many of them are so similar in symptoms that only a specialist can distinguish them.
Why is it so important to see a doctor at the first sign of a cold? The fact is that the treatment of the disease is selected depending on the reasons, which cannot be determined without special knowledge. And if you do not treat correctly and on time, for example, sore throat (acute tonsillitis), then this can end in severe complications, which will have to be treated all your life. With tonsillitis, the tonsils are mainly affected. If the inflammation has spread beyond the tonsils, pharyngitis occurs. What are the differences between sore throat and pharyngitis, in addition to the localization of the inflammatory process?
Distinctive signs of sore throat
In acute tonsillitis, the main focus of inflammation 
localized in the tonsils. If a secondary infection joins, then the pathological process goes beyond the lymphoid glands. Angina is the most common disease of the nasopharynx for two reasons. Firstly, the disease has a high index of contagiousness and it can very easily be transmitted from an infected person or through contaminated household items. Secondly, the tonsils are the first to take the blow when attacking the pathogenic microflora in the nasopharynx.
The acute course of the disease is tonsillitis or acute tonsillitis, chronic - chronic tonsillitis. By localization, the process is one-sided with the defeat of one amygdala and bilateral with the defeat of two glands. There are 5 main forms of pathology:
- Catarrhal.
- Lacunar.
- Fibrous (paratonsillitis, intratonsillar abscess).
- Phlegmonous.
- Herpetic.
The most severe form is phlegmonous, it is characterized by the development of an abscess in the tonsils, a high risk of an abscess breakthrough into the tissue or into the oral cavity. Urgent surgical care is required.
In addition, there are rare atypical forms of acute tonsillitis: ulcerative membranous (ulcerative necrotic, necrotic) form, syphilitic, laryngeal (submucous laryngitis), fungal, monocytic (infectious mononucleosis), agranulocytic (manifestation of agranulocytosis).
The tonsils are the most vulnerable organ in the nasopharynx for colds.
Causes
The causative agents of the disease are in most cases streptococci. In other cases - staphylococci, pneumococci, fungi of the genus Candida, Escherichia coli and spindle-shaped bacillus, spirochete, viruses of various groups, including the Kosaki virus, which is activated in the summer and causes herpetic sore throat. In order for inflammation to develop, certain factors are needed: hypothermia of the body, exposure to the pharynx of allergic irritants, burns or trauma of the pharynx, lack of personal hygiene, smoking, the presence of a constant focus of inflammation in the nasopharynx (chronic sinusitis and rhinitis, caries, periodontitis).
Symptoms
- severe intoxication: persistent
fever, chills, severe weakness, excessive sweating, nausea, vomiting, severe pain in joints, muscles, headache, dizziness; - local manifestations: severe sore throat when swallowing, and therefore the patient refuses food. Redness of the mucous membrane of the tonsils and throat, looseness of the tonsils and plaque on them, purulent plugs, bad breath. If a secondary infection joins, then a cough and a runny nose appear;
- lymphadenitis of the cervical nodes.
fever, chills, severe weakness, excessive sweating, nausea, vomiting, severe pain in joints, muscles, headache, dizziness;Treatment
Bacterial tonsillitis is treated with antibiotics, unlike viral, in which antibiotic therapy is not prescribed. Symptomatic therapy is used, rinsing of the throat, inhalations, physiotherapy procedures are required.
A sore throat that is not cured in time has a very high risk of developing formidable complications, the most common of which is rheumatism.
If timely medical care is not provided, some consequences can be fatal. These are sepsis (blood poisoning), meningitis, brain abscess, laryngeal edema, myocarditis. In principle, after acute tonsillitis, any organs and systems of the body can be affected. The complications themselves are much more dangerous than tonsillitis.
Conditions such as glomerulonephritis, pericarditis, endocarditis, rheumatism and others lead to permanent disability.
Distinctive signs of pharyngitis
Pharyngitis is an inflammation of the lymphoid tissue and the lining of the pharynx, which is located between the esophagus and the mouth.
Classification and reasons
In the course of the process, pharyngitis happens:
- spicy;
- chronic, develops as a complication of acute.
The causative agents of the disease are the same as in angina: a group of different bacteria and viruses. The only difference in terms of etiology is the prevalence of viral pharyngitis is higher than bacterial. In acute tonsillitis, on the contrary, the bacterial form is more common than the viral one. To activate the pathogenic microflora, the same factors are needed as with angina: hypothermia, irritation of the pharyngeal mucosa with allergens.
Symptoms
- intoxication: fever, body aches, weakness;
- sore throat and sore throat;
- enlargement of the cervical lymph nodes;
- coughing.
Treatment
Treatment of pharyngitis and sore throat is similar: a sparing diet, drinking plenty of fluids, antiseptics under the tongue, symptomatic therapy, inhalations, sprays, gargling. In the case of the bacterial nature of the disease, broad-spectrum antibiotics are prescribed.
Complications
The consequences of pharyngitis with untimely treatment can be paratonsillar abscess, tracheitis, laryngitis, rheumatism.
Differences between sore throat and pharyngitis
The main difference between the two diseases is in local manifestations. Pharyngitis does not give pronounced sore throat, like acute tonsillitis. Very severe pain when swallowing, a significant increase in the tonsils, plaque and plugs in the tonsils - the main feature of tonsillitis, which distinguishes it from other infectious diseases of the ENT organs.
Pharyngitis is characterized by mild tolerable sore throat, worse after sleep, which can be relieved by warm drinks.
What can not be said about sore throat, in which drinking only increases pain.
In case of infectious diseases of the nasopharynx, differential diagnosis is needed, which cannot be carried out independently at home. Proper treatment depends on the correctness of the diagnosis, which will exclude the development of formidable complications of sore throat and pharyngitis.
