Angina is a disease caused by an infection of the lymphoid tissue of the tonsils. The pathogenesis of angina is based on acute inflammation with all the consequences:
- sore throat;
- swelling of inflamed tissues;
- the formation of plaque - exudate;
- physiological reactions that provide the body's immune response to infection (increase in body temperature, vasodilation, acceleration of blood circulation, release of specific inflammatory mediators, attraction of leukocytes.
Angina is difficult not only in children, but also in adults. The patient suffers from pain, fever, weakness. Undoubtedly, this is unsettling. Angina is also a highly contagious disease.
To prevent infection of others and minimize the risk of complications, treatment of angina should be carried out in bed (at home or in a hospital).
However, a modern person lives in a frantic rhythm, and often simply cannot afford to be sick for a long time. That is why the question of how many days angina lasts in an adult is more relevant than ever. Depending on how long sore throat takes, a person plans how soon he can return to his usual way of life. In addition, the timing of recovery with angina determines the duration of the sick leave.
Stages of the disease and their duration
The clinical picture of angina develops in several stages that determine the duration of the disease:
- The incubation period is the time from the moment of infection until the first symptoms of the disease appear. This period is also called latent, since it can only be judged on the basis of changes in blood tests. Outwardly, signs of infection cannot be detected.
- Infection with angina occurs by airborne droplets.
The duration of the incubation period is determined by the type of infectious agent, as well as the state of health of the infected person. For example, the adenovirus that causes tonsillitis (i.e. inflammation of the tonsils) has a long incubation period - up to 10 days. Herpes viruses, incl. cytomegalovirus, can be in the body for years, and cause the disease only under certain conditions, for example, with a decrease in immunity. Most ARVIs cause tonsillitis within 1-4 days. As for bacterial tonsillitis, it also develops within 1-4 days, but it can covertly proceed within 14 days.
- The initial stage of the disease is the appearance of the first symptoms.
For angina, rapid development of the clinical picture is characteristic.
The initial stage is practically absent: within 1-4 hours, the first symptoms intensify and reach a peak. At first, the patient is worried about discomfort in the throat, quickly flowing into acute pain. The body temperature rises from normal to high (38-39 C) within a couple of hours. The patient is seized by severe weakness and fatigue.
- A plateau, or the height of a sore throat, is a period during which a person is in a state of illness, but its symptoms do not progress. At the same time, the clinical picture of angina is fully expressed - the body temperature is high, the tonsils are enlarged, covered with plaque, when swallowing, the pain in the throat increases. Symptomatic treatment relieves these symptoms, but not for long, since the infection has not been eradicated. This stage lasts 3-5 days (in the absence of complications).
- Convalescence is a period of decline in the severity of symptoms and restoration of normal life. Recovery can be true or false. With a true recovery, the improvement in well-being is due to the destruction of the infectious focus, and in case of a false one, it is due to the temporary effect of drugs. So, when taking antibiotics, the patient notices a significant improvement already on 2-3 days of treatment, but this does not mean that the infection is defeated - for its complete destruction, a full course is required, usually 10 days.
How many days does angina last? Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the infectious process with angina takes 5-14 days (sometimes longer), but the symptoms of the disease can be observed within 3-10 days.
Let us consider in more detail how many adults suffer from angina, depending on the causative agent of the disease.
Duration of viral tonsillitis
How quickly does a sore throat caused by viruses go away? Like other variants of acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI), viral tonsillitis bothers the patient for 3-7 days. Treatment of this form of tonsillitis does not involve taking an antibiotic, and is based on the use of topical antiseptic drugs. Gargling, irrigation of the tonsils, resorption of lozenges and tablets are carried out several times a day for 4-7 days, until the symptoms disappear completely.
Local treatment of viral tonsillitis does not shorten the duration of the disease, but improves health and prevents secondary infection of the affected tonsils with opportunistic microflora of the oral cavity and pharynx (including streptococcus).
It is worth noting that it is very problematic to distinguish viral tonsillitis from bacterial by external symptoms. Sometimes streptococcal infection proceeds easily, mimicking SARS; at the same time, adenovirus infection can be severe and disturb more than 10 days. To select the correct treatment, it is necessary to accurately determine the causative agent of the infection, and in order to do this, it is necessary to pass certain laboratory tests - bacteriological culture, ASLO titer, clinical blood test, etc. The attending physician examines the patient and directs him for tests that confirm or deny the presence of a bacterial infection.
Duration
How long have you had a sore throat caused by a bacterial infection of the tonsils? Bacterial tonsillitis (primarily of streptococcal etiology) is more severe and can last much longer.
With appropriate treatment of angina, the body temperature will return to normal within 2-4 days. At the same time, other symptoms of intoxication disappear - nausea, headache, etc. How long does a sore throat hurt with sore throat? The sore throat will go away within 5-7 days. Full recovery is achieved within 7-10 days (depending on the selected antibiotic).
In the absence of antibiotic therapy, it is impossible to predict the course of streptococcal infection. Streptococcal infection can become chronic - in this case, angina periodically recurs and subsides over the years. All this time, streptococci are present in the tonsils, which affect the immune system.
As a result of prolonged contact of immune cells with streptococci, an autoimmune reaction develops - the destruction of its own proteins, similar in structure to streptococci.
Cross-reaction causes damage to the heart valves, joints and renal pelvis - tissues that contain large amounts of proteins like streptococcus. This is how one of the most dangerous complications of angina develops - rheumatism.
The effect of treatment on the duration of the disease
Timely initiation of appropriate treatment allows you to cure sore throat as soon as possible. For a viral infection it is 5-7 days, for a bacterial one - 5-10. To cure chronic tonsillitis, you need a course of antibiotic treatment lasting 10-14 days.
Does treatment speed up the course of the disease? Studies have shown that in the absence of treatment in some patients, the symptoms of the disease disappear within 5-14 days, i.e. during the same time as in patients who received treatment. This is due to the activity of the immune system against the causative agent of the infection. At the same time, a significant part of the patients could not overcome the disease without medical intervention.So, patients with viral tonsillitis who refuse treatment often suffer from complications - the spread of infection to nearby respiratory organs. Often, against the background of viral tonsillitis, bacterial develops.
Lack of treatment for bacterial sore throat is fraught with even more serious complications. So, streptococcal sore throat can lead to conditions such as:
- rheumatism;
- sepsis of the tonsils;
- peritonsillar abscess (a purulent complication that affects the mucous membrane around the tonsils);
- otitis media;
- sinusitis;
- meningitis;
- pneumonia;
- purulent pharyngitis.
Pus remaining in the gaps of the tonsils can form plugs - a constant focus of a sluggish infection. Such formations are the main cause of chronic tonsillitis.
Thus, treatment does not so much shorten the recovery time as it reduces unpleasant symptoms and prevents the development of complications, some of which are deadly.
