My throat is so sore, it's been 3 days since my cold started and it really feels like I have razor blades in the back of my throat. What can I do?

Question

I have tried: lozenges, honey, herbal tea, hot/cold water, Tylenol, Advil alternately and after cold tablets, nothing works and I am in more and more pain. I had a negative covid test yesterday . Thanks for your reply! I was tested for strep, which was negative. The naprosyn helped!

Alexandre Chagnon · Accepted Answer

Hello ma'am, First of all, you did the right thing by getting a test for COVID-19 since a sore throat is often one of the characteristic symptoms. I'm glad to read that you don't suffer from it. A sore throat can be caused by multiple infectious causes, both virus and bacteria . However, it is more viruses that are involved , and when it is viral in origin, no treatment is needed and the symptoms usually go away on their own in 3-5 days. 🤒 When it's a bacteria that causes it, it'smostly Group A beta hemolytic Streptococcus (commonly referred to as just strep). This is responsible for about 5-15% of pharyngitis/tonsillitis. In addition to a severe sore throat, the signs/symptoms of strep pharyngitis/tonsillitis include: Swollen and painful lymph nodes on palpation in the throat ; Fever ; Presence of infectious fluid on the tonsils ; Absence of coughing and/or nasal secretions . If you appear to have the above symptoms of a strep infection, I encourage you to contact your local pharmacy : some of them offer the "Streptest " (a quick test that can detect a strep infection) and related management (i.e., antibiotics if test is positive). If your local pharmacy does not offer this service, I encourage you to consult your family doctor (or visit this website if you do not have one to find a resource near you). I strongly urge you to continue honey and water (hot/cold): honey is a natural antimicrobial and water helps you stay well hydrated. You can also continue Tylenol and Advil as needed within the maximum daily amounts (8 tablets of 500 mg Tylenol per day and/or 6 tablets of 200 mg Advil per day). 💊 I hope this helps and that you get relief from that sore throat soon. Please feel free to contact us again with any other questions. ☺️ Marc-Antoine Dufresne, pharmacy intern (Pharm.D), supervised by Alexandre Chagnon, pharmacist.