Angina

The text is presented for informational purposes only. We urge you not to self-medicate. When the first symptoms appear, consult a doctor. Recommended reading: “Why not self-medicate?”. Acute tonsillitis (ICD-10: J03), the common name for angina, is an acute infectious disease that affects the components of the lymphatic pharyngeal ring, primarily the palatine tonsils, which is caused by staphylococci or streptococci, less often by other microorganisms, fungal infections or viruses. Angina is also called exacerbations of chronic tonsillitis.

Forms of manifestation of the disease

Due to the fact that there are a lot of causative agents of angina in nature, this disease can occur in acute and chronic form. In acute primary tonsillitis, an acute inflammatory process in the palatine tonsils is characteristic, which occurs as an independent infection. The secondary form is concomitant against the background of the disease with scarlet fever, infectious mononucleosis, diphtheria and other infections, the course of which is accompanied by inflammation of the tonsils. Chronic tonsillitis differ among themselves in the severity of the consequences for the body after the infection.

Depending on how exactly and how deeply the tonsils are affected, tonsillitis is divided into catarrhal, follicular, lacunar, phlegmonous, herpetic, ulcerative-necrotic, fibrinous and mixed. These forms of angina are the most common, but others exist in nature.

Depending on the severity of the course of the disease, tonsillitis can be mild, moderate or severe. At the same time, catarrhal angina is considered the easiest, if we regard the nature of the course of an infectious disease. Any sore throat caused by a similar pathogen will have similar symptoms – fever, sore throat, hypertrophied pharyngeal tonsils, with plaque, films, vesicles or purulent discharge, depending on the depth of the inflammatory process and the characteristics of the pathogen.

The mechanism of occurrence of angina of all forms is the same, the difference is that some diseases progress moderately and do not cause complications, while others are very difficult on their own, leaving behind chronic diseases or severe complications. The first symptoms in any form of angina will be intoxication, and after that there will be characteristic signs that last almost the same amount of time, regardless of the form of the disease.

Catarrhal angina

Catarrhal angina is the mildest primary form of the disease, during which the patient has only symptoms characteristic of a superficial lesion of the tonsils. Intoxication of the body in the catarrhal form is moderately expressed, the body temperature does not last very long and rises to moderate levels. Visual examination reveals manifestations of hyperemia on the hard and soft palate, sometimes in the region of the posterior pharyngeal wall. There are cases when the mucosa becomes inflamed only on the tonsils and palatine arches.

Catarrhal angina develops, usually suddenly. The patient begins to sharply feel weakness, malaise, pain or sore throat. Then the pain begins to progress, sometimes there is swelling of the pharynx, severe pain when swallowing, the tonsils turn red, and pain appears on palpation of the submandibular lymph nodes. Gradually, swallowing becomes unbearably painful and the body temperature can rise to 37,5-38 degrees.

Also, for catarrhal (and any other) angina, chills, feverish conditions, and sometimes a state of delirium are characteristic. The duration of acute symptoms in catarrhal angina in both adults and children is about 2 days. Then the inflammation begins to decrease, the pain subsides and the person recovers. With an exacerbation of the pathological process, catarrhal angina can progress into a lacunar or follicular form.

Follicular sore throat

Long-term with a severe course and the development of complications of the disease is characteristic of the follicular form of angina. The main symptoms are severe sore throat, aggravated by swallowing, headache and musculo-articular pain, high body temperature, malaise, but the manifestation of such signs is much stronger than in the catarrhal form of the disease. Many patients experience increased salivation. Treatment of patients is outpatient, with the obligatory preservation of bed rest for the acute period.

At the very beginning of the disease, a person’s body temperature rises sharply to 38-39 degrees. Then the sore throat progresses sharply when swallowing, which often radiates to the ears. With severe intoxication, pain occurs in the head, lumbar region, fever begins, the patient is shivering, he feels severe weakness. A complete blood count usually demonstrates in this case high ESR, neutrophilic leukocytosis, and eosinophilia. With follicular angina, regional lymph nodes often increase, they become painful on palpation, in some cases the spleen may increase.

In children, follicular angina may be accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea. In all patients, specialists reveal hyperemia of the soft palate and tonsils, on the surface of which yellowish elements are visualized, these are inflamed follicles. With a normal, uncomplicated course, follicular tonsillitis lasts at least 5-7 days.

lacunar form

Even harder than follicular, lacunar tonsillitis flows with the same symptoms. In some cases, with severe inflammation and hypertrophy of the tonsils, symptoms of a choking cough may be observed. It is characterized by the spread of purulent inflammation and the accumulation of pus in the gaps. The course of the disease at best ends only after 5-7 days. Sometimes both lacunar and follicular tonsillitis can be similar in their development to the fibrinous form of the disease, in which inflammation affects the upper part of the tonsils, with the formation of a whitish film that is difficult to detach on the surface. At the same time, lacunar angina is characterized by the fact that from the area of ​​​​necrotization of the epithelium, the fibrous film will spread to the lacunar mouths.

The main symptoms of lacunar angina:

• a sharp and significant increase in body temperature up to 40 degrees;
• joint and muscle pain;
• discomfort in the region of the heart;
• headache;
• severe sore throat, unbearable when eating.

During the examination by specialists with lacunar angina, hyperemia of the tonsils and surrounding tissues, hypertrophy and edema are revealed. In rare cases, enlarged tonsils can cover most of the pharynx. Fibrinous-purulent contents are observed in the area of ​​enlarged lacunae, and subsequently it turns into an easily removable purulent film on the surface of the tonsils.

Phlegmonous tonsillitis

Rarely enough in modern conditions there is such a manifestation of the disease as phlegmonous tonsillitis. This is the most severe form, which manifests itself as a complication 1-3 days after the development of follicular or lacunar tonsillitis. It is characterized by inflammation of the peri-almond tissue. Usually this process is one-sided. The main symptoms of the disease are:

• pain in the throat during swallowing or talking;
• swollen lymph nodes in the neck;
• hyperthermia;
• severe intoxication in the form of vomiting and nausea, joint pain, decreased appetite and general weakness;
• on the enlarged affected tonsil, hyperemia and tension of the mucous membrane over the abscess can be observed, in case of palpation, severe pain occurs in this place;
• asymmetry of the pharynx and trismus of masticatory muscles.

In the case of phlegmonous tonsillitis, the patient has a forced position of the head, and during laryngoscopy, an increase in the tonsils and limited mobility of the soft palate are visualized. Such a sore throat is often called a paratonsillar abscess in medical sources and is treated only in stationary conditions.

Herpangina

Such a childhood disease as herpetic sore throat develops as a result of the penetration of an enterovirus into the human body, namely the Coxsackie virus type A or B, but not the herpes virus, unlike herpes sore throat, it simply bears the same name because of the similarity of the elements of the rash. The disease is very contagious, easily spreads in children’s groups through the airborne or fecal-oral route.

This disease begins very acutely with an increase in body temperature up to 40 degrees. After the temperature rises, the throat and head begin to hurt, muscle spasms appear in the abdomen, and sometimes diarrhea or vomiting occurs. When examining the pharynx, reddish vesicles are visible on the tonsils, posterior pharynx, soft palate and uvula. Such bubbles burst and resolve after 3-4 days after the onset.

After transferring herpetic tonsillitis to the disease, a strong immunity is developed that protects against re-infection for the rest of your life.

Ulcerative membranous form of tonsillitis

The main distinguishing feature of ulcerative-membranous angina is the absence of high temperature during the course of the disease. The etiology of the disease is due to the symbiosis of pathogens such as fusiform bacillus and spirochete in the patient’s mouth. The ulcerative membranous form of the disease is dangerous due to necrotic changes in the mucous membrane of the pharynx, the surface of the tonsils and the formation of an ulcer of a specific form in this area.

The main symptoms of the disease:

• absence of hyperemia;
• the presence of foreign body sensation in the throat;
• putrid smell from the mouth;
• increased salivation;
• in the affected area, an increase in regional lymph nodes;
• leukocytosis in blood tests.

The duration of the disease can drag on from a week to several months, it is fraught with severe complications and requires the immediate use of antibiotics already at the beginning of treatment.

Causes of angina

Since tonsillitis is considered an infectious disease, it can be concluded that the causes of its occurrence will always be certain microorganisms that provoke various forms of the disease. The most common pathogens among adults and children are:

• staphylococcus;
• streptococci;
• enteroviruses;
• pneumococci;
• diplococci

There are several ways of infection:

1. The most characteristic for all sore throats is the airborne path of migration of pathogenic microflora.
2. If microorganisms enter the oropharynx with the bloodstream from previously occurring infectious foci, then this is the hematogenous route.
3. The enteral route of infection is characterized by the entry of microorganisms from food (dairy products, mainly when a person consumes unboiled milk from a cow with mastitis), as well as with a violation of hygiene – through dirty hands.
4. When a sore throat occurs due to previous gastroenteritis, caries, purulent sinusitis, they speak of an endogenous route of infection.
5. When infected during operations on the ENT organs, they speak of an artificial route of infection and traumatic tonsillitis.

The risks of getting angina in people of any age increase significantly with sudden changes in weather, malnutrition, overwork, poor environmental conditions, very severe hypothermia, which can cause a decrease in immune reactivity and sensitization of the body.

The incidence of tonsillitis is recorded in any season, but in most cases in the autumn-winter period.

The main manifestations of tonsillitis

All the symptoms of tonsillitis are usually divided into general and specific. Among the common symptoms in any type of angina, hyperthermia is usually always present. By increasing the temperature, the human body reacts to the penetration of pathogenic bacteria into it. At high body temperatures, the body’s immune response increases, the removal of toxins is activated, and the rate of bacterial reproduction decreases. It is important to understand that this does not mean that the temperature should not be brought down – the fact of its increase in itself helps all of the above, to endure too high a temperature is not only inappropriate, but also dangerous.

Also common symptoms of angina include malaise, chills, intoxication headaches, severe fatigue, musculoskeletal pain in patients of any age.

The specific symptomatology of tonsillitis is represented by soreness in the throat as a result of the inflammatory process in the tonsils, which only intensifies every day of the development of the disease, an increase and hyperemia of the tonsils, lymph nodes at the site of inflammation.

Stages of development of tonsillitis

The development of the disease directly depends on the form of angina. At the same time, the incubation period, which ranges from 12 to 72 hours, can also last differently. A common feature of the occurrence of any type of sore throat in people of all ages is the severity of the disease at the first manifestation, when the body temperature rises sharply to 39-40 degrees, the patient begins to shiver, he has a sharp sore throat when swallowing.

Acute primary tonsillitis is usually characterized by lesions of the tonsils – sore throat, intoxication, hypertrophy and swelling of the tonsils in the catarrhal form, the occurrence of fibrinous-purulent plaque in the lacunar form in the region of the mouth of the lacunae, the manifestation of a “picture of the starry sky” in the nasopharynx with follicular angina, the appearance of hard-to-remove plaque with ulcerative membranous form, enlarged lymph nodes in the area of ​​inflammation.

The duration of treatment for tonsillitis always depends on the reactivity of the patient’s immunity and the form of developing tonsillitis. If angina is bacterial, then its duration can be regulated by a course of therapy with antibacterial drugs, which should last from 5 to 14 days. The basic antibacterial course for sore throats is necessarily fixed with general strengthening and local treatment, therefore, on average, a sore throat is treated for at least 2 weeks. Similar terms are also characteristic for the treatment of viral sore throats, however, with them, the difficulty lies in the fact that in parallel with viruses, a bacterial infection can join the disease, and then the treatment will be longer and more complicated. For example, when pyogenic flora is attached to viral sore throat, specific therapy lasts about a month.

When treating chronic forms of tonsillitis, it is important to understand that this is a long process. Chronic tonsillitis is treated with conservative methods – inhalations, washing the tonsils, irrigating the tonsils with antiseptic agents of the tonsils and others. With frequent recurrences of the disease, such preventive courses should be carried out every three months during the year.

An important parameter for determining the timing of treatment of angina is body temperature. Most often, hyperthermia reaches 38 degrees with tonsillitis and lasts for 3-5 days. This often occurs with viral, fungal and bacterial unilateral tonsillitis. Antibiotics should be continued for at least 2-3 days after the temperature has completely returned to normal. With subjective improvements in well-being with the preservation of a high temperature, experts draw conclusions either about the complications that have arisen, or about the ineffectiveness of the therapy and the preservation of the inflammatory focus in the body. In this case, antibiotics are usually changed. Only after 2-3 days after normalization of body temperature, treatment with antibacterial drugs can be completed, since with a sharp interruption of treatment, a relapse of the disease may occur in a couple of days.

With erased forms of angina, the temperature may practically not rise or rise slightly to 37,2 – 37,5 degrees. This happens more often in those patients who suffer from primary or secondary immunodeficiency. In this case, when the presence of tonsillitis is confirmed by laboratory tests, therapy is carried out until the blood test shows the doctor the absence of characteristic leukocytosis. After that, antibiotics are canceled and general strengthening treatment begins.

Sometimes tonsillitis is a complication or comorbidity of other infections. In this case, they proceed according to the laws of the underlying disease.

With diphtheria – an acute inflammatory infection that occurs when a diphtheria bacillus enters the body – sore throats in patients are very severe, with a suffocating cough, which is called true croup, respiratory failure and shortness of breath, severe pathologies of the nervous system. Untimely or incorrect treatment can lead to death due to acute respiratory failure and intoxication.

With influenza, angina proceeds according to the general laws of this viral infection, with concomitant rhinitis or conjunctivitis, is not particularly pronounced against the general background of the disease and has a favorable prognosis.

With scarlet fever, an acute infection caused by β-hemolytic streptococcus A, the general symptoms of angina are also supplemented by a skin rash all over the body. Hyperthermia can reach 40 degrees, the disease belongs to the category of childhood infections and, with proper treatment, has a favorable prognosis.

With sore throat accompanying infectious mononucleosis – the disease is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV, human herpesvirus type 4) – there is always a pronounced leukocytosis in the blood test, the lymph nodes increase, the temperature rises, the spleen and liver often increase. When a doctor examines the condition of the oropharynx, a typical sore throat is noted first, and later a specific dirty-gray coating on the mucous membranes. In childhood, the tonsils increase significantly, blocking the airways with their volume. The prognosis for the treatment of infectious mononucleosis depends on the quality and timely treatment of the disease.

Methods for diagnosing tonsillitis

To prescribe a qualified treatment for angina, it is necessary to diagnose the disease and determine the forms of the disease, its severity, and, if possible, classify the pathogen. The standard diagnostic plan for angina, as a rule, includes:

• visual medical examination;
• collection of anamnesis;
• taking a swab from the throat and sowing to determine the pathogenic flora and its sensitivity to antibiotics;
• detailed blood test;
• sometimes magnetic resonance imaging is indicated.

Diagnostic procedures are divided into clinical examination, pharyngoscopy and laboratory diagnostics. Clinical studies allow specialists to study the patient’s condition without additional instrumental techniques. In their course, the doctor evaluates the patient’s complaints and anamnesis, performs an external examination, palpates the submandibular and cervical lymph nodes.

With pharyngoscopy, an examination is performed with a spatula of the oropharyngeal region. Particular attention is paid to the tonsils, gums, soft palate and oral cavity walls. If a doctor diagnoses a sore throat during pharyngoscopy, it means that he sees enlarged and inflamed palatine tonsils, sometimes with a purulent coating, purulent folds on the tonsils, purulent plugs that cover the gaps (with chronic tonsillitis, for example).

To find out the form of angina, it is required to examine the contents of the gaps with the definition of the causative agent of the disease.

Sometimes experts see the need to perform percussion and auscultation of the cardiovascular, respiratory and other systems of the patient’s body to clarify the necessary information in the event of complications from severe tonsillitis.

Laboratory diagnostics includes a complete blood count of the patient and a throat swab. A blood test demonstrates the symptoms of the inflammatory process and the presence of anemia. A smear helps to collect biomaterial, grow bacteria in the laboratory, so that they can be assessed as belonging to a particular type. Smears are taken necessarily to exclude diphtheria, the manifestations of which are in many ways similar to tonsillitis.

Therapies

Medical products (drugs, medicines, vitamins, medicines) are mentioned for informational purposes only. We do not recommend using them without a doctor’s prescription. Recommended reading: “Why can’t you take medications without a doctor’s prescription?”. Methods of rapid treatment for angina does not exist. With proper therapy and a minimum of complications, angina disappears in 8-10 days. Most often, the treatment of the disease lasts 2 weeks. At home, the doctor prescribes the treatment, however, the first first aid in the detection of angina and the subsequent maintenance of the appropriate regimen play an important therapeutic role in all treatment.

If the first symptoms of a sore throat occur before the doctor arrives, it is important to isolate the sick person in order to prevent the spread of infection. At the same time, the sick person is recommended strict bed rest, because any load in this case provokes the development of severe complications on the heart and other organs. Even after complete recovery, it is necessary to limit physical activity for some time until the body is fully restored. The patient needs to drink plenty of fluids to reduce the manifestations of intoxication. Food should be semi-liquid, soft in texture, not irritating additionally inflamed mucosa. It is best for a patient with angina to follow a dairy-vegetable fortified diet.

As a first aid for a sharp sore throat, rinsing with a soda solution, decoctions of calendula or chamomile (they are also used for inhalation), furatsilin can be used. Treatment of the tonsils with Lugol’s solution will be effective. And, of course, it is imperative to use antipyretic drugs based mainly on paracetamol or ibuprofen if the disease is accompanied by high fever.

Drug therapy is prescribed by doctors and usually includes antibiotics. With streptococcal pathogens, antibiotics of the penicillin series are effective, among which are those that best affect the viability of bacteria. It is for the appointment of an effective antibiotic that a bacteriological examination of a throat swab is carried out. In the presence of an allergy to antibiotics of the penicillin group, patients are prescribed macrolides, for example, Azithromycin.

In parallel with antibiotic therapy, antihistamines, vitamins of groups B and C, and means for maintaining and restoring microflora in the gastrointestinal tract are also prescribed.

For local anesthesia in the throat, small children are prescribed special anesthetic candies with mint and menthol oils, which help reduce sensitivity in this area, and adults are prescribed sprays with analgesic and antimicrobial effects. In any case, the appointment of treatment for angina should be handled by a doctor, many drugs have a number of contraindications in childhood, with parallel treatment with other drugs, during pregnancy. This is the only way it becomes possible to quickly and without complications cure a sore throat at home.

If drug treatment does not help, tonsillitis recurs too often, decompensating tonsillitis develops, doctors resort to surgical removal of the tonsils. In frequent cases of angina, the lymphoid tissue ceases to perform its protective functions, through the affected areas of the tonsils, the infection enters the bloodstream, which contributes to its spread throughout the body. For this reason, it is sometimes decided to remove the changed tonsils.

Surgical removal is performed if the patient suffers from tonsillitis more than 3 times a year, and chronic tonsillitis begins to affect other surrounding tissues in addition to the tonsils. Contraindications to the removal of the tonsils are diabetes mellitus, severe diseases of the cardiovascular system, kidneys, vascular anomalies of the pharynx, mental illness, blood cancer and hemophilic infection.

Complications of angina

The most dangerous in the case of angina is the risk of possible complications, which are very serious in this disease. A continuation of tonsillitis can be a paratonsillar abscess, characterized by the fact that after recovery, the patient suddenly starts to have a sore throat again and this pain is constantly progressing. After two days, a person can no longer swallow at all, the temperature rises, salivation increases. The condition may be accompanied by the development of severe edema, then the food consumed begins to enter the nasopharynx instead of the esophagus. The person begins to choke. Only urgent surgical intervention can help with this complication.

Local complications may also occur in the form of acute purulent lymphadenitis (inflammation of the lymph nodes), otitis media, laryngeal edema, and systemic complications may develop in the form of rheumatism, myocarditis, glomerulonephritis.

Swelling of the larynx can be fatal. With swelling of this organ, the respiratory process becomes difficult and oxygen deficiency develops in the body. With the spread of pathogenic bacteria from the tonsils to the lymph nodes, purulent lymphadenitis develops. Lymph nodes become inflamed, enlarged, become sore, and the surrounding tissues tense up. With a bilateral process, a change in the shape of the neck occurs, due to an increase in lymph nodes. In addition to the lymph nodes, compression of the blood vessels occurs, which interferes with blood circulation and leads to venous stasis.

A common complication of tonsillitis is otitis media – inflammation of the middle ear cavity. Otitis occurs due to the close anatomical location of the ear cavity and oropharynx. Through the Eustachian tube connecting the throat and ear, microorganisms easily penetrate into the middle ear and cause bacterial otitis media.

Otitis is manifested first by a gradual decrease in hearing, and then pain syndrome joins the hearing loss.

When rheumatism develops, connective tissue is affected in the body due to exposure to beta-hemolytic streptococcus. The immune system produces antibodies to this microorganism, such antibodies begin to bind to antigens and settle in the tissues of the kidneys, heart, and joints. Such interconnected elements provoke inflammation in the places of settling, which leads to rheumatic damage to the heart, joints and kidneys.

Inflammation of the heart muscle – myocarditis can begin in the process of transferring angina or after it ends. With angina, pathogenic microorganisms can simultaneously affect the heart muscle, especially for tonsillitis of a viral nature. The danger is that viral sore throats are more characteristic of children, therefore, viral myocarditis is more common in children. At the same time, the muscle tissue of the heart becomes weakened and cannot cope with its functions. Symptoms of emerging myocarditis are frequent heartbeats, shortness of breath and weakness, heart rhythm disturbance.

With the autoimmune nature of myocarditis, the disease begins to develop a few weeks after the transfer of angina. The development of the disease is similar to rheumatism, immune complexes are layered on the muscle fibers of the heart and do not allow them to function normally.

Bilateral kidney damage – glomerulonephritis, develops as a result of an autoimmune process with streptococcal angina. The mechanism is similar to rheumatism. When autoimmune complexes accumulate in the kidneys, inflammation sets in and eventually leads to kidney failure.

This pathology is practically not treated, therefore it is considered one of the most dangerous. Symptoms of glomerulonephritis are an increase in blood pressure, the occurrence of edema of the lower extremities, a change in the composition of urine.

Preventive measures and diet

In order to avoid recurrences of angina and the occurrence of its complications, doctors recommend following some rules, leading to the fact that a person will get sick with tonsillitis as rarely as possible.

To prevent the occurrence of angina, hypothermia should be avoided. The blood supply to the mucous membranes during hypothermia decreases, the vessels narrow, which can also provoke the onset of angina. It is important to remember that when the body is overheated, it is especially dangerous to drink cold drinks and eat ice cream, since hypothermia occurs very quickly. You can not supercool on the street in winter, swim in cold water, stay in a room with a low temperature for a long time.

For the gradual adaptation of the body to temperature changes, it is necessary to harden. This can be achieved with contrast showers, gradually lowering the temperature of the water, physical activity, gymnastics in the morning. It is impossible to start carious processes in the mouth on the teeth, since they can lead not only to tonsillitis, but also to inflammatory processes in the organs of the gastrointestinal tract. If a deviated nasal septum is detected, the patient should be regularly observed by an otolaryngologist, since difficulty in nasal breathing often provokes the onset of tonsillitis. The same can happen in those who often suffer from rhinitis.

To avoid problems with immunity, a person should eat a balanced and nutritious diet, eating more fruits and vegetables. Also, food should not irritate the oral mucosa – cereals and soups are great for this. After suffering a sore throat, it is better to limit the consumption of spicy and salty foods. With a sore throat, it becomes impossible to eat solid food, it provokes pain and inflammation of the mucosa, which aggravates the course of the pathology. Therefore, the patient’s diet should consist of finely chopped foods, better chopped with a blender, the same soups, cereals and mashed potatoes. You can not eat sweet, sour, salty and spicy, so as not to irritate the mucous membrane. With angina, it is better to eat less, but drink heavily. Decoctions, teas, compotes, juices and other drinks (non-carbonated) are excellent for replenishing fluid reserves.

If someone in the family has a sore throat, it is important to isolate the sick person, and for everyone else to follow preventive measures, use separate utensils, be sure to ventilate all rooms, wear a protective mask.

Recommendations and contraindications for patients

The most important thing in home treatment of angina is bed rest, which must be observed, since the body needs complete rest to fight pathogens. At the same time, it is important to regularly ventilate the room in which the patient is located, do wet cleaning and give the sick person plenty of water. Food should not be solid, not large, puree. The rest – according to the doctor’s recommendation.

It is categorically impossible to use warm compresses in the throat area for sore throats. Heat will help bacteria multiply even faster, and increased blood flow will spread the infection to other parts of the body. All of the above also applies to visiting saunas, baths, hot baths, which can lead to exactly the same serious consequences. A patient with angina is recommended only a warm shower until the body temperature drops to normal levels on its own.

Also, you can not ignore the antibiotics prescribed by the doctor. Angina is a complex and very dangerous disease, folk methods here can only alleviate the symptoms (and even then not always), and to defeat the pathogens, it is necessary to use antibacterial drugs.

You should stop smoking until the sore throat goes away. Smoking often takes place outdoors, which can be too cold for a sore throat patient. In addition, the effectiveness of treatment with tobacco smoking is greatly reduced, which means that the duration of therapy will increase.

The main danger in angina is not the disease itself, but its consequences and complications. In order not to provoke them, it is better to follow all the recommendations of specialists, seek medical help in a timely manner if new symptoms are detected or the condition worsens.

Ice cream for sore throats

The text is for informational purposes only. We urge you not to use diets, do not resort to any medical menus and fasting without medical supervision. Recommended reading: “Why you can not go on a diet on your own.” Patients often ask doctors if it is possible to eat ice cream with angina. Many experts agree that this product can help alleviate the symptoms of the disease, but it will not be the main tool in the treatment.

Ice cream can be effective for tonsillitis due to its cold and greasy texture. The cold narrows the blood vessels in the throat, the blood flow there decreases, the nutrition of the cells is weakened and, as a result, the inflammation in these places recedes. Also, the cold contributes to the narrowing of the swollen tonsils in the throat. All this leads to faster recovery.

The oily texture of ice cream dissolves pus, toxins and bacteria, cleansing the tonsils. This reduces pain and promotes a speedy recovery. Children will enjoy using this medicine, unlike many other drugs, which will reduce the likelihood that the child will simply spit out the medicine before it has time to work. However, a patient with a sore throat can eat no more than 150 grams of melted ice cream per day. It is better to choose creamy or chocolate versions, which are more fatty and do not contain pieces of fruit or other solid particles.

However, ice cream consumption can carry risks. The symptomatology of angina is often felt with scarlet fever or diphtheria, and in these cases, ice cream is absolutely impossible to eat. You should postpone the “therapy” with ice cream until the exact diagnosis of the disease and the recommendations of the doctor. After eating ice cream with angina, it is important to rinse the mouth from sugar residues, which can provoke the development of infection and its aggravation. Official medical sources do not allow the use of ice cream for the treatment of angina, therefore, its use in any situation with angina must be approved by the attending physician.

Breastfeeding when sick

Since sore throats are not pure viral infections or colds, their treatment requires the use of special agents – antibacterial drugs that prevent complications. Local preparations in this case are ineffective.

However, taking antibiotics in the treatment of angina is not a reason to interrupt breastfeeding. In modern pharmacology, there are many drugs that effectively fight the bacteria that cause the disease, and at the same time do not negatively affect the development of the baby. Doctors know that under these circumstances, tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones and Levomycetin cannot be prescribed to the patient to combat angina, since these groups of antibiotics affect the processes of hematopoiesis and the development of bone tissue in a child.

Among the most well-known and safe groups of antibiotics that are approved for use during breastfeeding and are effective in combating angina are penicillins, first and second generation cephalosporins, and macrolides. To date, these groups are represented by a huge selection of specific drugs, each of which has its own advantages and can be recommended to a nursing mother with a sore throat. In parallel with taking antibiotics, it is important to use drugs to support the normal microflora in the intestines of the mother and child – all kinds of bifidus and lactobacilli that will not bring any harm to the body.

Angina is a complex and rather serious disease, the treatment of which is better not to start, coordinating all procedures and medications with the attending physician in a timely manner to prevent complications and reduce the duration and severity of the course of this disease.

Sources of