Antibiotic Prescribing Posted or Updated on 19 Dec 2023

What is a sore throat? 

A sore throat (pharyngitis) is very common. It is usually caused by a viral infection in the throat. Only 10% of sore throats in adults are due to a streptococcus bcteria infection and this increases to 20 to 40% in children.

Most sore throats are better by 7 to 8 days.

Symptoms

Soreness in the throat may be the only symptom. In addition, you may also have:

• A hoarse voice
• A mild cough
• A high temperature (fever)
• A feeling of wanting to be sick (nausea)
• Tiredness
• Swollen glands in your neck
• Pain when you swallow

How to look after yourself?

• Have plenty of rest
• Drink enough fluids to avoid feeling thirsty
• Ask your Community Pharmacist to recommend medicines to help your symptoms
• Fever is a sign the body is fighting infection & usually gets better by itself. You can take Paracetamol to control the fever.

Antibiotics for a sore throat?

Sore throats often get better without antibiotics as your body can usually fight these infections on its own. Taking any antibiotics makes bacteria that live inside your body more resistant. This means that antibiotics may not work when you realy need them. Antibiotics can cause side effects such as rashes, thrush, stomach pains, diarrhoea, feeling sick. You can find out more about how you can make better use of antibiotics and help keep this vital treatment effective by visiting the NHS antibiotics webpages.

When to seek medical help

You should seek medical help if symptoms of a sore throat are severe, unusual or do not ease within one week. In addition you should seek urgent medical attention if you develop:

• Difficulty in breathing
• Difficulty swallowing saliva
• difficulty opening your mouth
• Severe pain
• A persistent high temperature (fever)
• A severe illness, especially when symptoms are mainly on one side of the throat.