Sore throat hell - help please!

[NauseousNancy]

As title says - I am demented with a sore throat. I have tried so many things - strepsils, tyrozets, spray from doctors, paracetamol, ibruprofen, tea, cold drinks, ice cream, honey...still so raw and painful I can’t sleep.

Any more tips??

I'm a lifelong tonsillitis sufferer too. With pharyngitis my throat felt absolutely raw. The real definition of a sore throat. When I get tonsillitis its like there is a painful lump in my throat and its so painful I can't even swallow my own saliva but it doesn't feel raw.

Oh and ice chips to lubricate and cool. Good if it’s too painful to swallow anything at all

A couple of years ago, I discovered lemonade ice lollies really help when I have a sore throat - I now keep a stock of them all winter just in case!

Still feeling rotten. Going to head to the pharmacy this morning for a chat with them, see if any around here can do a throat check. DH says maybe my snoring and runny nose isn’t helping - he said he could hear all the snot pooling in my throat. Yuck!!

You need a dr. I cannot stress this enough.

@Northernsoullover Why haven't you had your tonsils taken out?

No improvement over the weekend, have been taking co-codamol over the weekend which has given some relief, and gargling asprin. Thanks for those tips - they have kept me relatively sane!

I now have spots on my tonsils. Seeing the nurse again this afternoon - same one as before so I’m sure I’ll get shirt shrift and told it’s viral again.

Dequacaine lozenges are fantastic. I think you have to get them from the pharmacist though.

@Fluffycloudland77 You need a dr. I cannot stress this enough.

Advanced nurse practitioners & doctors follow the same guidelines regarding sore throat & when to prescribe antibiotics for bacterial infection, or not. All patients are safety netted, i.e. given information about when to return for review, or red flags with which to attend ED, e.g. signs & symptoms of quinsy, sepsis, &/or difficulty breathing due to swelling & potential partial airway obstruction.

OP, you will be assessed & examined again, it may be that you do now need antibiotics to treat a bacterial throat infection (or not).

Healthcare has changed, advanced nurse practitioners (ANP) & advanced clinical practitioners (ACP) routinely see patients with minor illnesses, & acute same day presentations in GP practices, minor injury units, walk-in centres, out of hours appointments, urgent treatment & care centres, & in emergency departments. These clinicians are educated to masters level.

Get well soon OP

Chloraseptic Spray. It's a local anaesthetic for mouths and throats. Keep some in your cupboard.

@Rosebud21 I have no issues at all seeing a nurse practitioner. However, I was certainly not given any information about the things you mention. Just a, it’s viral, have a throat spray, it’ll be better soon. Maybe if I had been told what was to come, that what I’m experiencing is normal etc I may feel more able to ride it out a bit longer. I’m certainly not an antibiotic hunter, i actively would rather not have them. I’ll be happy if she still believes it viral if she can give me something for pain management.

I feel like a total wuss, but the pain is something else! I had an induced labour via drip with gas & air - I’m much tougher than this is making me feel!

Thanks for the flowers

Try Peroxyl - it’s vile but works brilliantly for sore throats / tonsillitis. It fizzes the white gunge away and really helps the pain. But you do have to get past how disgusting it is.

I agree @NauseousNancy, being given expected duration, worsening signs & symptoms & what to do about these can make illness feel more manageable. My response was addressed to another poster commenting that you needed to see a doctor.

Would the doctor give you a prescription for codeine linctus? They don’t hand it out very readily because of its potential for abuse but it’s the best thing for coughs and sore throats.

I’ll take anything right now, dapplegrey

The packet of co-codamol says only to take for 3 days before consulting gp. If it’s viral hopefully they may even give me the go ahead to take for longer and I can buy more. I’ve been trying to manage them in the day so I can have some left to take during the night, it’s the only way I can get some more sleep.

I think nurses are more likely to err on the side of caution. Sorry Rosebud21 but I think drs are better qualified.

I work with a very good ANP but I won’t let the one at our surgery see my dh. I can spot someone winging it.

I do hope it’s resolved one way or the other today because untreated bacterial tonsillitis can cause rheumatic fever.

@Fluffycloudland77 yes, of course a doctor's education differs from that of an ANP & ACP, however, all use the same criteria to differentiate between bacterial & viral sore throat in the absence of throat swabs. All clinicians are guided by Public Health England guidance on antibiotic use in primary (& secondary) care, this guidance is based on the best evidence base available. Some use delayed scripts, if indicated. 'Just in case' prescribing is no longer recommended as routine practice given concerns regarding the increase in antimicrobial resistance.

Thanks everyone for the advice. Just home, have antibiotics for a bacterial infection. Praying they work quickly!

Thank god for that. Next time insist on the gp if you can see white spots. Doubt they said sorry for leaving you for so long.

It’s not prescribing just incase that I’m advocating Rosebud it’s having the clinical experience to know what your looking at. Ops had tonsillitis since Wednesday with just painkillers which haven’t controlled the pain. I don’t agree with treating patients like this.

If its bacterial, the antibiotics should knock it down substantially in 24 hours. If it is the same or worse, go back as you may need different antibiotics.

In the mean time drink really hot drinks constantly and swill the hot liquid to the back of your throat. The hot liquid will stop the bacteria replicating and hopefully will actually kill them. Tea, hot choc, water with lemon and honey anything really, its the temperature and sipping it constantly so the area is bathing in hot liquid that helps.

Just dont go overboard and burn you mouth! That is no help at all!

She said it moved ‘from viral to bacterial’. No idea if that’s possible, but to be honest right now I’m just so grateful I might have something to help.

I’m annoyed with myself because I knew I could see spots on Thursday morning before I went, but I just thought it was maybe phlegm or something. Should have been firmer - I knew the pain wasn’t ‘normal’.

Ah well, hopefully be feeling much better by this time tomorrow :) I can self cert until Wednesday but she said she will sign me off then if I call and need it.

That is possible. It’s a good way of getting out of it if nothing else. NHS direct says to see a gp if you can see white spots, you’ll know for next time.

You can request liquid antibiotics if needed too. Too late now but something to remember.

That is possible.

I've had lots of viral throat infections. That's usually when it has a white coating but can't be wiped/swallowed away.
But when I've had tonsillitis it's white and the pus moves it's gross.

Viral can lead to bacterial sometimes.

Hope you feel better soon.

it’s having the clinical experience to know what your looking at

Absolutely @Fluffycloudland77, OP may have seen an inexperienced ANP, or, it's just as likely she initially presented with a sore throat that met the criteria for treatment as a viral infection, at that time. Over time, signs & symptoms suggesting bacterial infection have evolved. For example, throat pain, without fever, & with symptoms of a common cold, e.g. cough, & even sometimes white tonsil spots, is typically treated as a self-limiting viral infection. It's about using the criteria, & guidelines available, if antibiotics are indicated they will of course be prescribed.

It's also possible for any patient to see an inexperienced doctor and a experienced ACP. Hence, diagnostic criteria and PHE guidelines are used to standardise safe care/treatment where possible.

OP, I hope you feel more comfortable soon

*an experienced ACP