Had a cold,cough and sore throat about 3 weeks ago. Cough and cold went after about a week but I've still got the sore throat. It's not too bad in the morning but gets painful in the evenings. Only thing that helps is ibuprofen. It's one of those ones where your throat feels swollen, as does the very back of my tongue (beyond where I can see in the mirror) . Spoke to the Dr on the phone as I couldn't get an apptmnt who suggested I get an otc throat-numbing spray rather than keep popping tabs and try it for a couple of days. Is this just a virus or something that's lingering? Really getting on my nerves now - when it's painful it hurts to swallow and move my tongue.