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Healthy Diet Plans >>  Diet Profile >>  Facts About Sore Throat

Sore Throat Infection And Sore Throat Remedies

We’ve all had to deal with a sore throat at some point of time in our lives. They’re especially common in children, but adults too are susceptible. Most sore throats are caused by a variety of different viruses, such as the cold virus. They can also be caused by other factors, like breathing in dry air or injuries to the throat. While not very serious, a sore throat can make eating, drinking, and sometimes even speaking difficult.

All in all, a sore throat is a great was to suck the fun out of life.

Sore throats are usually caused by an infection to the pharynx, tonsils, or other areas around the throat. They sometimes begin with the onset of a cold, or when a runny nose drains into the throat. There are a variety of different viruses or bacteria that may cause a sore throat ranging from the common Streptococcus and cold virus to the Herpes Simplex and Epstein-barr microbes. Fortunately, sore throats don’t last very long, and usually, run their own course.

Symptoms And Treatment For Sore Throat

Symptoms include a pain in the throat, which may even spread to the ears. The throat may appear raw and reddish and the tonsils may be swollen. Symptoms vary according to the virus that cause the soreness, and may include a fever, swollen lymph nodes, blisters in the throat, or foul smelling breath.    

Your doctor will diagnose the kind of sore throat by your symptoms or by taking a swab from your throat. After this, he may prescribe different medications. Many over the counter drugs are also available to ease the discomfort caused by an infection.

Diet: Very often, a sore throat means that there is something lacking in your immune system. This means that you need to eat fresh cooked, nourishing foods that will give you the strength to fight the infection. Unfortunately, in a sore throat, your diet is often decided by what you can eat, rather than what you should.

A simple rule of thumb is that you should avoid consuming anything that irritates your throat. This includes sweet foods like chocolates, candy, and pop-tarts, which will irritate your throat when going down. Sour or acidic foods will also irritate your throat, and should be left out. This means that sour lime juices, cranberry juice, and pickles are a no-no.

Sometimes, spicy foods may benefit you since they contain capsaicin (which makes peppers spicy) which has many healing properties. However, you should listen to your body, and if your throat is irritated by spicy foods, stay away.
Similarly, hard, crunchy foods will scratch your throat while going down, and should be avoided.

Instead, you need to consume a lot of soft foods like healthy vegetable or chicken soups. Eat many servings of soft fruits and include a lot of green, leafy vegetables in your diet. Bananas do wonders and are very easy to swallow. If you’re not lactose intolerant, you can consume lots of milk products like hot chocolate, cheese, and yogurt. Fruit juices will also do you well.

Remember that a sore throat is not caused by temperature, so an ice cream will not make it worse. In fact, ice cream can be a healthy meal that’s very easy to swallow.

Submitted on January 16, 2014