Illness symptoms can happen suddenly. In order to ensure a rapid recovery, you should always seek medical attention for early illness symptoms. Catching and treating an illness early, before your symptoms become severe, will help ensure a speedy recovery. It can be difficult to identify exactly why you are experiencing many common illness symptoms. Sore throats are very common, but can indicate the presence of many different illnesses. If you’re experiencing a sore throat and wondering what could be causing it, visit AFC Urgent Care Braintree for same-day sore throat diagnosis and treatment. Available for patients in Braintree, MA, and the surrounding communities.
What Causes a Sore Throat
Feeling sick can put a damper on your day. Having a sore throat is a surprisingly common symptom of many different illnesses. Identifying what could be causing your sore throat is the first step to treating it successfully. A key factor to determining what could be causing you to have a sore throat is evaluating whether you’re suffering from any other illness symptoms. A sore throat often occurs as the result of an infection that causes inflammation and irritation to the airway. These infections can be either bacterial or viral. Certain symptoms may help you understand what is causing your illness so that you can get medical care or treat it more effectively at home.
Common Causes of a Sore Throat Include:
- Strep throat
- Cold
- Flu
- Mono
- COVID-19
Do Sore Throats Cause Bad Breath
When you have a sore throat, your airway becomes inflamed and irritated. In some cases, this can inhibit your ability to swallow or even breath normally. This is because sore throats can cause your tonsils to swell up. Your tonsils are located on either side of the back of your throat. When your tonsils swell up, contact with food or water can be painful. Because of this irritation, your throat can become raw which can lead to a bad odor. This is especially true if your sore throat is being caused by a bacterial infection, because bacteria can create bad smelling gasses. Strep throat is the most common bacterial infection that can cause a sore throat and other symptoms like bad breath.
Common Symptoms of Strep Throat:
- Sore throat
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Pain when swallowing
- Red dots on the roof of your mouth
- Swollen tonsils
- White patches on your tonsils
- Bad breath
How to Treat a Sore Throat Quickly
If you’re experiencing a sore throat that is inhibiting your ability to eat or drink normally, you should seek urgent medical care. Your medical provider will be able to test you for common illnesses that cause a sore throat, including strep throat. Diagnosing your illness is the best way to ensure a rapid recovery from your symptoms.
If your sore throat is mild, it may be caused by a less severe infection such as a viral infection. Viral infections can be serious, but in many cases they simply lead to cold-like symptoms. If your sore throat is mild, you can try these at-home sore throat remedies to help alleviate your symptoms:
- Gargle warm salt water
- Drink warm liquids
- Stay hydrated
- Use OTC throat sprays
- Avoid crunchy foods
- Use a humidifier in your bedroom
Visit AFC Urgent Care Braintree for Walk-In Sore Throat Treatment Today
If you’re experiencing a sore throat, AFC Urgent Care Braintree can help. Our clinic offers patients who are experiencing a sore throat with fast and convenient care. We maintain short wait times, allowing you to get access to the care that you need when you need it. Our medical providers are board-certified and able to provide fast and accurate illness care for the whole family. Simply walk into the clinic, or schedule an appointment online using the button below.
At AFC Urgent Care Braintree, we understand that it can be difficult to get an appointment with your primary care provider. When illnesses occur unexpectedly, you can count on AFC Urgent Care Braintree for same-day sore throat diagnosis and treatment services. Our facility is equipped with a lab on-site which allows us to provide rapid diagnostic testing at the time of your visit. We accept most medical insurance plans and offer affordable care. Visit the clinic today.
