Winter is a time when the number of illnesses is on the rise and among those rising numbers is something called pharyngitis. Pharyngitis is a condition that causes pain and irritation or patients, so learning what you can do to treat it is important. Before you can manage pharyngitis pain, you’ve got to know a little more about what causes it! 

What is Pharyngitis? 

Pharyngitis is a fancy way of saying sore throat, but the cause can be from a variety of different things. Both viral and bacterial infections can lead to a sore throat. Things like the common cold, flu, and even strep throat all lead to pharyngitis. Pharyngitis can also be caused by irritation from dry air or breathing in allergens. As your throat becomes irritated, it becomes sore and swallowing can become difficult or painful. 

Home Remedies

When you begin to show signs of pharyngitis, it’s best to start home remedies right away. Common home remedies for pharyngitis include: 

• Using a humidifier to moisten the air, dry air will cause more irritation
• Drinking hot tea or warm water with lemon and honey
• Cough drops, throat spray, and other over the counter medications for sore throat
• Gargle with warm saltwater
• Rest
• Drink plenty of water

These home remedies should help make your symptoms more manageable, but they won’t be able to cure the root of your pharyngitis if it’s been caused by a bacterial or viral infection. When you’re suffering from pharyngitis, you should avoid close contact with other people in case your infection is contagious. 

How Urgent Care Can Help

If you’ve tried home remedies with no success, you shouldn’t continue to leave your pharyngitis unchecked. Urgent care centers are a great tool to receive quick and affordable care in a convenient location. With no appointment necessary, you can stop into a local urgent care and let them evaluate your pharyngitis.

In some cases, you’ll be prescribed antibiotics to help clear an infection. If your pharyngitis doesn’t require an antibiotic, your urgent care staff should still be able to help make your symptoms more tolerable until the condition clears on its own. 

Look online to find the nearest urgent care center today and give them a call or stop in today! It’s important to know where to go when you need treatment so that you can get back to your normal routine as quickly as possible.