HEALTH NOTES

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 101, 20 July 1927, Page 4

HEALTH NOTES

SORE THROAT VALUE OF EARLY TREATMENT Sore throat is not a disease in itself but is a symptom of an infectious process which may be mild or severe, and only a physician is competent to determine the nature of the condition. Sore throat is simply a convenient term under which the ordinary person groups any inflammatory condition of the tonsils or the throat. The inflamed area may be localised to one particular spot or it may be more general; it may involve only that part of the throat visible through the mouth, or it may extend up and involve that part of the throat or pharynx which lies behind the nose, or it may go downward and involve the larynx or the organ of speech which is inside a cartilaginous box known commonly as “Adam’s Apple.” The symptoms of sore throat are so well-known that it is unnecessary to mention them. The causes, however, should be more generally known. In the first place, sore throat is not a particular disease in itself; it is a symptom of an infectious disease. This infection may be relatively mild or it may be of a serious nature, such as diphtheria. Again one type of sore throat may be merely a local infection while another type may be a part of a generalised disease. Quinsy is an example of the former. It is a local abscess behind the tonsils and while it is a most distressing ailment for the one who has it, the general symptoms accompanying it rapidly clear up when the abscess is opened and the pus is allowed to drain out. On the other hand sore throat is almost invariably an accompaniment of scarlet fever, and although the local symptom may not be particularly troublesome it is no indication of the severity of the disease itself.

The first manifestation of many other diseases may be sore throat; in fact, with some, except for fever, it may be the only symptom of which the patient complains. Some of the diseases ushered in by sore throat are diphtheria, influenza, scarlet fever and streptococcus sore throat, which is due to the same germ that causes blood poisoning, and is liable to lead to severe complications of even to a fatal outcome.

In the beginning nearly all sore throats look much alike to the nonprofessional eye. Only a physician is competent to tell the nature of the trouble, and those suffering from sore throat should consult a doctor immediately and follow his advice. Prompt medical treatment will mitigate the course of disease, and may, in severe illness, decide the issue between recovery and a fatal ending.