What are the symptoms of acute pharyngitis

Acute pharyngitis affects and troubles many people, so we should also pay attention to some of its symptoms. Common ones include coughing and sputum, congestion and swelling of the pharynx and mucosa, or accompanied by hoarseness and difficulty breathing.

1. This disease is easily transmitted through droplets, and food or direct contact can cause infection. The disease is more common in autumn and winter. The onset is generally acute, and the patient may feel dryness, burning, roughness, and slight pain in the throat. The symptoms of sore throat gradually worsen, and then pain when swallowing occurs. Throat pain can radiate to the ears and neck on both sides. If the inflammation affects the throat, symptoms such as coughing and hoarseness may occur. Changes in the resonance cavity may occur after severe swelling of the soft palate and uvula. In addition, patients may experience general discomfort, headache, loss of appetite, dry mouth, thirst, chills, and sore limbs. It may be accompanied by a rise in body temperature, generally around 38°C, and may even reach 40°C.

2. During physical examination, the pharyngeal mucosa can be seen to be congested and swollen, dark red in color, and the secretions are significantly increased. The lateral wall of the oropharynx and the pharyngeal palatine arch mucosa are swollen. The lymph follicles on the posterior pharyngeal wall are swollen and congested. The soft palate and tonsils are also congested. Sometimes the uvula may be swollen and drooping, and the soft palate may be swollen. In patients with more severe infection, redness and swelling of the lateral pharyngeal lymph nodes may occur. At the same time, patients may experience acute inflammatory changes in the nasal mucosa. When neck pain occurs, swollen lymph nodes can be felt and are tender.

3. If there is a mixed infection of multiple bacteria such as Streptococcus, Fusobacterium, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, anaerobic bacteria, etc., or if the patient himself suffers from systemic underlying diseases such as agranulocytosis, leukemia, diabetes, scurvy, etc., necrotic inflammation of the throat mucosa may occur. The lesions often start in the palatine tonsils and adjacent tissues, and then spread to the oral cavity, soft palate, nasopharynx, oropharynx, laryngopharynx, or parapharyngeal space. Initially, pathological changes are limited to the mucosa and submucosa, and then penetrate into the muscularis. The necrotic tissue is dark black or brown and covered with a pseudomembrane. The cervical lymph nodes are often involved. In severe cases, it may cause perforation of the soft palate. If it invades the larynx, hoarseness and difficulty breathing may occur. If the large blood vessels on the pharyngeal side are invaded, massive bleeding may occur. Bacteria can spread through the neck space and cause cervical cellulitis or parapharyngeal space abscess, followed by systemic sepsis. If the infection is not controlled, it can further worsen and form a mediastinal infection. A small number of patients may develop symptoms of myocarditis.

4. In addition, some acute pharyngitis presents with edema or is secondary to laryngeal angioedema; it may also occur alone, but is less common and tends to develop to the larynx, causing suffocation. Patients often have a history of consuming eggs, milk, peanuts or fruits before the onset of the disease. The lesions of acute edematous pharyngitis mainly affect the soft palate, tonsil area and the entrance of the throat. The pharyngeal mucosal edema occurs quickly and is grayish white, translucent and swollen with no signs of inflammation. In the early stage of the disease, the patient feels a foreign body in the throat, and then quickly develops difficulty swallowing and breathing. In severe cases, the entrance to the throat is blocked and suffocation occurs.