Treatment of purulent sore throat at home

08/25/2021

56 783

17 minutes

Co-author, editor and medical expert – Maksimov Alexander Alekseevich.

Symptoms of tonsillitis

Treatment of tonsillitis

Symptomatic treatment

Surgery

Cryotherapy

Treatment at home

Rinsing

Washing

Sprays

Many people are familiar with the diagnosis of tonsillitis. This unpleasant disease can take you by surprise and prevent you from leading a normal life. Tonsillitis is a pressing problem today, as it can occur at any age and with various diseases, such as herpes, diphtheria, streptococcal infections, scarlet fever and others. Often tonsillitis (or simply tonsillitis) acts as an independent disease. To understand the diagnosis and begin proper treatment, you need to consult a doctor. Remember that self-medication can lead to complications. What is tonsillitis? And how to cope with this disease? We will consider the answers to these questions below.

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Quick methods for treating purulent sore throat

It is recommended to first consult a doctor so that the diagnosis is confirmed and, if necessary, medications are prescribed. Sore throat, accompanied by the discharge of pus, is a serious disease affecting the respiratory and cardiovascular systems of the body.

Traditional recipes are effective in most cases, but it is better to use them in addition to the therapy prescribed by a doctor. There is no specific treatment regimen that suits everyone.

To speed up recovery as much as possible when using any therapy methods, the following general rules must be followed:

maintain bed rest;
drink plenty of fluids, the liquid consumed should be warm, but in no case hot, so as not to irritate the inflamed mucous membrane of the throat;
To keep your throat warm, just wear a scarf;
avoid drafts and strong winds;
maintain a sufficient level of humidity in the room.

It is also important to monitor the food you eat; all foods that can injure the inflamed mucous membrane must be excluded. This applies to spicy, salty, especially dishes richly seasoned with spices.

Usually, if you start applying these recommendations, supplementing them with folk remedies, the symptoms of sore throat will begin to subside within a few days. If this does not happen, you need to go to specialists.

Forms of tonsillitis

Tonsillitis (or sore throat) is an inflammation of the tonsils, often accompanies colds.

Types of sore throats

Sore throats are acute:

Banal (vulgar or typical) tonsillitis: there are catarrhal, follicular, lacunar, mixed.
Atypical tonsillitis: herpetic, Simanovsky-Plaut-Vincent's tonsillitis, phlegmonous, fungal and mixed forms. Usually they are severe, as they appear against the background of decreased immunity.
Sore throats associated with infectious diseases (scarlet fever, diphtheria, sore throat due to HIV infection and others).
Angina in blood diseases: monocytic, agranulocytic, tonsillitis in leukemia.

Tonsillitis can also be chronic (compensated and decompensated)1.

Interesting fact!

Our defense against infections is located in the pharynx - an anatomical structure consisting of lymphoid tissue. The lymphoid elements in the pharynx are located around the pharynx in the form of a ring, so it was called the “lymphadenoid pharyngeal ring” by Waldeyer-Pirogov. It is formed by two palatine tonsils (those that are sometimes called “tonsils”), one pharyngeal or nasopharyngeal (located on the back wall of the pharynx), one lingual (a collection of lymphoid follicles at the root of the tongue) and two tubal (located in the thickness of the mucous membrane of the nasopharynx near the openings eustachian tubes). Tubal tonsils are most pronounced in children under 5-7 years of age, and later undergo reverse development. In adults, due to their small size, they are almost invisible.

The pharyngeal ring is an additional barrier for bacteria between the external and internal environment of the body. These structures also produce antibodies and lymphocytes - immune response cells.

Acute tonsillitis

This is an acute inflammatory disease of the palatine tonsils. Their mucous membrane becomes swollen, hyperemic, and purulent deposits may appear in the crypts of the tonsils. But depending on the factors that caused the disease and the patient’s condition, the process is not limited to damage to the tonsils alone. A severe infection can take over the entire body. The most dangerous complications are rheumatic heart defects, joint damage, kidney damage (glomerulonephritis). Therefore, self-medication can be dangerous. For correct diagnosis and effective treatment, you need to consult a specialist.

Purulent tonsillitis is one of the forms of tonsillitis and can be a complication of acute or chronic tonsillitis. It is characterized by the presence of purulent discharge in the crypts of the palatine tonsils. Most often accompanies a bacterial infection. Improper treatment can lead to chronicity of the process.

Chronic tonsillitis is a persistent chronic inflammation of the tonsils, characterized by recurrent exacerbations in the form of tonsillitis, a sluggish course, and a decrease in the body's resistance to infection. Slight hypothermia or draft causes exacerbation of tonsillitis. Many factors play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory process in the tonsils. Most often the disease occurs after repeated sore throats. Chronic tonsillitis is of two types: compensated and decompensated. This is important for further treatment tactics.

With compensated chronic tonsillitis, examination reveals some looseness of the tonsils, hyperemia, swelling, purulent plugs or plaque in the crypts of the tonsils, but this process is limited to the tonsils and does not spread beyond its boundaries. This precarious balance between local immunity and the body’s resistance on the one hand, and the presence of pathogenic organisms in the inflamed tonsils on the other, can shift towards decompensation if the course of the disease is unfavorable. With decompensated chronic damage to the lymphoid apparatus of the pharynx, local signs of chronic tonsillitis are usually clearly expressed. With this form, exacerbations often occur in the form of sore throats, peritonsillitis, peritonsillar abscesses, regional lymphadenitis, and in clinically advanced cases, disturbances in the functioning of other organs and systems (kidney pathology, formation of cardiac flow, articular syndrome, damage to the nervous system).

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Compresses for sore throat

Compresses are made to warm the chest and neck area, thereby affecting the focus of the inflammatory process. After their use, blood circulation increases and painful symptoms go away. Usually, a sore throat when swallowing goes away after several procedures.

Important! An important rule for using any compresses as a warming procedure is the absence of elevated temperature. With an indicator of 37, they will have to be abandoned.

For the procedure to bring results, you must adhere to some rules:

do it regularly - 1-2 times a day;
During the procedure, the whole body should be warm, especially the legs;
It is necessary to keep the compress until it cools, usually this takes 2-3 hours;
it is advisable to do it before bed, then sleep without getting out of bed;
When applying a compress, the area of the thyroid gland is excluded.

First, a rag is moistened in the prepared solution, then it is placed on the throat, a plastic bag on top, a scarf or handkerchief on top.

Compress recipes

To prepare the solution, you can use any folk recipe:

Alcohol . We take it in equal quantities with clean water, mix and heat. You can add a few drops of essential oil to kill the strong smell.
Potato . The most popular folk recipe. Boil the potatoes with skins until tender, mash with a fork, and place in a gauze bag.
Raw potatoes . Grate a few pieces on a fine grater, add a tablespoon of vinegar for the desired consistency.

Advice! When using any of these or other warming compresses, you should try to avoid burns. For example, before applying boiled potatoes, you must wait until they have cooled to a tolerable temperature.

Rinsing

The rinsing procedure is mandatory for the treatment of purulent sore throat, since during it the agent used acts directly on the source of inflammation - on the tonsils and mucous membrane of the throat. Self-prepared infusions and herds become an excellent alternative to store-bought medicines.

The following folk recipes are popular:

Beet juice . Anti-inflammatory properties make it useful for many colds. After just a few rinses, swelling and soreness on the tonsils decreases. To prepare the product, take 100 ml of juice and add 10 ml of vinegar. Gargle every three hours.
Aspen bark . This decoction can only be prepared in the warm season, when the aspen is green. Grind the bark to a powder, mix with water in a ratio of 1:2, put on low heat. 15 minutes after boiling, turn off and cool. Gargle 3-4 times a day. All year round, you can replace this decoction with a ready-made aspen bark extract - the Populin drink.
Herbal collection . We take a collection of chamomile, calendula, St. John's wort, and eucalyptus. It can be purchased at the pharmacy, or you can prepare the plants yourself. Pour a tablespoon of herbs into a glass of boiling water and leave to steep for several hours. Gargle every three hours.
Propolis . Take 100 ml of alcohol diluted with water (so that its concentration does not exceed 40 degrees), add 10 g of propolis, leave to infuse in a dark place for at least a week. You can buy ready-made alcohol tincture of propolis at the pharmacy.

Advice! Gargles can be used to treat sore throat in children only after they have reached a conscious age. The child must understand how to gargle and not swallow the product.

University

The same sore throat can give very serious complications that can affect the condition of the entire body.

How to properly treat a sore throat? When should you agree to have your tonsils removed? Why does your throat become dry? Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Ear, Throat, and Nose Diseases of BSMU Andrey Sakovich answered these and other questions on the Komsomolskaya Pravda direct line .

*** — Andrey Renardovich, two adopted daughters have been suffering from chronic tonsillitis for about three years. How to treat it?

— Did they undergo examinations?

“They are constantly monitored by an ENT specialist, and we carry out all his appointments.

— Was the result positive?

- For a very short time. And now summer has begun, and they keep getting traffic jams, we have already learned and are squeezing them out ourselves. And if you don’t squeeze it out, the disease drags on.

- You shouldn’t squeeze it out, as you will further injure the tonsils. But if children do not have complications in the kidneys, heart, or joints, then their disease is subject to more conservative treatment. But you need to select medications and consult a doctor. If there are complications, tonsillectomy may be considered. But for this you need to conduct a more detailed examination - blood and urine tests, ECG, smears, antistreptolysin.

— One girl sometimes has pain in her legs and knees.

- Especially. If such problems occur, tonsil removal may be considered. Otherwise, there may be big health problems in the future.

Andrey Sakovich

- I am 63 years old. At the age of 30, my tonsils were removed after frequent purulent sore throats. Time passed, and I began to have chronic pharyngolaryngitis. Can they cause joint diseases now?

— Usually pharyngitis does not have a direct strong connection with articular pathology. Tonsillitis - yes. But your tonsils were removed. After removal of tonsils, pharyngitis does occur, but we are talking about the fact that you need to choose the lesser of two evils. You can use oil drops or emollient sprays, for example, based on Irish seaweed. Either absorbable tablets or sprays with antiseptics for exacerbations.

CHRONIC TONSILLITIS IS DANGEROUS WITH COMPLICATIONS

— My son is 30 years old. He has chronic tonsillitis, but he doesn’t even go to the doctor’s clinic anymore, although his disease worsens ten times a year. And my heart is already aching. I heard that they are performing an operation using a laser to excise tonsils.

— Tonsillitis requires examination in terms of the condition of the internal organs. It is necessary to do both an electrocardiogram and an ultrasound of the heart, if possible. Of course, take blood tests, urine tests and biochemical tests - antistreptolysin, rheumatoid factor and c-reactive protein. It is advisable to do a smear. Then you can make some decision. As for the laser: I don’t see any particular advantages over traditional surgery. In general, there are different methods for removing tonsils. Until examinations are done, he should be treated conservatively.

- Yes, he’s been gargling this all his life!

— If conservative treatment does not produce results, changes are detected in the tests, it makes sense to think about removal. Unfortunately, tonsils, as a source of infection, cause complications in the heart, kidneys and joints - the three main “target organs”.

***

— I often get ulcers in my throat, then it starts to hurt. I rinse with calendula or soda solution. Passes. But after a few months they appear again.

-Have you gone to the doctor?

- Yes, they say laryngitis.

- What do they say about ulcers?

- They didn’t say anything.

— Do you feel sick, do you have cold symptoms during this period?

- Yes, although there is no temperature.

— Do you have cracks in your mouth or tongue? Do you suffer from diabetes?

Milk with honey

Milk with honey is a common recipe, known even to children. The drink has many beneficial properties and is also pleasant to the taste. It seems to “lubricate” the throat, enveloping it, which helps soften the mucous membrane and eliminate painful sensations. Also, milk with honey strengthens the body, immunity, and energizes. However, in order for all the beneficial properties to appear, it is important to prepare the drink correctly.

There is no need to boil the milk, just heat it to a warm temperature. It is better to use liquid honey - fresh, but if it has hardened, it must first be melted in a water bath. After mixing the components, the drink cools to room temperature (40 degrees), then it should be drunk in small sips.

Adults are recommended to drink 2-3 glasses a day, children – 100 ml 2-3 times a day.

There are other cooking options:

for 200 ml of milk add 20 g of honey and butter;
adding a small amount of cinnamon;
For 200 ml of milk add 20 g of honey and freshly squeezed carrot juice and others.

Advice! These products, especially honey, are strong allergens. If you have an allergic reaction, it is prohibited to use milk with honey.

Other folk remedies for treating sore throat

Let's look at a few other common folk recipes:

Onion . Onions have a powerful antibacterial effect, useful for sore throats. Take a small onion, grate it on a fine grater, add candied honey to get a dough consistency. We dissolve the resulting “candy” throughout the day. It is also useful to eat onions in their pure form.
Garlic . We take a small head, clean it, grind it to a paste. Add 150 ml of warm water and leave to steep for an hour. Take 1 tablespoon every hour. It is also useful to mix garlic with freshly squeezed carrot juice. This drink also has an immune-strengthening effect.
Lemon . The easiest way to use this fruit is to eat it whole, first dousing it with boiling water to remove the bitterness and acidity. Both the pulp and the peel have beneficial properties. Lemon can also be added to any heavy drink recommended for sore throat.
Hydrogen peroxide . Dissolve 1 tablespoon of pharmacy peroxide in a glass of water and gargle 3-4 times a day. Another way is to mix a solution of peroxide with water in a 1:1 ratio and lubricate the tonsils using the same principle as Lugol’s.

You need to be especially careful when using folk recipes for the treatment of purulent tonsillitis in children. A child's body does not have as much strength to fight bacteria as an adult, so they often cannot do without drug therapy. In addition, it is strictly forbidden to use prescription oral medications that contain alcohol to treat a child.

Medications

Drug treatment of purulent tonsillitis includes the use of the following drug groups:

Antibiotics. Doctors prescribe these drugs in 70% of cases to avoid complications. With their help, you can quickly destroy all pathogenic microorganisms and prevent the worsening of symptoms.
Corticosteroids. These drugs help eliminate swelling, which increases pressure on the respiratory system.
Antipyretic. Prescribed at elevated body temperatures, which makes it impossible to use compresses and other warming methods of treatment.
Lozenges. Used to relieve sore throat. They are prescribed when a person has pain when swallowing or constant, aching pain.
Antiseptic sprays. Most often prescribed are Faringosept, Stopangin, Orasept, and others. You can buy Kurunga Spray at Argo. It reduces swelling and hyperemia of the oral mucosa, neutralizes viruses, fungi, bacteria on the surface of the oral mucosa, tonsils, and throat.

Drugs for purulent tonsillitis during pregnancy are prescribed with extreme caution. Treatment is carried out under constant medical supervision, with emphasis on the use of folk remedies.

Thus, it is better to coordinate the treatment of purulent tonsillitis with your doctor, especially if independent therapy for 3-4 days has not brought results.

For many, the use of folk remedies such as milk and honey, onions, garlic, propolis, and peroxide has proven effective. These recipes can also be supplemented with drug therapy.

Why can't a sore throat be cured by rinsing alone?

In both angina and chronic tonsillitis, the infection is localized not only on the surface of the tonsils. It can nest in gaps for a long time and, with any weakening of local immunity, provoke an exacerbation.

A rinse solution, even the most effective one, cannot penetrate deep into the tissues, that is, it does not properly inhibit the development of pathogens. To solve the problem, you must consult with an otolaryngologist so as not to cause further complications. The doctor will prescribe the necessary medications, which you can easily order on the Doc.ua website.