The signs and symptoms of a sore throat can be:

  • Swallowing pain and discomfort (Dysphagia)
  • Tenderness and pain as well as a scratchy feeling at the throat
  • Tender and swollen neck glands
  • Tonsils that is painful and inflamed
  • Running nose
  • Cough
  • Fatigue
  • Headache
  • Aching muscles
  • Fever around 38 degrees centigrade and above
  • For children refusal to eat – The child should be brought to the doctor if the child does not want to eat (or breastfeed) for unknown reasons.
  • Muffled or hoarse voice
  • Pus or white patches in the tonsils
  • Dry throat
  • Chills
  • Sneezing

A severe sore throat can show symptoms other than the aforementioned ones above like:

  • Vomiting
  • Nausea
  • Earache
  • Pain in the joints
  • Breathing difficulty
  • Sore throat pain and discomfort lasting for at least a week or more
  • Rash
  • Blood in phlegm or saliva
  • Hoarseness that lasts a week or more
  • Fever lasting a week or more

It is time to visit your doctor if:

  • Your fever does not break after three days and which does not respond to medications
  • After two weeks your symptoms stays the same
  • If your throat feels dry which is quite different from a feeling of thirst, you may need to see a doctor. If you have a sore throat, you should not drink any cold fluids to minimize the discomfort of the sore throat. Drink fluids that are warm or hot.  You need to make sure if your sore throat is not a sign of a more serious unknown condition.
  • If you suffer from stridor which is producing a high-pitched sound when you breathe
  • If you start to drool

Your sore throat may be actually a symptom itself of certain conditions like:

  • Quinsy – This is a group of pus, an abscess, that often appears between the throat wall and the back of the tonsil
  • Epiglottitis – The redness and swelling of the epiglottis which in a present untreated condition can result in difficulties in breathing