Sore Throat for over 3 weeks... Need Advice

Hi Guys,

2012 was a good year, however the last few weeks haven't been :(

One weekend before xmas i woke up with a really sore throat, really sharp to swallow etc I thought i had the onset of a cold as everyone was getting them.

3 weeks down the line and the sore throat is still there, although I think not as bad as originally.... Its worst in the morning when i wake up and then eases off during the day, to the point sometimes when I cant really feel it.

I spoke to my GP after 2 weeks of the sore throat and he didn't seem worried in the slightest, said there was lots going round and it may take a while to go. He had a look at my throat and said its slightly inflamed.

before christmas I had a lot of work on and deadlines to hit, also my sister in law was diagnosed with skin cancer, which I am sure has peaked my anxiety up again...

My biggest battle in my head is if the sore throat is because there is a serious problem or if its my anxiety playing tricks on me again?

My fiancee thinks its because im anxious and focusing on it and once i relax more and forget about it, it will go away.

I just dont know what to do?

Any advice?

There certainly is a lot going around right now, it's a bad time of year for this type of thing :)

Maybe you had a little infection that hasn't quite properly cleared up yet, infections can be caused by bacteria or viruses so antibiotics are not always helpful, they only help if it's a bacterial infection :)

Of course as we're all stuck indoors in centrally heated buildings that tends to make this sort of thing worse, causing dry throats which are easily irritated.

I definitely don't think it would be anything serious as your doctor would have seen something when he had a look :)

I would pop back and see your doctor, there maybe something they can give you to help, or pop into your local pharmacy and have a chat with them :)

Hey Auntiemoosie,

Thanks for the advice, so you reackon wait it out a bit longer?

hi mark. i can relate to your throat soreness for so long as i had just the same thing recently, it felt like it was never going to get better....but once alot of the anxiety i was having eased, it improved quite quickly.

I think theyre often worst in the morning as you may have been breathing in through your mouth or possibly the air is cooler. Mine does the same thing & eases off during the day

At least your gp wasn't concerned, that's reassuring. Plus it all adds up as you've had so much stress. My throat is always the first thing to get bad if I have sustained anxiety. I do feel its probably your anxiety playing tricks.

See if you are able to be kind to yourself & allow yourself proper time to relax. Also I am very sorry to hear about your sister's condition as that alone is of course going to,add stress

So remember, be kind to yourself & do what u can to relax:hugs:

I had a sore throat for 3 weeks, saw my Dr and he said it was a virus and not cancer, the next day it eased and the following it was gone!
I had swollen tonsils the lot, after I stopped worrying about it, my immune system must have kicked in. :)

Hi Mark :)

I'd say that the majority of sore throats do eventually go on their own given a bit of time.

However, if you are really getting worried about it then go along to your pharmacist or go and see your doctor again and have them put your mind at rest just so as your not left with high anxiety about it :)

I recently had a sore throat that took a month to go! Very similar feeling like glass, really very sore, really doesnt help I work in customer service on the phones. Had to take the time off in the end.

I got worried in case I wouldnt be able to go back to work, because whenever I have had a cold or cough, sore throat before they are usually better in a week or so. So this one was highly unusual, but got better in the end and I concur with everyone else, I think there is a bad one going round at the mo! Make sure you get loads of rest, water and a teaspoon of set honey was good for my throat every now and then.

I have had one for three weeks too!! So have my five children and my mother.

It is going around everywhere :)

I totally understand about being anxious over a sore throat especially with some news that goes around. I get a lot of sore throats myself and like you they are worse at some times of the day and not so bad at others. Morning and night time are always the worse times for a sore throat.

Mine is usually caused by regular sinus problems I get throughout the year and so usually it can just go on its own but if it keeps sticking around coming and going I do find a couple of weeks of antibiotics usually helps kick it away.

I would say if you are concerned again to go back to your GP and ask for a course of antibiotics to help it go away as it might do. Other remedies to try is gargling on salt water but you need to try not to choke or accidentally swallow it.

But I don't think it sounds like anything serious just maybe a low grade infection going on. All the best aye and hope you get it sorted.

2 years ago I had recurrent sore throat for a year! I had no bacterial infection and no visible virus infection. Doctors said it was probably viral anyway, and I guess they were right because it finally went away.
A sore throat for a long time is very very common!