Sore throat only ever on one side

[mcohen]

24/M. I have posted here in the past about tonsil issues. I saw a doctor since my last post here about my tonsils and he confirmed that they were fine and was not at all concerned by a bulge behind the tonsil fold. A previous visit to the doctor many months before that also confirmed that there was nothing wrong with my tonsils. Since my most recent visit to the doctor I have forced myself to stop looking at my tonsils as it only worsened my health anxiety.

Despite the above, I have noticed over perhaps the past couple of years that nine times out of ten, when I get a sore throat, it only ever seems to be on one side. Usually this will be the left side though I have had it only on the right side aswell. When I was younger, I don't recall having sore throats only on one side. It is worth me pointing out that it is not at all often that I get sore throats - it's more a case that whenever I do, it only seems to be one side. I don't understand why this would happen, if, as the doctor has said, there is nothing wrong with my tonsils, throat etc.

I don't really have any other symptoms that would be suggestive of something sinister, however, suffering quite severely with health anxiety this is naturally the route that my mind takes me down...

[ErinKC]

I almost always get sore throats only on one side. I don't know the reason for this, but I think it's quite common. Mine are typically on my right side and that tonsil is slightly larger than the left, so I always assume it's just more prone to infection. But, I'll get them exclusively on my left side as well. My left is where I always have worse sinus issues, so when that side is sure I put it off to more post-nasal trip and other irritations happening on that side.

[Js2019]

Whenever I have sore throats it is always on one side as well. A lot of people have deviated septums and do not even know it. That is when the nose is not shaped right and does not allow the mucus to drain properly. Flonase nasal spray works really well to clean out the sinuses. This has been happening to your for years...it is what is normal for you then. Everyone is different. It is not anything sinister

[sam93]

Hey, I'm actually having exactly the same issue as you right now. I'm 25/M, been suffering with one sided sore throats for years. Only really ever occurs on the right side for me. I also sometimes get ear ache too.

I just recently went to a ENT who said nothing sinister to worry about, but this particular sore throat has lasted for about three weeks.

How long do your sore throats last?
Do you suffer with ear ache/pain at all?
Do you have seasonal allergies?

Perhaps we can find a cause between us! haha.

[mcohen]

Thank you all for your responses - it is reassuring to hear that I am not the only one and that it is not necessarily a sign of something sinister, which logically I know, but as a HA sufferer it can be very hard to think logically and stop your mind from going down the worst case scenario route, however improbable.

[mcohen]

Hi Sam93, sorry to hear that you are in the same boat as me! In answer to your questions:

- typically not very long, maybe a few days, if that. If I have a particularly bad cold/sore throat it can be longer. I can say that not recently but in the past i have had sore throats that have lasted more than a couple of weeks.
- I do not suffer from earache, but do suffer from issues with the eustachian tube in my left ear owing to a perforated eardrum a few years ago.
- I've never really suffered from seasonal allergies, I have in previous summers suspected very mild hayfever but really not too bad at all.

My left tonsil has always been larger than the right, and has some 'bulges' behind it, and it is my left side of my throat that usually is sore (if I have a sore throat) though I have been assured by doctors on more than one occasion there is nothing wrong with nor sinister about my tonsils.