Irritants and injuries
A sore throat lasting more than a week usually caused by irritants or an injury, such as:
Irritation of the throat due to low humidity, smoking, air pollution, shouting or nasal drainage towards the back of the throat (retreatment drip).
Breathe through your mouth when you have allergies or nasal congestion.
Acids from the stomach that return to the throat, which may be a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Although GERD usually occurs with heartburn, an acid taste in the mouth or a cough, sometimes the only sign is a sore throat.
The treatment of a sore throat depends on the cause. You may be able to get relief from home treatment.
Since viral diseases are the most common cause of a sore throat, it is important not to use antibiotics to treat it. Medicines do not affect the course of viral infections. Unnecessary use of antibiotics exposes you to the risks of an allergic reaction and side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, rash and candida infections (yeast-like fungus). Antibiotics can also kill beneficial bacteria and encourage the development of dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria. For sore throats caused by streptococci, treatment with antibiotics may be needed.
Are you forced to start every morning with hot tea and honey because your throat is so dry and scratchy that it hurts to swallow? Naturally, you blame it on the spicy food you ate the night before. Perhaps the air in your home is too dry or your seasonal allergies are getting to you, even though you haven’t sneezed once.
There are a lot of things you could blame it on, but have you considered that snoring is the culprit? Maybe you are single, so you haven’t had anyone tell you that you are snoring. Well, that sore throat you are battling could be a symptom.
Is Mouth Breathing to Blame?
Sinus infection, nasal polyps, swelling of the turbinate, and a deviated septum are common causes of mouth-breathing. Of course, you don’t need to have a condition to breathe through your mouth. Some people do it naturally. Tissue vibration is significantly greater when air passes through the mouth than when it flows through the nose.
During nasal breathing, the soft palate moves forward so the airway becomes opened. When you swallow, the soft palate moves back to block the nasal passages. This soft palate is simply muscular tissue that extends from the roof of your mouth. The uvula, another small extension, is at the back of your soft palate. The palate and uvula are commonly the culprits behind snoring. They relax into the throat when you sleep, and create an obstruction.
If you are breathing through your mouth, air is continuously trying to push past both of these extensions. They vibrate against one another, and also against throat tissues. This causes swelling and irritation, so you wake up with a sore throat.
Not to mention, the friction dries your throat. While you are sleeping, you are not continually swallowing to provide mucus membranes with moisture. It is no surprise your throat hurts, especially if your house is dry, too.
Don’t Ignore It
Addressing the dry air in your house will help, but you also need to do something about your throat snoring remedies to get real relief. A snoring mouthpiece may be the answer. These devices promote proper airflow by eliminating the obstruction. If tissues are not permitted to vibrate, they won’t irritate your throat.