Treatment of cough with pharyngitis

Features of cough with pharyngitis

First, let's understand a little what pharyngitis is and why it occurs. Pharyngitis is an inflammatory process that affects the pharynx: the mucous membrane around the tonsils (tonsils), the back wall of the pharynx, the palate, and the uvula. Redness and mild swelling occur here.

In addition to the fact that the throat becomes red and swollen, a number of other symptoms are sure to occur:

• profuse runny nose, with clear mucus discharge;
• mild pain in the throat that appears during swallowing, but does not go away even at rest;
• possible hoarseness of voice;
• a slight increase in body temperature to 37.5 C, but it occurs only in acute pharyngitis. In chronic forms, this sign is absent;
• dry cough.

A cough usually occurs on days 2-4 of the disease, and it is caused (with pharyngitis) by inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa. With this disease, sputum does not accumulate in the respiratory tract, bronchi and lungs.

The mechanism of cough with pharyngitis

A cough (in this case) is a reaction to irritation of the nerve endings (receptors) that are located in the pharynx. With pharyngitis, the mucous membrane is not only swollen and inflamed, a small amount of mucus accumulates here at the locations of pathogenic microorganisms (viruses or bacteria). The accumulation of mucus occurs as a reaction of mucous tissue to pathogenic microorganisms, and coughing is already a reaction to the presence of foreign objects (germs). The body tries to cleanse itself of foreign microorganisms through the cough reflex. Since there is little mucus, the cough is dry, paroxysmal and does not bring relief.

Treatment of pharyngitis in adults with drugs

1. Treatment depends on the cause of the disease. A viral infection is treated with antiviral medications. Bacteria are fought with antibiotics.

Antihistamines are used against allergic pharyngitis. A runny nose due to pharyngitis should be treated using Nazivin, Vibrocil, Tizin and Galazolin.

2. To relieve a sore throat, you will need to gargle. Lozenges, lozenges and tablets that need to be sucked also eliminate the painful sensation in the throat.

3. To treat pharyngitis in an adult patient, sprays are used: “Tantum Verde”, “Givalex”, “Hexoral” and “Bioparox” .

4. Rinsing with antiseptic drugs helps in the treatment of pharyngitis. These include: “Stopangin”, “Hexoral” , “Miramistin” . Before using the spray, you will have to carefully read the instructions.

Some medications are already available in ready-made form. And there are also rinses, you need to dilute them yourself. They are good for soothing sore throats.

5. To strengthen the immune system, the doctor prescribes: “Ribomunil”, “Respibron”, “Imudon” .

6. To relieve the inflammatory process, to reduce pain and soothe the throat, lozenges, absorbable tablets and lozenges are used. These include: “Septolete”, “Streptosils”, “Sebidin”, “Lizobakt” and “Faringosept”, “Trachisan” .

They are sold in pharmacies without asking for a prescription from a doctor. However, pregnant and young mothers breastfeeding a baby should use these drugs only with the permission of a doctor.

Treatment with antibiotics

Types of cough with sore throat

A dry cough with pharyngitis indicates a small amount of sputum in the throat. It appears at night and in the morning, which is due to the anatomical location of the pharynx - in the lying position, mucus can flow freely along the back wall of the pharynx, it irritates the nerve receptors, causing coughing attacks.

During this period, the cough is strong, dry (without sputum production). It is paroxysmal in nature and can sometimes cause nausea and vomiting. Coughing attacks with pharyngitis cause a lot of inconvenience.

In the future, they will be accompanied by slight coughing (sputum production). But this does not bring significant relief. The sputum is viscous and weakly separated.

Drug treatment of dry cough

Drug treatment of pharyngitis must necessarily include cough treatment.

There are several components here.

• Compliance with a gentle regime. It is best to adhere to bed rest; it is highly advisable to undergo treatment at home. If this is not possible, then it is imperative to provide the patient with a full night’s sleep.
• Drink plenty of fluids. It will effectively moisturize the throat and thin the mucus. You should drink herbal teas (chamomile, St. John's wort, mint) with honey, herbal infusions, alkaline mineral water, fruit and vegetable juices.
• Quitting smoking and alcohol. When treating chronic pharyngitis, you should quit smoking for the duration of treatment or completely. In some cases, pharyngitis is caused by smoking. Nicotine greatly irritates the already inflamed mucous membrane and contributes to exacerbation of colds.
• A gentle diet, food should not irritate a sore throat. The food is served lukewarm, soft, low-fat, unsalted, and non-acidic. The food does not contain rough ingredients that scratch the throat.
• Local treatment aimed at relieving inflammation and swelling, relieving pain, and thinning mucus.
• For severe coughs, antitussive medications may be used.

Treatment of pharyngitis symptoms

Treatment of pharyngitis is best done under the supervision of an otolaryngologist (ENT), since the disease can be caused by viruses, bacteria or allergens. Treatment will be different in each case. For example, antibiotics that are effective for bacterial forms of pharyngitis will be useless for viral and allergic ones.

However, in the treatment of any form of the disease, cough treatment will be similar. And then we will look at how to treat cough with pharyngitis.

First of all, you should remember that there must be an interval of at least 20 minutes between treatment procedures. This applies to all cough treatment procedures without exception.

Lozenges and lozenges are very suitable for relieving a sore throat and relieving cough symptoms. They effectively relieve inflammation. Travisil, Septolete, Faringosept and others are often used. The frequency of resorption of lozenges is usually indicated in the instructions for the drug, but they should be used no more than one tablet every 3 hours.

Effectively relieves inflammation, destroys germs in the throat gargle. It is carried out no more than every 30 minutes and at least 4 times a day. Required after meals or 30 minutes before meals. Miramistin, Chlorophyllipt, Chlorhexidine are used for rinsing. The drugs are diluted according to the instructions.

To thin the mucus, inhalations with oils or infusions of medicinal plants will be required. When using a nebulizer, inhalations are carried out with alkaline mineral water of Essentuki, Narzan, and saline solution. Inhalations are especially effective for dry coughs, as they dilute mucus and help transform a dry, unproductive cough into a wet one, which results in coughing and relief. After inhalation, you should not go out into the cold for 2 hours. It's best to lie down quietly. The frequency of inhalations for adults is 2-3 times a day, for children no more than 2.

To relieve inflammation and relieve pain (which reduces the cough reflex), throat sprays are very suitable: Ingalipt, Hexoral, Kameton, Bioparox.

If pharyngitis is caused by a bacterial infection, then Erespal and Fluditec are usually prescribed. For viral forms of the disease, Ingavirin, Isoprinosan and others are recommended. For allergic pharyngitis, Loratidine and Zodak are used. But these drugs must be prescribed by a doctor.

For severe, painful coughs, it is recommended to take cough suppressants: Stoptussin, Ambroxol, Codelac, ACC, Bromhexine.

Important! Do not use expectorant, mucolytic and antitussive drugs at the same time. The mucus will stagnate and can cause bronchitis or pneumonia.

How to treat cough with pharyngitis?

To get rid of a cough during pharyngitis, it is first necessary to eliminate irritants that negatively affect the receptors of the larynx .
These include smoking, drinking alcoholic and carbonated drinks, and eating hot, spicy or salty foods.

Important! In this case, it is necessary to drink as much “neutral” liquids as possible (tea, water, not too rich compotes).

All dishes for the patient should be easily digestible, chopped and maximally fortified.

It is important to ensure appropriate air humidity in the room in which the patient is located (within 60-70%).

Since air that is too dry will have an additional irritating effect on the mucous membrane, and because of this, the cough will only get worse.

Drug therapy

Cough is one of the most intractable symptoms of pharyngitis, so it requires an integrated approach in which the following procedures must be performed:

• irrigation of the pharynx with emollients;
• depression of the sensitivity of the cough center;
• instillation of oil-based into the nasal passages ;
• elimination of irritation in the area of ​​affected mucous membranes.

Antitussives do not have a therapeutic effect as such: they are used only to eliminate cough.
Such drugs include oxeladine, codelac, sinecode, tusuprex. You can also reduce the sensitivity of receptors using the drug Libexin.

It is recommended to instill pinosol into the nose , which enters through the nasal passages into the laryngeal mucosa, reducing its sensitivity and at the same time providing a calming effect.

For irrigation, soda and salt solutions are used , which eliminate cough and simultaneously relieve the feeling of dryness in the mouth and soreness.

Need to know! Additionally, you can use Miramistin in the form of a spray, and if you are allergic to such a drug, you can limit yourself to tablets and lozenges for resorption (falimint, faringosept, strepsils, septolete).

Sometimes the disease can be allergic in nature. In this case, antihistamines are prescribed: loratadine, zodak.

Antibiotics are actively used when a cough develops into a “barking” form and only if the pharyngitis is of bacterial origin and the body temperature rises more than two degrees above normal.

It is possible to use antibacterial drugs (Hexoral, Bioparox, Tantum Verde) for inhalation.

Treatment of cough with pharyngitis in children

When treating children, it is necessary to use milder agents that have minimal side effects.

Among the antitussives, the most common in this case are codelac, tusuprex and oxeladine .

The remaining drugs (including antibiotics) are the same as those used to treat adult patients, but in the case of treating children, the attending physician in each case calculates the dosage and regularity of use of the drugs , after which he draws up the final treatment regimen.

Folk remedies

Remember! Cough is one of those symptoms of pharyngitis that can be relieved with folk remedies, but you should first consult with your doctor about the possibility of using them.

The following methods are considered safe and effective:

1. In the absence of allergic reactions to honey, you can dissolve a teaspoon every day .
2. Rinsing with an infusion of oak and willow bark will help relieve the disease. The ingredients are mixed in equal proportions and one teaspoon of the product is poured into a glass of boiling water, bringing the product to a boil for three minutes. Then the product cools down for two hours, filters and can be used for gargling. The procedure is performed four times a day; before each rinse, the composition must be slightly warmed up.
3. It is recommended to perform nightly steam inhalations based on sage, calendula and chamomile. The products can be used either individually or together (in the second case, the components are mixed in equal quantities).
4. Several potatoes are grated on a fine grater and the juice is squeezed out of the resulting mass through cheesecloth. There should be enough potatoes for 100 grams of juice. They drink it three times a day, 30 milliliters, and every morning you need to prepare a new portion of the product.

Physiotherapy for cough with pharyngitis

For chronic and obstructive forms of pharyngitis, treatment with electrophoresis with potassium iodide is indicated. Mud and paraffin (ozokerite) applications give good results.

However, the effectiveness of these procedures will be significantly reduced if it is necessary to go out into cold air immediately after them. After they are carried out, it is better to stay in a hospital (or sanatorium) for 1.5-2 hours.

In difficult cases, in the presence of hypertrophied areas of the pharyngeal mucosa, they are cauterized using cryodestruction or laser coagulation.

Traditional methods of treating cough with pharyngitis

Many traditional methods offer effective and inexpensive ways to treat cough with pharyngitis. So, among the recommendations for the treatment of dry cough will be:

• Gargling with infusion of willow and oak bark. It is carried out 4-5 times a day. To do this, take 1 tsp. crushed bark and pour a glass of boiling water. Boil for 3 minutes, leave for 2 hours, strain and rinse with warm infusion.
• Resorption of honey in the mouth (if there is no allergy to it). You need to dissolve 1 teaspoon 3-4 times a day.
• Steam inhalations (over a bowl of hot liquid) with infusions of sage, chamomile or calendula. Perform once a day, in the evening, before bedtime. After inhalation, be sure to change clothes and go to bed.
• Among the throat softeners, the following is used: you need to grate peeled potatoes on a fine grater and squeeze out the juice. Drink it 30 ml 3 times a day. Before swallowing, you need to hold it in your mouth, try to get it into the throat - this will moisten the throat and soften the cough.

Drug treatment

Only your doctor can select the most suitable medications and methods for treating dry cough with pharyngitis.

The use of medications is always aimed at eliminating pathological symptoms (for example, dry cough), as well as the cause of the disease.

In other words, in order to effectively treat cough with pharyngitis, you need to know exactly the cause and nature of the disease.

So, if there are pathogenic bacteria on the walls of the pharynx, antibiotic drugs are used:

• Bioparox;
• Amoxicillin;
• Lincomycin;
• Clindamycin.

If the disease is of an allergic nature, then antihistamines are used:

• Tavegil;
• Loratadine;
• Suprastin;
• Zodak.

To restore an irritated throat, medications for resorption are used:

• Strepsils;
• Faringosept;
• Falimint.

In addition, there are pharmacological drugs whose task is to suppress cough. Yes, they do not cure the disease, but they allow the patient, in the full sense of the word, to take a breath. These medications include:

• Codelac;
• Oxeladin;
• Sinecode;
• Tusuprex.

Do not self-medicate. If you try to cure pharyngitis with the wrong medications, then precious time may be lost, and the disease will become chronic or some other complications will appear.

We also recommend that you read the article “Gargling for pharyngitis.”

Residual cough, what is it?

In some cases, a phenomenon called residual cough occurs. It is typical for adults and especially children with weakened immune systems and can last up to one and a half months after the disease has been cured. Cough after pharyngitis occurs as a reaction of a weakened throat to cold air, dust, dirty or dry air, and smoking.

Here you should try to limit the negative impact on the pharynx during the recovery period after illness. Do not go out into the cold without warm clothing, avoid hypothermia if possible, it is very important not to smoke, avoid rooms with dry air or intensively humidify it.

The most effective way to treat residual cough is to strengthen the immune system: good nutrition, intake of vitamins, adequate rest and sleep, and absence of stress.

Homeopathic medicines

Homeopathic medicines.
If you are concerned about the possibility of side effects due to taking specific pharmaceuticals, you can treat pharyngitis using homeopathic medicines.

These remedies are considered one of the most effective methods of combating pharyngitis. If you decide to turn to this particular method of treatment, be sure to adhere to the recommended dosage and observe the specified treatment period. Any deviations in the course of treatment can significantly reduce its effectiveness and worsen health.

Classic homeopathic treatment has an individual approach to the patient, eliminates the causes and symptoms of a particular disease, and improves the health of the body as a whole.

Homeopathic treatment is prescribed based on specific symptoms, characteristics of the course of the disease, taking into account the individual characteristics of the patient. The medicine for pharyngitis should be taken several times a day, strictly following the doctor's instructions. The treatment period depends on the severity of the disease - the acute form of development of inflammatory processes in the throat is eliminated on average in 3-5 days.

When choosing and taking a homeopathic remedy, you should adhere to several rules:

• choose a remedy based on your own feelings and characteristics of the manifestation of the disease;
• if you notice a clear improvement in your general condition, you should stop taking the medication and resume taking the drug only if symptoms return;
• if during the first day of treatment it is not possible to achieve a minimal effect, further treatment is not advisable;
• half an hour before taking a homeopathic remedy and after, there should be nothing in the oral cavity;
• the drug must be stored far from large electrical appliances - at a distance of 1-2 meters;
• Medicine that falls on the floor is not suitable for consumption.

Depending on the severity of the disease, individually select the potency of the medicine - it is indicated next to the name of the drug, indicated by a number.