Swelling in the throat, is it serious?

Question

For the past few days I've had a soar throat. I feel the lymph nodes swollen on both sides of my neck right under the jaw. If you look down my throat there are two swollen red "things" to the left and right of my tonsils and it makes swallowing somewhat difficult/painful and I can also feel it in my right ear, as it aches a little.

Should I be concerned? Or just hold out and I should be okay? Doctors is not really an option.

Anyone have good home remedies besides soup?

Answer 1

Sounds like you could be fighting off an infection, the bad part of that would be you would have to get antibiotics. However I am not a doctor. take ibuprofen, for the swelling.

Answer 2

It's probably a virus. Your lymph nodes are swollen in response to the infection and that's what you're seeing in your throat. The pressure is also affecting your ear canal. You don't need to worry, except if it lasts longer than 3 to 5 days or if you start to run a fever of more than 100.

Chicken soup is good. So is gargling with warm salt water. Warm lemonade or tea with lemon is also very soothing.

Some people claim Zicam spray is good. Others swear by Vitamin C and Zinc. Don't take zinc if you're using Zicam, by the way, since it's also a zinc-based product. Sore throat lozenges can help.

You'll probably develop a cough. Buy a cough syrup that says DM on the label and has an expectorant.