Sore Throat And Chronic Fatigue

What Can I Expect If I Have Chronic Pharyngitis

If youve been diagnosed with chronic pharyngitis, your healthcare provider will talk to you in detail about your treatment options. Theyll also tell you what triggers to avoid, what lifestyle changes to make and which medications to take.

When can I go back to work or school?

Youll need to wait until youre no longer contagious. Ask your healthcare provider when its safe to return to normal activities.

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What Is The Treatment For Covid

There is no specific treatment for COVID-19, and supportive care is aimed at relieving symptoms in mild cases.

Patients with mild illness are usually advised to remain home and self-isolate for 14 days to avoid spreading the virus. Treatments for mild COVID-19 symptoms include:

• Antithrombotic therapy anticoagulants and antiplatelet therapy
• High-flow nasal cannula oxygen

Ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug, is being studied as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Currently, the available clinical data on the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 are limited and the Centers for Disease Control recommends against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19, except in a clinical trial.

Colchicine, an anti-gout medication, is also being studied in a clinical trial to determine if short-term treatment with colchicine will reduce lung complications and the rate of death in COVID-19 patients. It is not currently approved for use to treat patients for COVID-19.

Current guidelines neither recommend nor advise against the use of vitamin C, vitamin D, or zinc. Zinc should not be taken in doses above the recommended daily allowance due to the risk of toxicity.

Hydroxychloroquine was touted as a possible treatment in the past, but studies to date have shown it to be ineffective with a high risk of fatal heart arrhythmias, and it is not recommended.

• Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Reviewed on 12/14/2020

What Is The Difference Between Acute Pharyngitis And Chronic Pharyngitis

Acute pharyngitis is more common than chronic pharyngitis. Treatment involves treating the symptoms, and it usually goes away within 10 days. In comparison, chronic pharyngitis lingers for much longer often for several weeks. There are many different causes, and treatment involves addressing the underlying problem.

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Flu Symptoms And Relief

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness that frequently causes fatigue and sore throat. Much like mono, saliva and air borne pathogens help spread the flu virus.

In addition to sudden and excessive fatigue and sore throat symptoms, you may experience:

• Body aches and chills
• Gastrointestinal problems

Bed rest and plenty of fluids are typically the best treatments for overcoming the flu. A healthcare professional may prescribe an antiviral medication, which can sometimes cause symptoms to ease faster than through rest and fluids alone.

Whats The Difference Between A Cold Strep Throat And Tonsillitis

A sore throat is often the first sign of a cold. However, a sore throat from a cold often gets better or goes away after the first day or two. Other cold symptoms such as a runny nose and congestion may follow the sore throat.

Strep throat, which is an infection due to streptococcus bacteria, is another cause of sore throats and tonsillitis. With strep throat, the sore throat is often more severe and persists.

Tonsillitis is a painful inflammation or infection of the tonsils, the tissue masses located at the back of the throat.

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Questions To Ask Your Doctor

• Im always tired. Is there something wrong with me?
• Do I need any tests to help determine why Im so tired all the time?
• What is the likely cause of my fatigue?
• Will alternative therapies such as yoga or acupuncture help?
• Do I need to make any diet or lifestyle changes?
• Is it safe for me to exercise? What kind of exercise should I do?
• How do I convince people that my fatigue is real?

Who Gets Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome can affect people of all ethnicities and ages, but is most common in people in their forties or fifties. Its very rare in kids. A few teens do get CFS, and it affects more girls than guys.

Sometimes different people in the same family get CFS. This may be because the tendency to develop CFS is genetic.

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Pacing Activity For People With Me/cfs

Pacing, or keeping within your available energy, is a self-management strategy to help people with ME/CFS make sure that they dont overdo activity or exercise. It reduces the likelihood of triggering PEM and can help reduce symptoms. Pacing is not a cure for ME/CFS and does not treat the underlying, physical cause of the disease.

The goal of pacing is for activity to be sustainable, so that the person can have some stability in their symptoms and what they can do each day. Pacing should be used in conjunction with rest.

The most challenging aspect of pacing is that PEM is very often delayed by as much as 24-48 hours, which can make it difficult to recognise when youve done too much. Using tools like an activity diary or heart rate monitor help you learn about your body and how much activity you can safely tolerate.

Suggestions on how to pace yourself include:

How Is It Treated

There is no treatment for ME/CFS itself, but many of its symptoms can be treated. A good relationship with your doctor is important. Thatâs because the two of you will need to work together to find a combination of medicines and behavior changes that will help you get better. Some trial and error may be needed, because no single combination of treatments works for everyone.

The key to living with ME/CFS is to learn how to pace your activities. This will allow you to be as active as possible without causing your symptoms to get worse. Avoid pushing yourself to do more on days you feel well. Take rest breaks during and between activities. You may also need to change your sleeping habits and try medicines to treat some of your symptoms.

When you have ME/CFS, you may not be able to do the things you would like to do. This may lead to feelings of frustration and anxiety. It can also lead to depression. Depression is not the same thing as ME/CFS. But it can make your ME/CFS symptoms worse.

Learning to cope with your symptoms and talking to others who have ME/CFS can help. So can working with a counselor.

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What We Know Now

As I discussed in a recent article in the journal JAMA, research has documented underlying biological abnormalities involving many organ systems in people with ME/CFS, compared with healthy controls. Heres an overview of what the current science suggests.

The brain. Tests of brain hormones, formal tests of thinking, magnetic resonance imaging , and positron emission tomography scans of the brain are abnormal in a substantial fraction of patients with ME/CFS. Tests of the autonomic nervous system, which controls vital functions including body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, and movement of the intestines and bladder, also are abnormal. Not all of these abnormalities of the brain are present in every person with ME/CFS, and they appear to come and go.

Energy metabolism. We are alive because the cells of our body are alive. And theyre alive because they can make energy, and use that energy to do their jobs and remain alive. Our cells make energy out of the oxygen in the air we breathe, and out of the sugars, fats, and proteins we eat. In ME/CFS, research has shown that the cells have trouble both making and using energy. That is, people with ME/CFS feel they dont have enough energy because their cells are not making enough, nor using what they make efficiently. The ability of cells to extract oxygen from the blood and use it to make energy appears particularly defective after physical and mental exertion.

Are There Any Side

The treatments currently available through the NHS include management from a team of healthcare professionals specialising in ME/CFS. As mentioned above, treatments include pacing, activity management, lifestyle approaches, GET and CBT. Treatment needs to be tailored to individual need. They should help symptoms in the longer term.

GET has become increasingly controversial. If activity is built up too quickly, it can cause a boom and bust scenario and make symptoms worse. This has led to some patients feeling that GET is dangerous. NICE is currently assessing the evidence carefully with new NICE guidance expected to be published in the near future. The aim is to improve the quality and success of treatment and reduce any risk of harm or symptoms worsening in the long term.

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How Is Strep Throat Different From A Sore Throat With A Cold

Strep throat is caused by an infection of streptococcus bacteria. Strep throat spreads by having contact with an infected personâs saliva or nasal secretions. Although strep throat is more common in children ages 5 to 15, it also occurs in adults. To diagnose strep throat, your doctor can check a rapid strep test or send a throat swab to the lab for a culture. In some cases, they may be able to diagnose strep based on your reported symptoms and other signs, such as white spots in the throat area, fever, and swollen lymph nodes in the neck.

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When Should I See My Healthcare Provider

If you have a severe sore throat, you should seek medical care immediately especially if your sore throat is accompanied by fever, difficulty swallowing or breathing problems. If you have a sore throat thats lasted for more than seven to 10 days, its a good idea to schedule an appointment with your healthcare provider. The sooner youre diagnosed, the sooner you can receive treatment and return to normal life.

A note from Cleveland Clinic

A sore throat is a common but bothersome condition. When pharyngitis lingers, it can interfere with your routines and daily life. Chronic pharyngitis usually indicates another underlying issue. Your healthcare provider can find the answers to help you feel better soon.

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Find Relief For Your Fatigue And Sore Throat

Its never too early to talk to your healthcare provider about uncomfortable symptoms you are experiencing, such as fatigue and a sore throat. At FastMed Urgent Care, we work with you to fight off any non-life threatening illness you are facing and to prevent it from compromising your quality of life.

Our care facilities are open for extended weekday hours and on the weekend, and you can simply walk right in no appointment needed! Were here to help diagnose your fatigue and sore throat symptoms and quickly get you back on the road to recovery.

and to find out more about FastMed in your community.

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How Does Me/cfs Affect People

ME/CFS affects different people in different ways, some more severely than others. There are four levels of severity of ME/CFS, which give an indication of the level of disability ME/CFS can create:

• mild: 50% reduction in pre-illness activity
• moderate: mostly housebound
• severe: mostly bedridden
• very severe: totally bedridden and need help with basic activities including nutrition and hydration.

The severity of ME/CFS can vary over time. A person living with ME/CFS could be at one level of severity now, then their disease could either improve or deteriorate over time. For some patients, their disease can worsen significantly with no known cause. Other patients have a fluctuating illness where they have better and worse periods, which last for months or years. It is unclear why this happens.

For most people, ME/CFS is a lifelong disease. Full recovery is rare and estimated at less than 10%. For some people with ME/CFS, as time passes and their disease improves, they will find they can do more, but it is a slow and gradual process. However, this is not the case for everyone. Some people find their disease worsens over time, others may remain somewhat stable. With support and pacing, people can often improve their quality of life.

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Tips For Exercising Safely With Me/cfs

If you feel you can tolerate some exercise, be guided by your doctor or specialist, but general suggestions include:

• Experiment to find the type of exercise that works best for you. Choose from a range of gentle activities such as stretching, yoga, tai chi, walking and light weight training. Often, people find exercises lying down use less energy.
• Keep an activity diary so you have a long-term picture of your performance levels and factors that might impact on your symptoms. Some people with ME/CFS find they feel good straight after exercise, but then crash later on, so make sure you monitor how you feel, hours to days after exercise.
• Stop the physical activity well before you feel any symptom flare. Pacing yourself is very important.
• Remember that the amount of exercise you can do will change from one day to the next.
• Listen to your body if you dont feel up to exercising on a particular day, dont.
• Find out as much as you can about your ME/CFS. Make sure you consult with health professionals who fully understand ME/CFS as a biomedical disease

What Are The Symptoms Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

People who have CFS may experience the following symptoms:

• Tender or painful areas in your neck or armpits due to swollen lymph nodes .
• Muscle soreness.
• Pain that moves from joint to joint without swelling or redness.
• Loss of memory or concentration.
• Trouble sleeping.
• Extreme tiredness after exercising that lasts more than 24 hours.

These and other symptoms often wont go away or keep coming back for 6 months or more.

CFS may occur after an illness . Or it can start during or shortly after a period of high stress. It can also come on slowly without any clear starting point or any obvious cause. In some cases, CFS can last for years.

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Housebound Or Bedbound With Me/cfs

About 25% of people with ME/CFS are housebound or bedbound. Those who are housebound may be able to undertake minimal daily tasks for themselves, such as brushing teeth, cooking or using a computer for short periods of time, but they have to pace their activity and often use aids to help them . They are unable to leave the house, often because this requires more energy than they have available. When they do leave the house, they often need mobility aids such as a wheelchair or mobility scooter, or other assistance . Recovery from a trip out of the house can take days, or longer.

Some people are so severely unwell that they are bedbound some or all of the time. The most severely unwell may be unable to undertake even simple tasks, like eating or going to the toilet by themselves. They may require additional medical devices, such as feeding tubes, to help them get enough nutrition and fluids, and can be totally dependent on carers.

What Are The Symptoms Of Sore Throat And Headache

When you have a sore throat, you may have:

• Pain or scratchiness in your throat.
• Pain thats worse when you speak or swallow.
• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck .
• Red or swollen tonsils with white spots on them.

Your headache symptoms may include pain that:

• Comes on slowly.
• Feels dull and aching.
• Affects both sides of your head.

Its also not unusual to have fatigue with sore throat and headache. Fatigue, chills and muscle aches are all symptoms of viral and bacterial infections.

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Problems With Thinking Memory And Concentration

If you have ME/CFS, it’s also common to have:

• problems remembering certain words, names or numbers
• difficulty concentrating or difficulty focusing on more than one thing at a time
• problems remembering things that happened recently
• being slow to speak or react to things

These problems are sometimes described “brain fog”.

Symptoms Of Coronavirus: Fever Tiredness And Dizziness Among The Warning Signs You Could Have Covid

With metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire in Victoria enduring another lockdown amid spiralling coronavirus cases, you might be getting that here we go again feeling.

No sooner have restrictions lifted in various parts of Australia, it feels like theyre being reimposed just as quickly due to COVID-19 enjoying a resurgence in the southern parts of the country.

As community transmission continues to escalate, it is more important than ever to recognise the symptoms of COVID-19.

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What Causes A Sore Throat

The most common cause of a sore throat is a virus like a cold or the flu, COVID-19 or glandular fever.

Less than 1 in 3 sore throats is caused by a bacterial infection. Some sore throats are caused by the bacteria Strepococcus pyogenes. This is sometimes called a strep throat. If bacteria are the cause, you tend to become very unwell and your infection seems to get much worse. If the sore throat is caused by bacteria, you may benefit from antibiotics.

Sometimes a sore throat can be caused by tonsillitis , mouth ulcers or allergies.

Causes Behind Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Post Covid

There can be multiple causes behind the post-COVID chronic fatigue syndrome, such as:

• Post-COVID Stress Syndrome: It causes hormonal and neurotransmitter imbalance in the body, which, in turn, becomes unable to provide enough strength and support to the muscles.
• Inflammation: Post-COVID, there is significant inflammation in the body. It leads to oxidative stress in muscles and an imbalance between leukotriene and prostaglandin. Such inflammation in muscles causes myalgia, tiredness, and muscle tenderness.

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