Can Allergies Cause a Sore Throat?

Understanding Allergies and Their Symptoms

Understanding allergies and how they relate to a sore throat before we get into what fever can do to give you a sore throat, let's recap some allergy tendencies. Allergies are going overboard with a trigger when it has no harmful effects on you; this is the case with an allergen. Pollen, dust mites and pet dander are common allergens encountered both indoors and outdoors, causing allergic rhinitis.

Your body releases histamines and other chemicals as part of the immune response to an allergen, causing inflammation. They emit the same chemicals commonly associated with allergies: runny nose, congestion, itchy eyes, and sneezing. However, this is not where it stops; in addition to these symptoms, many people also get a sore throat as part of their allergic response.

How Allergies Cause a Sore Throat

Understanding Its Cause

Well, how in the world do you get sore throat allergies? Postnasal drip, or the flow of excess mucus from your sinuses into the back of your throat, is where this relationship stems. This is because the process works as follows;

1. Postnasal Drip

The exposure to allergens implants more mucus in your body, which is nothing but a means to flush the irritating elements. But, the extra mucus does not always go out from your nose. Rather, it can drain down the back of your throat (a problem called postnasal drip).

It drips down as mucus, irritating the lining of your throat — a scrappy scratch feels ensue. The irritation of tissues by the mucus can be mild or severe and may depend on how much mucus is produced, as well as its duration.

2. Inflammation

Inflammation in the throat can also be caused by allergic reactions. In this reaction to the allergen by your system, your throat probably got swollen up a bit, making it hard for you to swallow food. This inflammation can cause your throat to burn, hurt in general or feel small and adds even more discomfort on top of the postnasal drip.

3. Dryness

Sore throat allergies could create dry conditions that can also bring about a dry or sore throat. If you are allergic, your nose is blocked, so allergies lead to mouth breathing due to this congestion. Breathing through your mouth dries out the back of your throat, which can cause irritation and pain. What's more, some antihistamines — medications most commonly used for allergy symptoms — dry you out as a side effect, which only makes the problem worse for your sore throat allergies.

Differentiating Allergy-Related Sore Throat from Other Causes

Keep in mind that not all sore throats are from allergies. Symptoms of a cold, flu or even strep throat are easily mistaken for symptoms of allergies. How do I know my sore throat is an allergy and not just the flu or a cold?

Duration of symptoms is the feature that distinguishes an allergy-related sore throat from one caused by infection. A sore throat allergies occur when you come into contact with an allergen, such as during pollen season or after being around pets. A cold or flu sore throat generally lasts for only a few days to a week, while an allergy-related sore goes on as long you are in contact with the allergen.

Symptoms

Sore throat allergies typically have some combination of sneezing, itchy or watery eyes, and a runny or clogged nose. A sore throat caused by a cold or flu will also produce fever, body aches, and fatigue, which are not usually connected to allergies.

Response to Treatment

The treatment of the allergy sore throat and that caused by an infection responds differently. If taking antihistamines like diphenhydramine(taken only with a doctor's prescription) improves your sore throat, an allergy is the most likely explanation. If you have tried over-the-counter medication and your symptoms do not get better or become worse, then it is important to consider other reasons for the infection, such as a bacterial (as opposed to fungal yeast) origin.

How to Manage Allergy-Related Sore Throat

And if you think that these are the allergies causing your sore throat, there is nothing to worry about as here in this article we have listed a few ways how you can reduce both of them and prevent episodes of it.

Avoid Triggers

The best way to keep from getting a sore throat allergies is not to come into contact with anything that affects your allergic reaction. You may not have a choice in some cases when it comes to exposure, but you can lessen your contact :

• - Favour staying in during times of high pollen (late morning to early afternoon and windy days)
• - Make sure all windows and doors are closed to prevent allergies from entering your home.
• - Deploy HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter-equipped air purifiers to slash the number of indoor allergens, including dust mites and pet dander.
• - After spending time outside, shower and change into indoor clothing to wash away pollen molecules that can aggravate allergies.
• - Choose hypoallergenic bed linens and launder your bedding.
• - Use hypoallergenic bedding and wash your sheets regularly to reduce exposure to dust mites.

You can also opt for some home remedies if you would prefer to stay away from medication and not rely on it. There are several home remedies you can try. Some of them are listed below :

• - Gargling with salt water helps to reduce throat irritation and kill bacteria.
• - Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Keeping your throat moist helps thin mucus, reducing postnasal drip.
• - Adding moisture to the air can prevent your throat from becoming dry and irritated. You can use a humidifier for this.
• - Use honey and herbal teas. Honey has natural antibacterial properties and can coat your throat, providing relief from soreness.

Ending with this, with the hope that every detail shared in this blog will help you in any manner. If have any further queries visit Kundan Ent. The doctors present their help with all the doubts about sore throat allergies or anything related to it in a friendly manner and use the latest technology that eases the treatment.