A sore is a common illness that can occur at any age. It also sometimes appears as a first sign of another disease, like a cold, flu, or mononucleosis. Children under 2 years usually don’t complain about a sore throat.
You can also identify a sore throat in young children if they don’t want their favorite foods or start crying during feeding. Many factors, including bacterial infections in the mouth, cause sore throat.
For instance, an abscessed tooth can cause bacterial infection in the mouth and significant pain leading to a sore throat. Fortunately, a child can quickly recover from a sore throat illness with proper and timely care.
If you or your child has a sore throat, consider visiting a trusted urgent care center for quality care and treatment.
Here’s what you need to know.
When a wisdom tooth fails to erupt fully, it becomes prone to infections. The gap holds food particles and plaque conducive to bacteria build-up on the gum flap. It is also challenging to clean impacted wisdom teeth, making them prone to infections.
Impacted wisdom teeth may also cause and spread bacteria around the mouth, leading to a sore throat. Lastly, wisdom is very close to the rear of the mouth, explaining why a child may experience a sore throat if one or more teeth have an infection.
Symptoms of sore throat may vary based on the cause; however, look out for the following signs:
Several viral infections can cause sore throats, including the common cold, flu, COVID-19, mononucleosis, measles, and chickenpox. If a viral infection causes a sore throat, your child will develop cold-like symptoms, including coughing, runny nose, and visible swelling.
Strep throat is a bacterial sore throat, usually caused by streptococcus bacteria. Unfortunately, it is contagious and spreads through the air—e.g., when someone coughs or on a surface that someone has touched with bacteria.
Sore throat caused by bacteria has symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, stomach ache, and mostly no cough.
The best way to prevent sore throat is to avoid contact with viruses and bacteria that cause the infection. Practicing good hygiene is also helpful.
Here are a few preventive tips you can teach your child:
A sore throat caused by a viral infection lasts five to seven days and rarely requires medical treatment. Consider giving your child pain medication as directed by a physician, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, to ease pain and fever.
An antibiotic medication doesn’t help sore throat caused by viral infection. A doctor will prescribe antibiotics if a bacterial infection is the cause of your sore throat. Take the entire sore throat medication as advised, even if the symptoms have disappeared
If you don’t take the medication as prescribed, the infection may worsen or spread to other body parts. Moreover, failure to take the full dose increases the risk of contracting rheumatic fever or kidney inflammation.
Take your child to a doctor if sore throat symptoms do not disappear after the first drink in the morning. See a doctor if your child has painful throat symptoms and is under 2 years old.
It’s also important to contact a doctor within 24 hours if you notice the following symptoms:
Seek emergency care if your child has the following symptoms:
When a child gets a sore throat, they experience pain or discomfort in the throat. It also becomes worse when they swallow. Infections that cause sore throat contribute to other symptoms such as fever, body aches, headache, or vomiting.
It, therefore, highlights the need to visit an urgent care center to receive timely and quality care.
At Lifeline Urgent Care Center, we open up late evenings and on weekends, making us an ideal solution for emergency sore throat symptoms.
Contact us online or call us at 281.771.1144 to book an appointment.
Lifeline Urgent Care is a go to in your time of medical need. The staff there were professional, attentive and helpful. They handled me with care and listened to my concerns. Marissa, the physician assistant was so good I wanted her as my PCP. I definitely will go back if I need urgent care. Thank you.
View More Reviews on Google Maps
Read some of the recent articles from our blog below.
Bronchitis is a medical condition that causes inflammation of the bronchial tubes that c...
Is a Hot Tub Good for a Fever? Fever is the ultimate battle between your immune system ...
Telemedicine is a model where healthcare providers deliver healthcare services to their ...