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Sore Throat Symptomatic TreatmentAka: Pharyngitis Symptomatic Treatment

Mild to moderate Pharyngitis
1. Liquid Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen
2. Salt water gargles (1 tsp salt in quart warm water)
3. Diet of smooth, slippery and wet foods
  1. Ice cream
  2. Jell-O
4. Sucking candies (e.g. butterscotch)
5. Topical anesthetics not recommended due to rebound pain
  1. Topical anesthetic (eg Chloraseptic) throat spray
  2. Soothing throat lozenges (e.g. benzocaine)
6. Herbal tea containing "Demulcents" (e.g. Throat coat)
  1. Contains Elm bark, licorice root and marshmallow root
  2. Offers short-term relief of Pharyngitis (<30 minutes)
  3. Brinckmann (2003) J Altern Complement Med 9:285
Severe Dysphagia and Odynophagia
1. Codeine 30-60 mg q4-6h prn severe pain
2. Trial of oral fluids 20 minutes after pain medications
3. Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) 25 mg gargles up to qid
4. Maalox 10 ml swish gargle and spit before meals
5. Magic Mouthwash (gargle and spit)
  1. 1:1:1 mix of Benadryl, Maalox and Viscous Lidocaine

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This page was written by Scott Moses, MD. This page was last revised before 5/10/08, prior to consistent tracking of revision date. This page was last published on 5/10/2008. Please send comments and questions to the editor. Contact information may be found on the page About the Family Practice Notebook. These pages are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.