Pharyngitis / Sore Throat / Tonsillitis

Comments from Expert Advisory Committee

• The majority of sore throats are viral; most patients do not benefit from antibiotics. Consider a delayed antibiotic strategy and explain soreness will take about 8 days to resolve.
• Antibiotics make little difference to how long symptoms last or the number of people whose symptoms improve.
• Withholding antibiotics is unlikely to lead to complications 

Symptomatic Relief

• Use paracetamol and/or ibuprofen for pain relief
• Weak evidence supports the use of a once off oral dose of 10mg dexamethasone in adults with sore throat. This has been shown to reduce throat pain at 48 hours compared to placebo.
• Patients reports symptom relief from using over-the-counter products such as topical anaesthetics sprays (e.g. benzydamine) and lozenges (e.g. benzocaine)

Treatment

Patient Information

• The HSE Health A-Z website provides patient information on many hundreds of conditions and treatments
  • HSE Health A-Z Topic on Sore Throats
• We recommend patients use the website developed by HSE/ICGP/IPU partnership www.undertheweather.ie for tips on how to get better from common infections without using antibiotics, what you can do for yourself or a loved one and when to seek help.