Sore throat and the sensation of a foreign body in the throat can be psychological in nature, caused by stress. However, organic causes are far more common, primarily infections.
Stress can cause various somatic symptoms, including the sensation of a foreign body in the throat and sore throat. It is difficult to see these two symptoms separately. For some people, the throat is a “stress organ”, so in stressful situations, a sore throat and the feeling of a foreign body in the throat appear. These symptoms are often psychosomatic, but most often it is a somatic symptom that is part of the clinical picture of pharyngeal infections. A sore throat and the sensation of a foreign body can also be caused by some psychological disorder, which in turn can be triggered or worsened by stress.
Stress as a cause of diseases and disorders
In addition to stress sometimes being the cause of a “psychic” sore throat and that feeling of a foreign body, stress can also cause some disorders or diseases in which the above symptoms are present.
It is most often a laryngopharyngeal reflux disease, which is the result of the return of stomach contents from the stomach to the area of the larynx and pharynx. Acid with enzymes, primarily pepsin, causes irritation in the throat, which is manifested by a sore throat, but also by the sensation of a foreign body. These symptoms are followed by painful and difficult swallowing.
These symptoms can also be provoked by eating spicy food and food that stimulates belching and the return of stomach acid. Such a sore throat is long-lasting and is treated with dietary measures, alginates and proton pump inhibitors.
Viral and bacterial infections
However, the most common cause of sore throat is infection. In most cases, these are sore throats caused by viruses that are part of upper respiratory tract infections or, simply put, a cold.
Colds are the most common diseases of modern adults and children. A healthy kindergarten child has the right to six to eight acute infections of the upper respiratory tract, and an adult two to four times a year. In acute infections of the upper respiratory tract, sore throat is one of the dominant symptoms. In most cases, this symptom goes away when the cold is cured, and no therapy other than painkillers is needed.
Bacterial sore throat is up to five times less common than viral sore throat, and this sore throat is much more pronounced than sore throats with common colds. Bacterial sore throats are treated with antibiotics
Sometimes bacterial sore throats are complicated by the formation of purulent accumulations-abscesses in the pharynx, and this requires urgent surgical treatment.
Allergic sore throats
In addition to infections, a common cause of sore throats and the feeling of a foreign body in the throat are allergies, mainly related to inhaled allergens. Considering the high prevalence of allergies, it is not unusual that so-called “allergic” sore throats are quite common.
Allergic sore throats are milder than infectious ones, but generally last longer. They are treated symptomatically with lozenges and solutions for gargling and anti-allergy drugs.
Injuries
Trauma can also be the cause of sore throat and the feeling of a foreign body in the throat. This is mostly about pharynx injuries caused by some hard snacks or hot soups, teas and the like. In this case, it helps to avoid solid food until the injury heals and symptomatic therapy with lozenges and solutions for gargling.
Anemia
Sore throat and the sensation of a foreign body in the throat are also present in anemia, i.e. iron deficiency. These symptoms can help identify iron deficiency and are mainly present in anemic women. After correction of iron deficiency with replacement therapy, the symptoms stop.
“Lump in the throat” – Globus hystericus
As the feeling of a foreign body is a psychological symptom, it can be seen from its old name: “globus hystericus”. In the past, namely, it was often described mainly in patients with neuroses, which once had a synonym for hysteria. Such patients complain of the feeling of a foreign body in the throat or, as some describe it, a lump in the throat. The treatment of these disorders consists of psychotherapy and drugs such as anxiolytics or sedatives.
All in all, sore throat and the feeling of a foreign body in the throat are a very common symptom of varying intensity and different causes. Symptomatic therapy with painkillers and local preparations such as pastilles and gargle liquids is in most cases the first choice of treatment.
Find more professional advice at the polyclinic for the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose and throat diseases and for minimally invasive aesthetic surgery of the head and neck in Alba Rubra.
This text was created in collaboration with portal “ADIVA – your portal for health”
