What could be causing these symptoms?

Question

For the past week, I have had weird symptoms of a generally dry cough, irritated throat (tickly, NOT sore).. and excess phlegm/mucus. I very frequently get an urge to draw phlegm from my throat.. and cough. The cough is generally dry. The phlegm is sometimes yellow in colour, only now and then, usually its thick, more clear. I get an immediate urge to cough if i stretch my head back (which stretches my neck). Only rarely does my nose feel a little congested.

A couple weeks before these symptoms started I had a throat infection (acute infective pharyngitis) for which I completed an antibiotic course.. that went away. But then about 2 weeks after that cleared, I started to get these symptoms.

What could they be caused by? Could it be something sinister like throat cancer... or maybe simple as Post nasal drip??

Answer 1

What is Pharyngitis?

Often referred to as a sore throat, Pharyngitis is a painful inflammation of the pharynx (the area that joins the nasal cavity and the oral cavity to the larynx) in the throat region. Pharyngitis occurs most commonly with a viral upper respiratory infection.

When a person has Pharyngitis they may find it difficult to swallow, with their throat feeling ‘scratchy’ and dry. Inside, the throat often appears swollen, red and inflamed with or without white spots (filled with pus). It is not uncommon for a fever or cough to accompany Pharyngitis.


Diagnosing Pharyngitis
Your doctor will be able to diagnose Pharyngitis by looking inside your mouth, towards the back of the throat. There are two types of Pharyngitis that can look quite similar; viral Pharyngitis and bacterial Pharyngitis.

Tests for Pharyngitis A throat culture is often taken to determine if bacteria are present. The throat is swabbed with a cotton swab and the sample is sent to a laboratory for culture and analysis. The results are often only obtained from the lab more than 24hours later.

A rapid strep test, which is a screening test for Group A Streptococcus, the most common bacterial cause of Pharyngitis may be performed and analyzed in the physician's office, with results available in 15 minutes.

However this test is not as reliable and negative results must be confirmed by culture. Most cases are usually diagnosed purely on history and physical examination which may reveal swollen tonsils (near the base of the tongue), sometimes covered with small white or gray pustules.

The lymph nodes in the neck often become swollen and tender with infection of the tonsils or tonsillitis occurring simultaneously.


What Causes Pharyngitis?

The major cause of Pharyngitis is infection. 90% of cases are viral, the remainder caused by bacterial infection and very rarely, oral thrush. Seasonal allergies are another common non-infective cause of Pharyngitis.


Organisms such as Streptococcus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae can cause bacterial Pharyngitis. Infection is spread by person-to-person contact.


No, you do not have throat cancer. It's possible that you have a residual postnasal drip from the infection or a seasonal allergy for the dry cough of mostly clear mucus/phlegms. Another bout of acute pharyngitis or tonsillitis could make your throat very sore not "tickly" You'd also have some difficulty in swallowing.

Answer 2

I would suggest going back to the DR to not only get checked out, but to get more (and different) antibiotics. It's possible that the first ones didn't 'get everything', and now you may have a secondary bacterial infection. Although a fever is usually present with any infection, every ones' body is different. Also, having the first infection may have worn your immune system down so much, that you have contracted something else that was going around! Good luck to you, and I hope you feel better soon!

Answer 3

Yellow phlegm means its been in your lungs for a while and now you are bringing it up, that's good. You probably had a cold when you had the throat infection and now you are just feeling the residual effects of it. NO you don't have throat cancer.

Answer 4

Sounds like a cold to me. Try using Vicks Vapor Rub on your chest at night to loosen up congestion and just rest and take care of yourself as it works its way through your system.

If you're really worried it's something bad, go to the docs. Always a good bet when you have those kinds of concerns and worth it for the peace of mind.

Answer 5

Doctors know better but as per my experiences, it so hapened that too much antibiotics lowered your resistance power and thus the virus could infect you easily.

i think you have a viral infection.

it can' t be throat cancer.

so don't get stressed, take doctors advise.

Answer 6

A prolonged cough should be checked by your doctor, possibly referring to an ENT.

Answer 7

most likely it's not throat cancer, but if you are concerned or the symptoms are bothersome, you should see your doctor. :)

Answer 8

maybe you should go to a doctor

Answer 9

whatever it is you need the expert advice of a trained PHYSICIAN!

Answer 10

maybe its the FLU i dont no