What could be wrong with my throat?!


Question: What could be wrong with my throat?
I've had a sore throat on and off, for about 2 months now. I've been to a few previous doctors who basically did a "guess" about strep and gave me three different rounds/kinds of antibiotics over a 3 week period. Still didn't get better. I went to my primary care doctor, he thought I may have had Mono...did blood tests for Mono, platelet counts, etc. I was also feeling extremely tired all of the time, for about a month. Now it's working on two months. I went back to the same doctor again recently, with the same problems. My throat is red, it has red and whitish elongated patches going around the circular perimeter of the throat. I've been coughing up dark green and bright yellow phlegm for about a week now. The 7 weeks or so before that, it was sore and had the patches, but no phlegm. At my most recent visit, the doctor did a rapid strep test - negative. Everything else seemed fine, including my ears, etc. Though I had told him that my ears and head felt rather stopped up. He said my throat "looked a little red." It's freaking red, puffy and nasty looking. Enough that he gave me Prednisone (a steroid) for the swelling (which I don't understand how he could see swelling if he thought it was "only a little red"). He also put me on Zyrtec for a month. I'm 2 days into taking it, and my throat itches just about all of the time, itching to the point that it makes me cough a lot in an attempt to make it stop. When I do cough, it is productive and brings up the dark green/yellowish phlegm. He said these signs are "not typical" for an allergy, but he believes that I have an allergy. My workplace is very dusty and germy (an airport)...but I've been there for almost 2 years now. This particular sore throat and cough just don't want to go away. I've had "Herpangina" before, and the tickling sensation in the back of my throat from the irritation, swelling and phlegm is similar to that. I am coughing a LOT due to the itching in my throat. 4 doctors now, and it's 2 months later - still having problems. Surely I don't have a mystery condition...what would be causing such a thing? This horrible itching has only been going on about a week, though. My primary care doctor saw it, heard me coughing and everything...but doesn't seem sure what to do.

Answers:

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Dry itchy throat often appears together with dry eyes, mouth and skin. Common causes are:

Cold windy weather
‘Sick building disease’ from excessive indoor heating or air condition
Stuffed nose and breathing through mouth
Acute or chronic throat inflammation
Dehydration
Under-active salivary glands in older people
Marijuana and tobacco smoking
Caffeine in coffee, sodas and energy drinks
Alcohol
Sj?gren’s syndrome
Medications, such as antidepressants, drugs to treat urine incontinence, belladonna (atropine), barbiturates, ergotamine, opium, diuretics, antihistamines or sprays to treat asthma.

So consider each of these possibilities. Since you have already taken three rounds of antibiotics it is probably not a bacterial infection, but it may be a persistent viral infection of some sort. Unfortunately there is no medication that will treat a viral throat infection. You really just have to bear with it until your body's immune system can fight it off. Get plenty of rest and drink plenty of fluids to help the recovery process.

http://www.throatproblems.co.uk/viral-th…
http://www.healthhype.com/itchy-throat-c…




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