Can smoking cause a sore throat
Visit the Strep Throat webpage for more information on symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of strep throat.
Sore Throat Basics
Viruses, like those that cause colds or flu, are the most common cause of sore throat. These viruses are not strep throat. Sore throat can be a symptom of strep throat, the common cold, allergies or other upper respiratory tract illness. Most sore throats will get better on their own within one week.
A healthy throat and a sore throat, including uvula and tongue, showing inflamed tonsils.
Signs and symptoms
- Painful to swallow.
- Dry and scratchy throat.
Sore throat caused by a virus or the bacteria called group A Streptococcus can have similar symptoms. Sometimes the following symptoms suggest a virus is causing the illness instead of strep throat:
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Hoarseness (changes in your voice that make it sound breathy, raspy, or strained)
- Conjunctivitis (also called pink eye)
Visit the Strep Throat webpage for more information on symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of strep throat.
Causes
Viruses, like those that cause colds or flu, are the most common cause of sore throat. These viruses are not strep throat.
Other causes of sore throat include:
- The bacteria group A Streptococcus, which causes strep throat (also called streptococcal pharyngitis).
- Allergies.
- Smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke.
Prevention
You can help prevent sore throat by doing your best to stay healthy and keep others healthy, including:
- Clean your hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who have sore throats, colds or other upper respiratory infections.
- Don’t smoke and avoid exposure to secondhand smoke.
When to seek medical care
Talk to your healthcare provider if you or your child have symptoms of sore throat. They may need to test you or your child for strep throat.
Also, see a healthcare provider if you or your child have any of the following:
- Difficulty breathing.
- Difficulty swallowing.
- Blood in saliva or phlegm.
- Excessive drooling (in young children).
- Dehydration.
- Joint swelling and pain.
- Rash.
- Symptoms that do not improve within a few days or get worse.
This list is not all-inclusive. Please see your healthcare provider for any symptom that is severe or concerning. Tell your healthcare provider if you or your child have recurrent sore throats.
Talk to your healthcare provider right away
If your child is under 3 months old with a fever of 100.4 °F (38 °C) or higher.
Diagnosis
Your healthcare provider will determine what type of illness you have by asking about symptoms and doing a physical examination. Sometimes they will also swab your throat.
Treatment
If a virus causes a sore throat, antibiotics will not help. Most sore throats will get better on their own within one week. Your healthcare provider may prescribe other medicine or give you tips to help you feel better.
When antibiotics aren’t needed, they won’t help you, and their side effects could still cause harm. Side effects can range from mild reactions, like a rash, to more serious health problems. These problems can include severe allergic reactions, antimicrobial-resistant infections and C. diff infection. C. diff causes diarrhea that can lead to severe colon damage and death.
How to feel better
- Suck on ice chips, popsicles or lozenges (do not give lozenges to children younger than 4 years).
- Use a clean humidifier or cool mist vaporizer.
- Gargle with salt water.
- Drink warm beverages and plenty of fluids.
- Use honey to relieve cough for adults and children at least 1 year of age or older.
- Ask your healthcare provider about over-the-counter medicines that can help you feel better. Always use over-the-counter medicines as directed.
Over-the-counter medicine and children
Carefully read and follow instructions on over-the-counter medicine product labels before giving medicines to children. Some over-the-counter medicines are not recommended for children of certain ages.
- Pain relievers:
- Children younger than 6 months: only give acetaminophen.
- Children 6 months or older: it is OK to give acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
- Never give aspirin to children because it can cause Reye’s syndrome. Reye’s syndrome is a very serious, but rare illness that can harm the liver and brain.
- Cough and cold medicines:
- Children younger than 4 years old: do not use over-the-counter cough and cold medicines in young children unless a healthcare provider specifically tells you to. Cough and cold medicines can result in serious and sometimes life-threatening side effects in young children.
- Children 4 years or older: discuss with your child’s healthcare provider if over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are safe to give to your child.
Ask your healthcare provider about the right dosage of over-the-counter medicines for your child’s age and size. Also, tell your child’s healthcare provider about all prescription and over-the-counter medicines they are taking.
Resources
Viruses or Bacteria What’s got you sick?
For more on treatment of common illnesses, visit CDC resources:
- Acute Bronchitis
- Ear Infection
- Sinus Infection
- Urinary Tract Infection
- Common Cold Fact Sheet
- Skin Infection Fact Sheet
On This Page
- Overview
- Signs and symptoms
- Causes
- Prevention
- When to seek medical care
- Diagnosis
- Treatment
- How to feel better
- Over-the-counter medicine and children
- Resources
Can smoking cause a sore throat?
Regular smoking can have all sorts of impacts on your health [1] . It can turn your fingernails and teeth yellow, cause erectile dysfunction in men and even affect your fertility. According to the NHS, it can even impact your mental health and your mood, making you feel anxious and irritable [2] . But as well as all these things, one of the biggest impacts of smoking is on your throat, airways and lungs.
Does smoking cause a sore throat?
If you’re a regular smoker, or frequently breathe in secondhand smoke, you may find that you have a scratchy, irritated or sore throat. The irritation is caused by the hot, dry air that removes any moisture from the throat that helps to keep it lubricated. The smoke and toxins within cigarettes can also irritate and even damage the delicate tissue that lines the throat, causing pain in the area. This is why you may also experience frequent coughing and a swollen throat. Symptoms can worsen if you have pre-existing health conditions, such as asthma, bronchitis or emphysema.
However, a sore throat may not necessarily be caused by the contents of the cigarettes themselves. Smoking can weaken your immune system, making you more prone to throat infections that can cause a sore throat. These infections include the common cold, flu, strep throat, glandular fever and more. When you smoke, you’re more susceptible to these kinds of illnesses, and therefore a sore throat may be a side effect.
One of the biggest dangers of smoking is cancer and, in extreme cases, a sore throat can be caused by throat cancer [3] . If your sore throat persists for longer than one week, you should seek medical advice from a GP. They will be able to examine the area and suggest next steps or treatment.
How to cure a sore throat from smoking
If you’re fed up of having a sore throat from smoking, there may be some things that you can try to relieve the pain.
Quit smoking
The most obvious way to get rid of a sore throat that’s caused by smoking is to quit the habit. While this certainly isn’t the easy option, it’s a long-term solution that will solve the problem altogether instead of just masking it. It may take some time for the pain to dissipate, but when your throat is no longer being damaged by the chemicals in cigarettes, it can begin to repair itself.
Stay hydrated
As we’ve previously mentioned, smoking can dry out the throat and cause the pain that you’re experiencing. Therefore, by drinking plenty of water and ensuring that the area stays lubricated, the pain may lessen or even go away altogether. Cold water is the best way to rehydrate, however squashes and flavoured water will work too. You should avoid highly caffeinated drinks, such as coffee and alcohol, as these can dehydrate you further and cause further irritation. Tea is okay in moderation, but you should make sure that you’re drinking lots of water too.
Throat sprays
Throat sprays can work to temporarily numb the pain in the area. These may be particularly helpful when your sore throat is worsened during a cold or other throat infection. You should always read the instructions and use the spray as suggested by the manufacturer. It shouldn’t be used more than eight times per day and can only be administered up to three days in a row. This means that throat sprays are not a permanent solution and you shouldn’t rely on them to get rid of your throat pain long term.
However, they could be used temporarily while you’re trying to quit to alleviate the soreness, for example. They come in all sorts of flavours, from honey and lemon to menthol. You can spray the solution directly to the back of your throat and it goes to work instantly, numbing the area thanks to the anaesthetic within the product.
Elevate your head while you sleep
Smoking can damage the lining of the airways and lungs [4] . This can affect processes such as the production and clearance of mucus, which means that you may have more mucus if you’re a smoker than compared to a non-smoker. This additional mucus can cause a cough, irritate your throat and make you more prone to infections.
When you sleep, you should try to elevate your head, keeping it higher than the rest of your body, particularly your chest. This can help to prevent the mucus from gathering in your throat at night. This excess mucus can also be loosened by staying active, so you should try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. You may begin to see an improvement either in your cough or the pain in your throat.
Resources:
