Patient Q: I have to be nauseous many times every morning when I brush my teeth, and I often feel dry and uncomfortable in my throat, sometimes with a tingling sensation, and I went to the hospital to check that it is chronic pharyngitis, and I have been treated for a long time, but the effect is not obvious. Is there anything I can do? Dr. Wei Chunsheng of the Department of Otolaryngology, Fudan University Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, Fudan University, replied: The incidence of chronic pharyngitis is high, mostly seen in adults, characterized by a long course of disease, stubborn symptoms, not easy to cure. The reason for this is that the cause is complex, with local factors and systemic factors. The former includes chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, tooth decay, or long-term stimulation of tobacco, alcohol, dust and harmful gases; the latter includes chronic gastritis, gastroduodenal ulcer, chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, anemia, etc.. Therefore, the treatment of chronic pharyngitis is firstly to find various causes, treat them, and reduce various pharyngeal stimuli such as smoking and alcohol cessation; then it is local symptomatic treatment, including tablets, sprays, mouthwash, etc. It should be emphasized that the treatment of chronic pharyngitis does not use antibiotics in principle, while Chinese medicine plays a greater role in it, mainly for nourishing Yin and lowering fire. Patient Q: We moved to a new house six months ago, and for the last three months I have been feeling a very itchy throat and dry cough, especially at night, and sometimes the cough is so severe that I even cough up urine. What should I do to treat it? Doctor’s Answer: Pharyngitis has many causes, and in recent years, allergies are playing an increasingly important role. The main symptoms of pharyngitis with allergy as the cause are itchy throat and cough, especially dry cough. This is when the first step needs to be to find as many definite allergens as possible in order to avoid or reduce exposure as much as possible. In your case, strengthening the ventilation in the room is a desirable method, and if necessary, you can ask the relevant departments to do indoor air quality testing and do the corresponding treatment. Secondly, on the basis of conventional treatment of pharyngitis, appropriate application of some anti-allergic drugs will play an obvious effect. In addition, it is also necessary to apply some cough suppressants to reduce the symptoms on the one hand, and on the other hand to interrupt the cycle of coughing that stimulates the mucous membrane of the throat and thus aggravates the cough. Patient Q: My son is 8 years old and he had a cold two months ago. He has long recovered from the cold, but he has a “hmmm” sound in his throat all day long. Doctor’s answer: When you have a cold, the throat will be more or less inflamed, and the secretion will be increased and attached to the throat, and you will feel uncomfortable. At this time, the action of clearing the throat by “hmmmm” is good for clearing the secretions in the throat. It is easy to form a habitual behavior when children are in their formative years. Even when the cold is over and the inflammation in the throat has subsided, many children will still involuntarily retain this action. Parents do not have to be overly nervous about this, thinking that there is something serious wrong with the throat, and of course there is no need to use antibiotics. You can take some throat tablets to reduce the discomfort in the throat; more importantly, remind the child to minimize such movements or divert their attention, and the symptoms will slowly disappear. Patient Q: My mother is 55 years old and has been feeling a lump in her throat for the past year, sometimes with a feeling of moving around, but eating is not affected. She has had many tests such as laryngoscopy, CT and barium meal, and there is nothing serious wrong. She has a lot of burden in her mind, could she have a tumor? Doctor’s Answer: Your mother has done many tests and basically ruled out diseases such as inflammation or tumor in the throat and adjacent surrounding organs. This phenomenon should be categorized as pharyngeal heterosensitivity, or “plum pneumonia”, which is more common in middle-aged women. Many patients are very worried about having tumors because of the persistence of this symptom, so it is also called “suspected cancer”. Generally speaking, if the duration of pharyngeal discomfort is long and the symptoms are obvious when swallowing saliva, but not obvious when eating, it is unlikely to be caused by tumor. In terms of etiology, overburdened mind is a very important factor that the symptom is not easily improved. Therefore, the main treatment for this kind of patients is to make the necessary examination and exclude the organic disease, and then to explain and eliminate the worries. Patient’s question: For several years, I often feel dry and itchy throat, sometimes even ants crawling in it, and I have taken a lot of medication, but it has not reduced. I have been advised to have my tonsils removed because I have tonsillitis. Is it feasible? Doctor’s Answer: From the symptoms you describe, you are most likely suffering from chronic pharyngitis, not chronic tonsillitis. The diagnosis of chronic tonsillitis is based on a history of repeated acute tonsillitis attacks, which are characterized by sore throat, painful eating, fever, and red, swollen tonsils, sometimes with pus on the surface. In the interval of the attack, there are no obvious symptoms, and the examination reveals scarring on the surface of the tonsils and sometimes a little secretion. In case of recurrent chronic tonsillitis, tonsillectomy can be considered. For chronic pharyngitis, surgery is not advisable for one reason: the tonsils themselves have a certain immune protective effect; and the scarring of the tonsils after surgery may aggravate the discomfort of the throat. Patient Q: I have a history of chronic pharyngitis for more than 10 years, usually it’s a foreign body feeling in my throat and occasionally a little pain, and I didn’t pay much attention to it. But last week, I went on a business trip and came back with a sore throat and painful meals, but no fever. Is it still chronic pharyngitis? Doctor’s Answer: It is estimated that you have an acute inflammatory attack based on chronic pharyngitis, due to strain or cold factors. It is recommended that you go to the hospital, check, exclude acute epiglottitis and other lesions, appropriate amount of some anti-viral drugs and heat detoxification of Chinese medicine, pharynx with some tablets or sprays, oral antibiotics for a few days if necessary, and make appropriate rest, should soon be cured.