OT-sore throat reality check?

There seems to be a spate of posts in the past week about sore throats and concerns about whether cpap is the cause. While undoubtedly some people may suffer sore throats due to dryness and mouth breathing while using cpap, everyone should be aware that cold & flu season has begun and there are a lot of viruses out there. I know several people personally who have had sore throats recently, and none of them use cpap.

Also, in many parts of the country people have turned on the heat in their homes; many types of home heating result in drier air in the house, so you might be breathing drier air a lot of the time, irritating the nasal and sinus mucosa. Room humidifiers help out, though they have to be kept clean or they just add unhelpful bacteria into the moist air they put out.

A large percentage of sore throats are due to viral causes. Remember that you don't need a prescription for antibiotics unless the cause is bacterial. If your sore throat is extremely painful and swallowing is difficult, a simple test for streptococcus at your primary care doctor's office will check; most have the instant test now. If you don't have strep, your doctor will likely tell you to gargle with warm salt water 3-4 times daily (1/4 teaspoon of salt in 4 oz warm water) and drink hot non-caffeinated tea (a tea containing slippery elm, like Throat Coat, is very soothing). Hot liquids stimulate the presence of red blood cells in the region, which help with healing. And you have to wait for it to pass; a viral sore throat can hang around for 2 to 3 weeks easily.

That said, our best defense is a good hand washing as often as possible to cut down on the spread of germs. And try to relax.