Health advice on swollen glands: what other infections or diseases of any sort could include sore throat symptoms or swollen glands?
The most common sort of infection that occurs in the throat that causes a sore throat, swelling of the glands, and fever is an infection of the tonsils also called tonsillitis. There are three types of tonsillitis and the types are categorized based as acute, subacute and chronic. The categorization is based on the suddenness of onset of the disease with acute being the most sudden and chronic the least. The treatment of tonsillitis therefore varies according to this categorization.
The human tonsils are situated at the back of the mouth and are visible clearly if infected. The tonsils are situated at either side of the uvula – the small piece of tissue that hangs from the roof of the mouth. When the tonsils are infected, and depending on the spread and severity of the infection, the tonsils could appear with white spots on it that is an indication of pus. The tonsils are a part of the lymphatic system and are therefore used to fight off pathogens that attack the body. In other words, they are an integral part of the immune system of the body and in the case of the tonsils are responsible for keeping the upper respiratory tract free of infection. The infection to the tonsils could be bacterial or viral. The bacterial is part of the streptococcus family, which is responsible for many throat infections. If the infection is viral then the most likely culprit is a member of the Herpes causing virus family called the Epstein-Barr virus; this virus is a special virus type that causes adaptive immunity in humans. This means that once you are infected with this virus and recover, then you cannot be infected with it again. Once infection is ascertained by a medical practitioner, the treatment begins.
Treatment for the bacterial infection would be done using antibiotics like penicillin or more likely, erythromycin. If the infection is viral, a course of retroviral drugs might be prescribed; however, traditional practice has been that less severe infections are allowed so that the body itself fights the virus – the only way to deal with any virus till date. Pain killers and anti-inflammation medicine is also administered at this time to deal with the pain and reduce swelling so that food and liquid can be ingested as well. In the case of chronic tonsillitis, there is usually no option but to remove the tonsils completely, similar to an amputation. A few try to avoid this as much as possible since this categorically means less immunity to the upper respiratory system.
