What causes inflammation of the throat?

Posted on Wed, 5 Mar 2014

Question: the back of my throat (left side) is puffy and hurts to swallow and open mouth wide.

Answered by Dr. Prahlad Duggal (17 minutes later)

Brief Answer: Use antiseptic gargles and analgesics Detailed Answer: Hi, Thanks for the query. You seem to be having inflammation of the throat which is known as pharyngitis and if tonsil of that side is inflamed then tonsillitis. Inflammation occurs because of infection of the throat and this can result in edema of the lining mucosa of throat. This can give rise to a puffy feeling in the throat and also pain. Reflux can also contribute to this problem. Please use antiseptic gargles and take proton pump inhibitor along with an analgesic. In case the problem does not resolve or increases or fever appears or the jaw movements become restricted, do see an ENT. If puffiness increases or jaw movements become restricted, there is need to rule out any abscess formation in that region. Feel free to ask another query. Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar