Everyone Healthy Library
Pharyngitis
Condition / disease reference page from the Everyone Healthy database.
! Seek urgent medical care if warning signs appear
Some health conditions or symptoms can become urgent. Use this page for education, but seek help quickly if warning signs are present.
Get urgent medical care now if there is any severe, sudden, rapidly worsening or worrying symptom, especially:
- chest pain, pressure or pain spreading to the arm, jaw or back
- trouble breathing, blue lips, severe wheeze or choking
- stroke-like symptoms such as face drooping, arm weakness or speech trouble
- collapse, fainting, seizure, confusion or extreme drowsiness
- severe bleeding, black stools, vomiting blood or major injury
- severe allergic reaction, swelling of the face/throat or widespread rash with breathing trouble
- severe abdominal pain, severe headache, stiff neck or sudden vision change
- signs of severe dehydration, sepsis, high fever with worsening illness, or symptoms in a baby/young child that concern you
Connected health information
Explore this condition in a clear order
Linked signs and symptoms
1Each sign/symptom opens its own page and links back to related conditions.
Linked drugs / medications
4Medication information is educational only. A doctor or pharmacist should advise whether any medicine is appropriate.
Treatments, therapies and supportive options
12Grouped by treatment type. These are educational database links, not personal treatment recommendations. Evidence labels are shown only where stored in the EH database.
Lifestyle changes
1Behavioural changes
1Alternative and complementary therapies
5Alternative medicine
4Linked diagnostic tests and investigations
2These are pulled from both EH diagnostic-test link tables, including the older large test-link table.
Biological markers/agents
4This visual map shows biological markers/agents reported as increased or decreased with this condition. These are educational relationships only; test results must be interpreted by a qualified clinician because ranges vary by lab, method, age, sex and clinical context.
Often increased
4- Alpha-1-Globulin (Blood, Serum)Reference range exampleAll: 0.1–0.3 gm/dLLinked diagnostic testsProtein Electrophoresis (Blood, Serum Protein)
- Alpha-2-Globulin (Blood, Serum)Reference range exampleAll: 0.6–1 gm/dLLinked diagnostic testsProtein Electrophoresis (Blood, Serum Protein)
- Beta GlobulinReference range exampleAll: 0.7–1.2 gm/dLLinked diagnostic testsProtein Electrophoresis (Blood, Serum Protein)
- White Blood Cell (WBC)Reference range exampleAdult ( > 16y): 4.5–10.5 million/mL; Adult ( > 16y): 3.2–10 million/mLLinked diagnostic testsWhite Blood Cell (WBC) Count
Often decreased
0No markers in this group.
Introduction / full article
Pharyngitis
Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:
Six Flavor Tea (Liu Wei Di Huang Wan, Rehmannia Six) [1, 11, 12]:
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: No recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to show that Six Flavor Tea helps in any way in the treatment of pharyngitis)
Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence
Peppermint Oil [1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]:
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: no recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that peppermint helps to treat pharyngitis)
Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence
Flaxseed Oil [1, 2, 3, 4]:
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: no recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that flaxseed oil helps to treat pharyngitis)
Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence
Red Pepper (Capsaicin):
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It is proposed only as a weak supportive symptomatic support, and even then, has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: no recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that red peppers help to treat or prevent pharyngitis)
Grade of Evidence: very low quality of evidence
Black Walnut (Juglans Nigra):
Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It is proposed only as a weak supportive symptomatic support, and even then, has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.
Recommendation: no recommendation (Available evidence does not support claims that Black Walnut helps to treat pharyngitis)
Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence
* www.gradeworkinggroup.org
Summary References
Treatments:
1. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009
2. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/flaxseed
3. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-flaxseed.html
4. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/flaxseed/index.htm
5. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/peppermint
6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17420159
7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19507027
8. http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/alternat/AT022.html
9. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-peppermint.html
10. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/peppermintoil/index.htm
11. Shen JJ, Lin CJ, Huang JL, Hsieh KH, Kuo ML. The effect of liu-wei-di-huang wan on cytokine gene expression from human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Am J Chin Med. 2003;31(2):247-57.
12. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/six-flavor-tea