Generally speaking, any over-the-counter or prescribed sore throat medicine is superfluous. This is because most sore throats heal on their own although palliative measures for pain relief exist. Since there are also no known medicines for sore throats brought about by viruses, these natural remedies are widely accepted for their anecdotal properties.

Thus, drinking extra warm fluids, gargling with Listerine or apple cider vinegar, eating more fruits and vegetables, avoiding cigarettes and alcohol as well as caffeine and chocolates, and resting in bed are all highly recommended sore throat remedies.

When to See the Doctor

However, when it comes to sore throats brought by bacterial infections, the necessity for the appropriate sore throat medicine increases. Thus, you have to seek medical opinion when symptoms like the following are observed:

• You have fever and swollen glands in addition to white patches at the back of the throat.
• You are having difficulty swallowing liquids; problems with swallowing solids are to be expected.
• You have the sore throat for more than a week accompanied with coughing.
• You have been in contact with someone who has a strep throat.

These conditions can signal the presence of bacteria in your throat. In this case, your doctor might recommend an antibiotic course coupled with painkillers to heal your pharyngitis. However, be informed that your doctor might also not recommend an antibiotic as a sore throat medicine. There are exceptions, of course, like the prevention of the spread of infection to the rest of the body and dangerous complications like rheumatic fever. But generally speaking, doctors nowadays avoid prescribing antibiotics at the first instance of sore throat. Unfortunately, the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in prior years has resulted in increasingly resistant bacteria, which only makes killing them more difficult.

It is, thus, of utmost importance that a doctor’s opinion is sought before undertaking an antibiotic treatment course. When the doctor does recommend antibiotics, be very sure to follow it to the letter (i.e., number of days and quantity of doses) even when you feel better. This is because bacteria has a nasty habit of coming back to invade the immune system only this time, they are more resistant to antibiotic attacks.

What the Doctor May Recommend

In addition to the antibiotic treatment, your doctor will recommend other cures like gargles, painkillers and analgesic sprays. Of course, the abovementioned natural remedies for sore throats caused by viral infections can also be applied.

Gargling with Listerine mouthwash is recommended because is helps in killing the bacteria in the throat. Just don’t share the bottle because you will be transferring the germs to other household members.

Oral pain relievers and analgesic sprays like aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen and Chloraseptic can also ease your suffering. However, be very careful about abusing these medicines because of adverse side effects, not to mention the risk of other diseases. Ask your physician for more information on the subject.