Does pharyngitis cause coughing?

Pharyngitis is a relatively common disease with many symptoms, such as sore throat, difficulty swallowing, foreign body sensation, hoarseness, etc. Of course, pharyngitis can also cause coughing, especially dry cough. Pharyngitis is very harmful to patients. Don't think that this disease is relatively small. In fact, if it recurs, it can easily cause harm to other tissues and organs of the body.

Symptoms of pharyngitis:

1. Dry throat: Depending on each person’s feeling, some people may feel very dry, but most people only feel slightly dry. This situation is related to autonomic dysfunction of the pharynx (hyperactivity of the sympathetic nerves).

2. Sensation of foreign body in throat, inability to cough or swallow: related to inflammatory stimulation, or autonomic dysfunction caused by lymph follicle hyperplasia, etc. The sensation of foreign body in the throat means that there is something stuck, sticking or adhering in the throat.

3. There will be slight pain in the throat: mostly caused by inflammatory stimulation. Most of the time, the pain is mild. In acute attacks, the pain is more obvious, or it is biased to one side, or in a certain part, or the specific part cannot be pointed out.

4. Dry and itchy throat and cough: related to sensory nerve dysfunction in the pharynx, inflammatory stimulation, or allergic factors. The feeling of itchy throat is also a kind of "foreign body sensation in throat", which is very similar to the feeling of "ants crawling" and can easily cause coughing.

5. Frequent "throat clearing" or "half coughing": due to the sensation of a foreign body or the formation of bad habits. Throat clearing refers to when the patient feels discomfort in the throat, he or she consciously or deliberately makes a "crunching" sound in an attempt to make the throat feel comfortable; half a cough refers to when the patient feels discomfort in the throat, he or she coughs unconsciously and unknowingly without actively coughing hard.

Causes of pharyngitis:

(1) Pathogenic microorganisms: including bacteria, viruses, spirochetes, rickettsiae, etc., are the main pathogenic factors of acute pharyngitis. They can come directly from the air and diet, or indirectly from the blood circulation and lymphatic circulation.

(2) Physical or chemical stimulation: Talking too much, liking spicy or hot food, excessive smoking and drinking, and air pollution such as chemical gases and dust can all damage the pharyngeal mucosal epithelium and glands. Destroy local defense systems.

(3) Climate and seasonal factors: Cold weather can cause pharyngeal mucosal blood vessel contraction, reduce the number of phagocytes, and reduce local resistance. Dryness can affect pharyngeal mucus secretion and ciliary motility, reduce the air cleaning and humidification effects, and directly irritate and damage the pharyngeal mucosa. The climate changes greatly in winter and spring, and the indoor air circulation is poor, which can easily lead to a decrease in resistance and the invasion of pathogenic microorganisms.

(4) Systemic diseases: Allergic constitution or systemic diseases such as rheumatic fever, gout, diabetes, heart disease, anemia, nephritis, bronchitis, emphysema, bronchiectasis, tuberculosis, cirrhosis and malnutrition and constipation caused by digestive system diseases can all lead to decreased overall resistance and impaired blood circulation in the pharynx, which can then cause pharyngitis.

(5) Diseases of adjacent organs: Acute or chronic inflammation of the nasal cavity, sinuses, oral cavity, teeth, gums, larynx, trachea, bronchi and other adjacent organs, which may invade the pharynx along the mucosa, submucosal tissue, local lymph and blood circulation, or repeated stimulation of the pharynx by inflammatory secretions, or forced mouth breathing due to obstruction of breathing due to nasal disease, can all lead to pharyngitis.