What are the common symptoms of chronic pharyngitis?

Pharyngitis is a common respiratory disease, especially among people in some special industries, such as hosts and teachers, who are at high risk of pharyngitis. Pharyngitis is divided into acute pharyngitis and chronic pharyngitis, and the manifestations are slightly different. So what are the common symptoms of chronic pharyngitis?

Dry throat; depending on the individual's feeling, some people feel very dry, but most people only feel slightly dry. This situation is related to autonomic dysfunction of the pharynx (hyperactivity of the sensory nerves). Because of the dryness, some people want to drink some water from time to time to moisten their throats, while others don’t want to drink water, or drinking water is just a habit.

Throat pain; mostly caused by inflammatory stimulation. The pain in the throat varies from person to person, with some experiencing mild pain and others experiencing severe pain. But in most cases, the pain is more obvious during an acute attack, and milder during a non-acute attack. Some people have throat pain on one side, some have pain in a certain part of the throat, and some people just say they feel throat pain but cannot point out the specific part.

Foreign body sensation in the throat; related to inflammatory stimulation, or autonomic nervous system 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. Many patients cannot clearly explain what it is. Some people also say that it feels like "there is phlegm sticking", "ants crawling", "burning", "heat rushing up", "as spicy as eating chili peppers", and other sensations, etc. The more you pay attention to this feeling, the more obvious it becomes; when you are busy at work and your mind is relaxed, and your attention is not focused on the throat problem, it seems like nothing happens. However, if you experience difficulty or obstruction in swallowing when eating, it may not be pharyngitis but other serious diseases.

Throat itching is 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. Coughing is an instinctive self-protective action of the human body, which is to cough out things that cause discomfort in the lungs, trachea, and throat; because of this, coughing becomes a symptom of lung, trachea, or throat disease.