What is the difference between chronic pharyngitis and tonsillitis?

When we were young, adults often told us to brush our teeth once in the morning and once in the evening to maintain oral hygiene. If we don’t brush our teeth, various bacteria will easily breed in our mouths. So will not brushing our teeth at night lead to chronic pharyngitis?

Don't brush your teeth at night and be careful of chronic pharyngitis

However, because modern people work hard and have frequent nightlife on weekends, many people have forgotten the habit of brushing their teeth before going to bed after being tired. The doctor told us that if we don’t brush our teeth before going to bed at night, bacteria will easily grow in our mouth. If the mouth is not cleaned for 8 hours, dental plaque will form. When the bacteria enter the respiratory tract, it will cause pharyngitis, which will seriously affect our health.

In the past, we always heard that teachers are prone to chronic pharyngitis. In fact, chronic pharyngitis is no longer a disease exclusive to teachers. Nowadays, many people suffer from chronic pharyngitis to varying degrees, especially middle-aged and elderly people. There are many factors that lead to the onset of chronic pharyngitis. Long-term smoking, drinking or exposure to environmental dust, repeated attacks of acute pharyngitis, rhinitis, and pus stimulation from sinusitis can all induce chronic pharyngitis.

Can you tell the difference between chronic pharyngitis and tonsillitis?

Chronic pharyngitis is often confused with tonsillitis. When people have throat problems, it is difficult to diagnose whether it is chronic pharyngitis or tonsillitis. Let’s take a look at the differences between chronic pharyngitis and tonsillitis.

Site of onset: Pharyngitis occurs in the pharyngeal mucosa, submucosal tissue and lymphoid tissue of the pharynx and larynx; while tonsillitis occurs in the submucosal tissue, crypts and parenchyma of the tonsils. Although the pharynx and tonsils are very close to each other, if you don't know their exact locations, you can distinguish them by looking at pictures.

Clinical manifestations: Pharyngitis and tonsillitis can be divided into acute and chronic. Acute pharyngitis is common in adults, with dry throat, fever, and throat pain as the main symptoms. When the pain worsens, there will be radiating ear pain. Acute tonsillitis is more common in children, with throat pain, foreign body sensation, and fever as the main symptoms. Chronic inflammation is caused by repeated attacks of acute inflammation. The symptoms are more severe than before and there may be other complications.

If you open your mouth and see that your tonsils are congested, swollen, or even have yellow-white pus spots attached, this is a typical symptom of tonsillitis; if the congestion and edema are mainly in the pharyngeal mucosa, or the pharynx is red and the lymph follicles on the posterior pharyngeal wall are proliferating, this is the clinical manifestation of pharyngitis.

The most direct difference is that tonsillitis is prone to swollen tonsils and fever, and the body temperature can reach 39-40℃. Chronic pharyngitis is not likely to cause fever.

Treatment method: Chronic pharyngitis is not a general inflammation and is not often treated with antibiotics. Generally, Chinese patent medicines such as Wutai Pharyngitis Tablets will be used under the guidance of a doctor. Tonsillitis often requires blood tests. If a bacterial infection is found, antibiotics such as cephalosporin and erythromycin need to be used as prescribed by the doctor.