What are the symptoms of pharyngitis and tonsillitis? How to distinguish?

Tonsillitis and pharyngitis are both very common diseases, but many people have very vague definitions of tonsillitis and pharyngitis and cannot distinguish them. So what is the difference between pharyngitis and tonsils?

1. Definition of tonsillitis and pharyngitis

Tonsillitis is an inflammatory lesion of the lymphoid tissue masses at the root of the tongue, which is divided into acute lingual tonsillitis and chronic lingual tonsillitis; pharyngitis is an acute inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa and submucosal tissue, which is divided into acute pharyngitis and chronic pharyngitis.

2. The difference between tonsillitis and pharyngitis:

1. Cause

The symptoms of tonsillitis and pharyngitis are very similar. Both are caused by cold, excessive fatigue, excessive smoking and drinking, and can be transmitted through droplets or direct contact with the virus.

2. Clinical manifestations

The clinical manifestations of tonsillitis and pharyngitis are basically the same, mostly dry throat, burning sensation, pain, foreign objects in the throat, and constant dry cough. In the early stage, the lymph nodes at the mandibular angle are swollen and painful, and in the later stage, it turns into headache, fever, general discomfort, loss of appetite, dry stool, sore limbs, etc. In severe cases, there may even be stuffy ears, tinnitus and hearing loss. The symptoms of acute pharyngitis are milder than those of acute tonsillitis.

3. Inspection

Examination of tonsillitis showed acute congestion of the pharyngeal mucosa, swelling of the throat, a large amount of sticky secretions and yellow-white pus spots in the mouth; examination of pharyngitis showed inflammation of various layers of the pharyngeal wall mucosa.

4. Treatment

Patients with tonsillitis and pharyngitis should quit smoking and drinking, improve their working environment, pay attention to rest, drink plenty of water, and eat light and easily digestible food. The most important thing is to strengthen daily exercise, enhance physical fitness, improve immunity and prevent upper respiratory tract infections. Also follow medical treatment.

How to distinguish tonsillitis from pharyngitis

In clinical medicine, tonsillitis and pharyngitis are two different diseases based on different anatomical locations and pathological changes, but there is no obvious difference between the two. The causes and clinical manifestations are basically the same, but the treatments used are different. Therefore, before treatment, it is necessary to confirm what disease it is and then treat it accordingly.