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4 Reasons Your Throat Hurts at Night
You’ve noticed that your throat is sore at night. But you don’t have a fever, and you don’t feel sick. What’s causing this troublesome symptom?
Board-certified otolaryngologist Dr. Nilesh Patel specializes in treating patients with ear, nose, and throat disorders. Dr. Patel performs a thorough examination of your ears, nose, and throat at your appointment and may perform certain tests. If you’re not physically ill, it’s likely that a change in lifestyle habits and/or change in environment can relieve your sore throat.
Following are four reasons your throat may hurt at night.
Gastric reflux disease (GERD)
You may have acid reflux if your throat is sore at night. Perhaps you thought that GERD is characterized by a burning feeling in your chest, not your throat. While many people with GERD do experience heartburn in the chest repeatedly, it’s not always the primary symptom for everyone.
Are you sometimes hoarse during the day? Perhaps you have to clear your throat often before you speak. These annoyances, as well as your sore throat, may be your presenting symptoms of GERD.
Pollution and smoking
Do you live in an area with high levels of air pollution? Air pollution can cause a chronic sore throat. Factories producing chemical waste contribute to this health hazard.
Investing in an air purifier at home can help reduce the amount of pollutants you breathe in and relieve your sore throat. Masks help when you’re outside.
If you’ve been a smoker, you likely already know that smoking can result in a chronic sore throat. Smoking or being around secondhand smoke can also increase your risk for strep throat.
When you light up a cigarette, you’re breathing in thousands of chemicals, many of which are toxic and cause cancer. Invest in a smoking cessation program to improve your health.
Allergies
Allergies can spring up at any time during your life. If you didn’t have them as a child, you can develop them as an adult.
Pollen can cause a sore throat and other uncomfortable symptoms. Maybe tears are springing from your eyes and you have a stuffy nose.
Dr. Patel performs allergy tests to determine whether allergies are the cause of your discomfort. He provides oral allergy medication or administers allergy shots to create immunity to the pollen.
Muscle strain from overuse
Are you a teacher, a singer, a salesperson, or a bartender? If you use your voice all the time, you may have developed chronic laryngitis, characterized by hoarseness, coughing, and throat pain.
If you’ve overused your vocal cords, try to give them a rest when you can. Invest in silent periods during the day when you just don’t talk. Try speaking more softly. Also, ease up on the alcohol and don’t smoke. Both are dehydrating and cause inflammation.
Call either of Dr. Patel’s Midtown, New York, offices or request a same-day appointment through our online portal. We help relieve sore throats.
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