Sore throats are very common and usually nothing to worry about. They normally get better by themselves within a week.

To help soothe a sore throat and shorten how long it lasts, you can:

• gargle with warm, salty water (children should not try this)
• drink plenty of water
• eat cool or soft foods
• avoid smoking or smoky places
• suck ice cubes, ice lollies or hard sweets – but do not give young children anything small and hard to suck because of the risk of choking
• rest

You can ask a pharmacist about ways of relieving the pain and discomfort of a sore throat by:

• using paracetamol or ibuprofen
• using medicated lozenges containing either a local anaesthetic, antiseptic, or the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicine
• using anaesthetic spray (although there's little proof they help)

You can buy these treatments from a supermarket or from a pharmacist without a prescription.

Antibiotics

You do not normally need antibiotics for a sore throat because they will not usually relieve your symptoms or speed up your recovery.

They'll only be prescribed if a GP thinks you could have a bacterial infection.

If you have a sore throat you might have:

• a painful throat, especially when swallowing
• a dry, scratchy throat
• redness in the back of your mouth
• bad breath
• a mild cough
• swollen neck glands

The symptoms are similar for children, but children can also get a temperature and appear less active.

Sore throats are usually caused by viruses (like cold or flu) or from smoking. Very occasionally they can be caused by bacteria.

A sore throat can also be caused by:

• laryngitis
• tonsillitis
• strep throat (a bacterial throat infection)
• glandular fever