Sore throat sometimes called pharyngitis is the inflammation of pharynx. This is a condition that more often than not affects children than adults. Most of the time pharyngitis is mistaken for the flu or the common cold.
What are the symptoms of this disease?
Pharyngitis usually occurs all of a sudden and it endures for a minimum of a few days to as long as a week. Its signs and symptoms are mild fever, fatigue and dry and sore throat. The overriding discomfort from this condition is the pain one has to endure while swallowing causing eating food to be uncomfortably painful. The other symptoms of sore throat include swollen throat with thick mucus, hoarse voice, pain in the ears, frequent urge to clear the throat and headache.
What is Traditional Chinese Medicine’s perspective on pharyngitis?
Based on the theories of traditional Chinese medicine or TCM, sore throat is due to pathogenic factors such as Heat and Wind attacking the respiratory system. This causes the Lungs (the lung system) to dysfunction specifically in terms of performing their descending and cleansing activities leading in the process to an inflamed throat. One of the outcomes of the combination of Heat and Wind pathogens is phlegm which blocks the energy pathways called meridians.
How can acupuncture treat pharyngitis?
The basis of acupuncture treatment is to clear the respiratory tract by transforming phlegm, remove the toxins to lessen throat inflammation and to quiet the cough. Acupuncture also helps to tonify the immune system to prevent recurrence of the inflammation that may cause damage to the respiratory tract and make the condition more difficult to treat.
Christina Prieto is an Orlando acupuncturist, a certified Yoga instructor and the founder of Harmony Wellness Center in Central Florida.
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