A throat abscess is a very dangerous diagnosis requiring immediate medical intervention. Abscess, or abscess, is a cavity with purulent contents, covered with a shell of granulation tissue. Purulent inflammation in the throat arises from an infectious process that can develop in different parts of the throat:
- retropharyngeal, or pharyngeal, abscess (infectious process in lymph nodes and pharyngeal cellulose tissue);
- peritonsillar, or okologlotochny, abscess (infectious process in okolomindalinovoy cellulose).
Without timely adequate treatment, the throat abscess can lead to stenosis of the larynx and suffocation, to infection in the deep tissues of the neck and into the chest cavity, to the development of sepsis.
Causes of throat abscess
The causative agent of the disease is most often mixed pathogenic microflora, most of which can be represented by streptococci and staphylococci. They can join:
- E. coli;
- mycoplasma;
- toxoplasma;
- Proteins;
- meningococci;
- fungi (candida, aspergillus);
- rarer - the simplest (parasitic abscess of the throat).
The reasons for the development of throat abscess can be the following:
1. Untimely conducted, inadequate or inadequate treatment of an infectious-inflammatory disease:
- angina;
- otitis;
- sinusitis;
- pharyngitis ;
- measles;
- flu;
- scarlet fever;
- caries and others.
2. Penetration of pyogenic microorganisms with insufficient adherence to aseptic and antiseptic rules during medical manipulations:
- adenotomy;
- tonsillectomy;
- gastroscopy;
- bronchoscopy;
- endotracheal anesthesia, etc.
3. Traumatization of the pharyngeal mucosa, mechanical damage:
- foreign object;
- rough food;
- fish bone, and the like.
The following factors contribute to the appearance of the disease:
- decreased immunity;
- avitaminosis;
- supercooling;
- diabetes;
- oncological diseases;
- smoking.
Symptoms of an abscess in the throat
The disease, as a rule, manifests itself almost immediately. Purulent abscess in the throat can be recognized by such signs:
- pronounced pain in the throat, which can give in the ear, teeth, increases with swallowing;
- difficulty opening the mouth and swallowing;
- sensation of a lump in the throat;
- bad breath;
- change voice timbre, hoarseness;
- high body temperature (up to 39-40 ° C);
- salivation;
- enlarged lymph nodes in the neck;
- pain when turning the neck;
- deterioration of general well-being (weakness, fatigue, headache).
When the throat feels in the affected area, a tumor is observed, as well as seals on the skin, enlarged lymph nodes, and an increased temperature of the skin. With the self-opening of the abscess, its breakthrough and the release of purulent contents, the state of health improves, the pain decreases.
How to treat an abscess of the throat?
Patients who are diagnosed with a throat abscess are recommended hospitalization. Treatment includes surgical intervention, namely, opening the abscess, cleaning and disinfecting it
Drug therapy with throat abscess requires the appointment of antibiotics, as well as anti-inflammatory, anti-edematous, anesthetic and antipyretic agents. In addition, the use of immunostimulating drugs, vitamins is recommended. After the suppression of the inflammatory processes, physiotherapeutic procedures can be prescribed.