Prevention

• Wash your hands regularly, especially if you've been out and about or around sick people.

• Stay hydrated and eat a nutritious, balanced diet to maintain your immune system.

• Use a humidifier in winter to prevent the air in your home from becoming too dry.

• Manage stress and get plenty of sleep so your immune system can function well.



Treatments

• Eat cool, soft food and drink cool or warm drinks, and suck ice lollies. Adults can try sucking lozenges or ice cubes and gargling with warm, salty water which may also help reduce swelling and pain. 
• Avoid smoking and smoky environments.
• Adults should drink at least 6-8 glasses of fluid (preferably water) every day.
• Painkillers such as Paracetamol and ibuprofen can help to relieve symptoms of sore throat, fever, and headaches in adults.
• You may find some over-the-counter preparations helpful such as gargles, lozenges and sprays.

Use what suits you best and talk to a member of your pharmacy team if you’re unsure.

Children

You can relieve symptoms of sore throat by eating cool, soft food and drinking cool or warm drinks and sucking ice lollies.  

Offer your child regular fluids. If you’re a breastfeeding mother, offer your child as many feeds as they will take.

Painkillers - Do not give paracetamol to a child under 2 months. Do not give ibuprofen to a child under 3 months or under 5kg or to children with asthma. Never give Aspirin to under 16s.

Children can go to school or nursery with a sore throat but should stay at home until any fever goes away.

A member of your pharmacy team can help with advice on managing your child's symptoms. 

Urgent medical attention required

Call 999 or go to A & E if you or your child has any of these:

• You find it hard to breathe in, and your throat feels like it’s closing up or your breathing sounds high pitched sound (stridor) when you breathe
• You’re drooling and find it difficult to swallow even small quantities of water – this is an emergency!
• Your symptoms are severe and getting worse quickly 
  

When to get medical assistance

Seek medical advice if your symptoms are no better after 2 weeks or if you have frequent sore throats that do not respond to painkillers. 

• With any temperature over 37.8°C, consider whether you or your child has COVID-19 and follow our earlier advice. If they then have a persistent high temperature of over 38°C for more than 3 days that does not come down, call your GP or 111. 
• A sore throat that doesn’t get better within 10 to 14 days or that gets worse rather than better may suggest glandular fever. 
• Your pain is severe and does not respond to over-the-counter painkillers. 
• Your voice becomes muffled. 
• You find it difficult to drink enough fluids and become dehydrated.
• Your symptoms are so bad that they severely affect your quality of life and prevent you from functioning normally. 
• If you suffer from a sore throat and have a deficient immune system because, for example, you have HIV/AIDS, or you take certain medication (such as chemotherapy, high-dose steroids, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, or carbimazole), you should seek medical advice if you develop a sore throat. 

If you have any of the above symptoms contact your surgery or ring NHS111 in England and Wales. They will tell you what to do and can arrange a call from a healthcare professional if you need one.