Frequent sore throats can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'minor' to 'very serious'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose frequent sore throats, we could:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Food Allergies | 92% | Confirm |
Epstein-Barr Virus | 17% | Unlikely |
Lupus (SLE) | 13% | Unlikely |
Rheumatic Heart Disease | 1% | Ruled out |
Mercury Toxicity | 0% | Ruled out |
Adrenal Fatigue | 0% | Ruled out |
Vitamin D Need | 0% | Ruled out |
Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) | 0% | Ruled out |
Roughly how many times per year do you suffer from a sore throat?
Possible responses:
→ Never / rarely→ About once a year / average / don't know → 2-3 times, mildly → 2-3 times severely or more than 3 times mildly → More than 3 times, severely |
The ear, nose, and throat are common target organs for food allergens. Congestion or inflammation of the nose (rhinitis), sinuses (sinusitis), and throat (pharyngitis) may be due to airborne irritants and allergens, but food allergy may be the undiagnosed cause of these common problems.
Sore throat or pain on taking a deep breath may occur with a flare of lupus.
Rheumatic heart disease is a complication of rheumatic fever, which in turn results from an untreated strep throat. Rheumatic fever can damage the heart valves, causing them to fail to close properly or not open enough.