Sore Throat

It’s worth being careful, because some symptoms of sore throats (like a cough) are shared with other, much more contagious illnesses – like COVID-19. If you’re worried your sore throat might be COVID-19, then we would advise booking a Virtual consultation with one of our clinicians and booking a COVID test. If you have a temperature and/or a cough, then you should also self-isolate until you have determined that you don’t have COVID-19.

It’s also worth knowing that infections like this can impact people with long-term conditions like asthma, heart failure, or diabetes differently. If you’ve got one of these and get a sore throat or cough, then we’d recommend booking a consultation with one of our nurses or GPs.

Generally, we don’t treat sore throats with medication like antibiotics. This is because these days, clinicians are careful not to over-prescribe antibiotics, and with most sore throats antibiotics won’t help anyway.

While sore throats normally get better by themselves, they can still be unpleasant. Our advice for most sore throats would be to have plenty of rest, stay hydrated, and to use paracetamol or ibuprofen for the pain. If your throat hurts, gargling with warm, salty water can also help speed along the healing process (though we wouldn’t advise this for children).

Some patients like to use lozenges to help with sore throats. You can collect these from any Pharmacy without a prescription.

If you are very anxious about your health, our view is that it’s always better to speak with a medical professional and have these concerns addressed. They will be able to help you understand your illness, give you some advice, and let you know what to expect. It’s worth remembering though that with most sore throats, prescribed medication is not the best way to treat them.

As our Virtually clinicians consult by telephone or video, you’ll be able to speak with them even if you’re self-isolating. Please take two photos of your throat and upload them into the consultation form.

You should speak to a Virtually GP:

• if your temperature is over 38.5 on two successive readings 6 hours apart,
• if you cannot swallow saliva
• if you notice a change in your voice
• if your sore throat hasn’t cleared up by itself after more than a week,
• if you’ve had a persistent cough for a couple of weeks,
• or if you have a cough which rapidly gets worse.

These may be a sign that you’ve got an infection which is more serious than a common sore throat.

For most sore throats, seeing a pharmacist will be enough. A pharmacist will be able to advise you on your illness, and will sell over-the-counter medication like paracetamol, ibuprofen, and lozenges to help with the pain of a sore throat. Virtually has partnerships with a number of pharmacists, and you can also use our search tool to quickly find your nearest pharmacy.

Does this article answer all of your questions on this topic? If not, please let us know as we’re always keen to update these in order to make them as informative and helpful as possible.