At The Urgent Care at Vermont, we treat patients presenting with coughs, earaches, or throat pain. These symptoms can all be connected to a variety of respiratory conditions, such as viral sore throat, the common cold, bronchitis, and an allergic reaction. Keep track of the symptoms you experience. They will usually be temporary, but come see us if you’re concerned.
Common Causes of a Cough
We can develop coughs for many different reasons, and they come in different types. Some are dry coughs, while others bring up mucus. An acute cough begins rapidly and is due to a cold, flu, or sinus infection and go away within a few weeks, while chronic coughs last longer than 8 weeks. Common causes of coughs include:
- Allergies involving the nose or sinuses
- Asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Common cold
- Flu
- Lung infections like pneumonia or bronchitis
- Sinusitis with postnasal drip
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke
- Lung cancer
- Lung disease like bronchiectasis or interstitial lung disease
- A habit cough with no specific medical cause
Common Earache Causes
Ear aches are more common in children than adults, and sometimes the cause isn’t actually related to a problem with the ear. Here are the most common causes of earaches:
- Earwax Buildup: earwax can build up and harden to the point that it becomes impacted and blocks the ear canal, which may be painful. Do NOT attempt to remove the wax with cotton swabs. Ear drops and irrigation with warm water may soften and dislodge the wax, but it’s best to come see us so that we can remove the wax safely.
- Pressure Changes: normally our ears are great at keeping equal pressure on both sides of the eardrum, but quick changes in pressure can throw it off, like going on an airplane, driving through a canyon, diving, or riding an elevator.
- Swimmer’s Ear: water can become trapped in the ear canal and breed germs, causing an outer ear infection. We may prescribe antibiotic eardrops.
- Middle Ear Infection: a cold, allergies, or sinus infection can block the tubes in the middle ear, which is the most common cause of ear pain. If the cause is bacterial, we will prescribe antibiotics. Otherwise, we may recommend a decongestant allergy treatment. It’s important to keep a middle ear infection from spreading, because it could cause hearing loss.
- Other Causes: something like a toothache, TMD pain, or sore throat can cause pain or itchiness in the ears. The sore throat could be tonsillitis or pharyngitis, and ear pain is often the worst symptom of these conditions.
Common Causes of Throat Pain
The cause of a sore throat isn’t always obvious, but it is usually the symptom of a viral or bacterial infection. A sore throat may be a symptom of:
- Colds or the flu, with other symptoms like a blocked or runny nose, cough, temperature, and achiness
- Laryngitis (inflammation of the voice box), which often includes a horse voice, dry cough, and the constant need to clear your throat
- Tonsillitis (inflammation of the tonsils), which may include red or spotty tonsils, difficulty swallowing, and a fever
- Strep throat (a bacterial throat infection), which may include swollen glands in the neck, difficulty swallowing, and tonsillitis
- Glandular fever, including feelings of exhaustion, fever, and swollen neck glands
A sore throat could also come from exposure to smoke, allergies, or unusually dry air. A sore throat usually doesn’t require medical attention, but come see us if your symptoms are severe or not improving after a week, or if you have a chronic condition or a weakened immune system.