Chronic sore throat

My throat has been inflamed for several years now.

I first noticed problems with my throat shortly before my thyroid problems, hair loss, joint pain, etc. took off, but I dismissed it as a coincidence. It first presented as a terrible dry cough that lasted a week and kept me up for a few hours each night. This was not an ordinary cough, when I say terrible I mean an uncontrollable, extremely powerful contraction of the abdominals, sort of like dry heaving. The funny thing is that I had no other signs of infection - no headache, fever, etc. The coughing stopped almost immediately upon getting out of bad (standing up, I guess), so this made me think of something like acid reflux.

That was 5 years ago. Since then, I wake up in the morning about 50% of the time with a dry/sore throat that lasts for a few minutes after I get out of bed (again, acid reflux?). I really didn't think much of it until about a year ago, when I was yawning a big yawn and a friend pointed out that my throat was quite red. I've been checking my throat every few weeks since then and it continues to appear veiny and inflamed.

All these symptoms don't bother me per se, but given what we all know about chronic infection/inflammation, I wonder if in fact this is the cause of some of my other problems.

I can't be the only one who has experienced this, I'm curious to know what you guys think. If this is not acid reflux, I was thinking about following an intense listerine gargling regimen for a few weeks; but even if this helps the throat, I'm not sure how much it's going to help reduce systemic inflammation. Thoughts?

I definitely recommend going to see a doctor - I didn't see that you mentioned a doctor anywhere in your post. While you may or may not want to take drugs to fix the problem, a doctor usually can do a good job diagnosing the true condition, whether it be a chronic infection, thyroid imbalance, or hydration/kidney issue, or something else.

In the meantime, take some garlic and elderberry. Take two pills per day of each for 2-3 weeks. This should help infectious possibilities. Nature's Way is a good brand for those. Take some aloe vera juice - Aerobic Life is a good brand that doesn't have chemical preservatives. Try an ounce twice a day. This should help sooth your throat - drink in small sips. Additionally, take a glass of water and add about of tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon of baking soda. Gargle as deep as you can, and if you swallow a little bit while doing so, it is okay.

See how that does for you.

David Rodgers, M.S. Nutrition
Nutritionist / Hair Loss Author

Obviously you wouldn't be posting a thread on sore throats if you smoked cigarettes, but I felt the need to get the question out of the way because I did for a long time and I frequently awoke with sore throats.

Additionally, do you use a fan at night?

Having a fan blowing on you for the entire night can really, really dry out your throat, similar to the way your throat gets dry during winter months. A humidifier helps. But I insist on using a fan at nighttime, something about the sounds helps me sleep. I too awake every morning with a sore throat that disappears after about 5 minutes with no residual pain for the rest of the day, until the next morning of course.

I've also heard that systemic candidiasis can cause a chronic sore throat, although I've come to hate how much that term is thrown around at every health problem. Never experience thrush have you?