Abscess of the throat often occurs after suffering a disease such as tonsillitis. It requires immediate medical and, sometimes, surgical intervention, since purulent processes that are localized in the head are fraught with serious consequences. What a throat abscess looks like in the photo, as well as its symptoms, helps to understand the distinctive features of the purulent process.
Stages
Abscess of the throat proceeds through the following stages:
- The first stage is characterized by the presence of signs of inflammation, in which purulent accumulations are visible with a throat abscess (pictured).
- The second stage has a more pronounced pattern of manifestation. At this stage, the cavity with pus reaches its maximum stress and begins to collapse under pressure.
- The third stage is the final stage, in which there is a rupture of the cavity with pus.
Location
Depending on the location of the cavity in which the pus is located, abscesses are divided into:
- front - a common position, since microbes easily get there and settling on the machines, provoke inflammation;
- posterior - the occurrence of an abscess in the cavity near the pharyngeal tonsil;
- lower –accumulation of pus develops below the palatine tonsil;
- lateral - the most difficult place for an abscess to occur, leads to complications.
Topographic features
Three groups are distinguished by topographic features:
- peritonsillar abscess is an inflammation of the areas that are located around the tonsils;
- peritonsillar abscess is an inflammation in the loose tissues of the pharynx;
- retrapharyngeal abscess - arising in the pharyngeal space.
Causes of occurrence
Most often, an abscess in the throat occurs when pathogens such as streptococcus, staphylococcus, and sometimes Escherichia coli enter. This condition is usually a secondary manifestation, that is, it is a complication of another disease.
Abscess can cause complications of a disease such as tonsillitis. The infection enters the throat through the lymph nodes, so they are in an inflamed state.
Main causes of an abscess in the throat:
- Mechanical damage by a solid object when eating. It could be a bone or a foreign object.
- Trauma of the mucosa after gastroscopy examination of the gastric tract.
- Injury to the mucosa when taking high-percentage alcohol or vinegar.
- Sore throat when eating hot drinks or hot food.
- Complications of untreated sore throat.
- Consequence of the presence of certain sexually transmitted diseases, such as syphilis and respiratory, tuberculosis.
- The presence of an infectious condition inmouth.
Diseases affecting abscess
The following diseases can also accelerate the development of an abscess in angina:
- HIV infection;
- diabetes mellitus;
- presence of malignant tumors;
- any infectious condition that lowers immunity levels.
Symptoms
Symptoms of an abscess in the throat begin to appear immediately after the onset of development, in the initial stages. An abscess is characterized by the following symptoms:
- the presence of spreading pain along the branches of the nerve plexus to the ear and the region of the alveolar process;
- a sharp contraction of the chewing muscles, which leads to difficulty opening the mouth;
- feeling of having a foreign body in the throat;
- squeezing feeling in the throat, which does not allow to fully swallow food, and sometimes is the result of profuse salivation;
- swelling and soreness when touching the lymph nodes;
- hot food causes discomfort, while cold food relieves symptoms;
- hyperthermia;
- presence of bad breath;
- voice drops, takes on a sour look;
- feeling worse, weakness, lethargy and insomnia appear;
- in severe cases, the presence of shortness of breath, which is a consequence of the overlap of the larynx for the passage of air, as well as increased pain when turning or tilting the head;
- presence of swelling of the paratonsillar region;
- enlarged tonsils.
After the abscess opens, pain and inflammation disappear for a while.
Complications
A complication of a throat abscess occurs when the disease is not timely disposed of. This is due to the fact that an abscess forms a cavity where pus collects. Normally, in this cavity there are all pathogenic pathogens and microbes that caused inflammation, they do not spread beyond this area. But sometimes a throat abscess can be complicated by the fact that an independent rupture of the cavity occurs, where the source of infection was located. The infection is released, and, once on the mucous membrane, it is absorbed through the walls of the throat, goes into the general bloodstream, and is spread throughout the body by blood or lymph.
This spread of pathogens can lead to the development of a septic condition, causing a general disorder of the body. It is necessary to treat immediately after revealing signs of rupture and intoxication of the body with pathogens. If you do not take action, then their spread can lead to death. The condition is not self-treating. When a cavity with pus ruptures, complications of this may appear within an hour. Therefore, if such a process is detected, you should immediately consult a doctor and be hospitalized.
Diagnosis
A doctor can make an accurate diagnosis of a throat abscess only after learning the clinical picture of the development of the disease. During the examination, the doctor always pays attention to the condition of the lymph nodes and the presence of swelling in the throat area. To do this, he palpates the surface of the throat. He also conducts a visual examination of the larynx for lesions using a laryngoscope. For clarification, the doctor may prescribe the following laboratory tests:
- Blood test. With an abscess, an increased number of leukocytes is detected in the blood.
- Examination of a throat swab for the presence of pathogens that are clearly visible through a microscope. Most often, they look for the presence of streptococcus, staphylococcus, E. coli.
- Study of the reaction of bacteria in the smear to antibiotics.
- Testing for turbeculosis and syphilis.
- Examination of urine for the presence of pus.
- Sputum analysis for dangerous pathogens.
Additional Research
Also, the doctor, along with laboratory tests, may prescribe the following instrumental studies:
- Ultrasound of the paranasal sinuses;
- otoscopy;
- rhinoscopy;
- X-ray of the maxillary sinuses;
- X-ray of the cervical spine.
After conducting the necessary research, establishing the symptoms and treating the abscess of the throat in adults, proceed directly to therapy.
Surgical treatment
Abscess operation in the throat is usually performed by excision of the abscess and suturing. The choice of surgical incision method will depend on the location of the inflammatory process. This operation is performed under local freezing. For an anterior abscess, an incision is madein two ways: through the palatoglossal arch or in the place of maximum accumulation of pus.
Posterior abscess is recommended to be cut when using drainage through the posterior palatine arch at a distance of half a centimeter from its edge. When cutting the lower abscess, the tissue is cut through the cavity in the lower part of the palatoglossal arch.
The incision technique should be shaped so that the tissues surrounding the abscess receive an abundant blood supply. It is especially important not to damage large vessels, for this it is recommended to dissect the tissues along the course of the vessels and to a shallow depth, and then, pushing them apart with clamps, open the abscesses. The use of clamps is necessary so as not to damage the tissues with the operating instrument.
After opening with the help of antiseptics ("Furacilin", "Rivanol", "Chlorhexidine", etc.), gargle is done. This is done to prevent the absorption of pus through the walls of the pharynx. It is recommended to carry out a secondary opening of the sides of the incision due to the fact that on the first day after opening, pus can again accumulate in the abscess formation cavity, and the edges of the cut mucous membrane immediately begin to recover. After draining the abscess cavity, inflammation in the pharynx decreases, the temperature normalizes, pain disappears when swallowing, and the general condition improves.
Drug treatment of throat abscess
In the initial stages of abscess development or after its removal, different antibiotics are prescribed. To startdrug treatment, it is necessary to examine the pus for the presence of a type of pathogens, and already by the type of pathogens, a type of antibiotic is selected that would effectively affect them. There are several ways to take antibiotics if you have an abscess:
- oral antibiotics (tablets, capsules);
- topical application (ointments), used to treat and prevent abscesses such as sore throats;
- injection of drugs directly into the abscess site, most often used for severe inflammation.
Most often, treatment for an abscess of any stage is carried out with penicillin antibiotics:
- "Amoxicillin";
- "Cephalexin";
- "Carbenicillin";
- "Oxacillin";
- "Piperacillin".
Prescribe the above antibiotics for ten days. If the patient is allergic to this series of antibiotics, then macrolide antibiotics are prescribed:
- "Erythromycin";
- "Clarithromycin";
- "Oleandomycin";
- "Azithromycin";
- "Josamycin";
- "Midecamycin".
Assign the above macrolides for ten days. Ointments for topical external use are also prescribed. With their use, the result of treatment occurs in a week. The advantage of such an ointment is that antibiotics, practically without getting into the general bloodstream, act on the affected area. For example, use drugs such as:
- "Levomekol";
- "Vishnevsky's ointment".
If a person, in addition to an abscess, has diabetes mellitus, then drugs that stabilize metabolism are additionally prescribed, for example:
- sugar-reducing;
- insulin;
- lipid-lowering drugs.
Folk treatment
Treatment of a throat abscess at home consists of therapy with different formulations, which are described below:
