Could sore throat be a sign of coronavirus? Here’s what experts say
As health experts continue to learn about the symptoms associated with the coronavirus, some people are wondering if they should be concerned when they develop new ailments such as a sore throat.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health agencies have urged people to watch out for common coronavirus symptoms such as dry cough, shortness of breath and fever.
The CDC added more symptoms to its list last month, including the loss of taste or smell, McClatchy News previously reported. Health officials have also reported odd symptoms such as severe blood clotting and “skin lesions on the feet,” also known as “COVID toe.”
“We’re getting a better understanding of how these symptoms express in the general population and not necessarily in hospitalized patients,” Charitini Stavropoulou, a professor of health services research in London, told NPR. “So, it’s a bit of a bigger picture.”
So what about a sore throat?
A sore throat can be a sign of COVID-19, but most infected people don’t experience the symptom, according to the CDC, Health magazine reports.
“Currently, we estimate that sore throat occurs in about 10% of coronavirus cases,” Dr. Michael Lerner, a laryngologist at Yale Medicine, told the publication.
Sore throat is also commonly associated with allergies, which may raise concern among seasonal allergy sufferers. Throat irritation can occur in reaction to airborne irritants including smoke, pollen and dust, according to Healthline.
The website specifically points to postnasal drip as “the main culprit” in cases of a sore throat brought on by allergies, noting that sinus drainage can cause a scratchy throat, excessive swallowing and coughing.
So how do you know your sore throat isn’t something more serious than allergies?
If symptoms are accompanied “by fever and body aches, it’s likely the result of a viral infection, like a cold or flu,” Healthline reported.
As of Saturday, there were nearly 1.3 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and 3 million more worldwide, according to a Johns Hopkins University database. Over 77,000 Americans have died from the virus, data show.
This story was originally published May 9, 2020 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Could sore throat be a sign of coronavirus? Here’s what experts say."