Throat cancer is a broad term used to cover cancer across a number of organs in the oronasal passage   right from the nasopharynx, oropharynx, glottis, epiglottis to supraglottis. Minus the medical terms, it means anywhere from the back of the nose and throat to the where the neck ends. The mucous cells along this path can undergo changes and begin multiplying rapidly, leading to cancer. The following are some additional risk factors:

Cigarette smoking
Tobacco abuse
History of human papilloma virus (HPV)
Alcohol abuse
Poor dental hygiene
Family history
Cigarette smoking is the most important of all, and a person can significantly reduce the risk by cutting down smoking. The throat has different types of linings and gland tissue, and depending on the cell type affected, the type of cancer could vary.

Symptoms: Throat cancer diagnosis can get delayed as the symptoms are very similar to a throat infection.

Sore throat: A sore throat that lasts for weeks together is often a cause for concern and requires ruling out underlying serious problem. Having associated risk factors is a good way to see if ruling out cancer is needed.
Cough: A cough that does not go away is a cause for concern. This is often associated with other symptoms mentioned here.
Voice change: Usually hoarseness of the voice, which is painless and not accompanied by a throat infection, is an indication of throat cancer.
Difficulty swallowing or breathing: Depending on where the cancer is located, there could be problems in either free breathing or swallowing. The developing mass gets in the way of free air and/or food movement.
Lumpy feeling in the throat: If the developing mass is along the length of the throat, then there could be a lumpy feeling, as if something is caught in the throat and not going down.
Bleeding: There could be bleeding either through the nose or the mouth, depending on the place of the cancer. Again, this is one of the late symptoms and not seen in the beginning.
Unexplained weight loss: As with any cancer, throat cancer also leads to unexplained weight loss.
Depending on the area affected, the symptoms can point to the location. For instance, voice changes are often associated with laryngeal cancer. A combination of risk factor assessment and symptoms will help in pinning down the diagnosis. Reach out to the doctor as soon as you notice something is wrong, as early diagnosis is very good for timely intervention and improving prognosis.

Throat cancer - Symptoms to watch for!

Adenoids refer to the mass of lymphatic tissue situated at the intersection of the back of the nose and throat. They are a part of the body's immune system and play a noteworthy part in battling infections in kids. Adenoids fight off the microbes and infection that enter the body through the nose. They typically occur in children of five to seven years of age and from that point, they begin to decrease. They vanish when the child gets older. This is the physiological development and relapse of the adenoids. However, permanent adenoids are an issue in view of a number of annoying symptoms they show in a child. The major among these are breathing through the mouth and wheezing because of nasal blockage.

Homeopathic medicines are a very safe option than surgery in kids with extended adenoids. It has been noted that adenoids, when surgically removed, tend to regrow. Homeopathic medicines focus on strengthening the child s immune system. The cures are as follows:

Baryta Carb: Baryta Carb is one of the top recorded homeopathic medications for swollen adenoids. It is likewise the medicine to endorse where both tonsils and adenoids are broadened. The child feels sensitive to ice in extremes. The tiniest exposure to icy air causes cough. Cough also shows up at the slightest change in climate. Sneezing and thick yellow nasal release may be seen. Pain in the throat increases on gulping.
Calcarea Carb: Calcarea Carb is another brilliant homeopathic medicine for amplified adenoids with the tendency to get infected. Calcarea Carb will be recommended where the youngster is exceptionally helpless to cold and falls sick after each such introduction. This weak immune system for diseases brings about broadened adenoids or tonsils.
Agraphis Nutans and Merc Sol: Agraphis Nutans and Merc Sol are extremely helpful homeopathic medicines for treating ear grumblings because of expanded adenoids. Agraphis Nutans is the best treatment for deafness because of expanded adenoids. Homeopathic prescription Merc Sol is highly used in case of an ear infection connected with swollen adenoids.
Kali Sulphuricum: Kali Sulphuricum is among one of the top recorded homeopathic solutions for adenoids that regrow after surgery. The symptoms controlling utilisation of Kali Sulphuricum are a blocked nose, mouth breathing and wheezing. Yellow coloured nasal release is also common.
Ammonium Carb and Sambucus Nigra: Ammonium Carb and Sambucus Nigra are incredibly helpful homeopathic medicines for developed adenoids. A youngster that needs these drugs will have an increased nasal blockage. The nasal hindrance is most set apart around evening time. Breathing through the mouth because of a blocked nose is also very common. Ammonium Carb is likewise used for a seeping nose, particularly in the morning.

Contemplating Adenoid Surgery - Try Homeopathy First for Your Child?

What is Sore Throat?
A sore or dry throat is an unhealthy and painful scratchy feeling inside the throat which is coupled with pain while swallowing and can cause really bad irritation. A sore throat usually resolves on its own because it is a mild health problem.

Causes of Sore Throat-
A sore throat is caused by many important risk factors. Let us have a look at some of them:

Viral infection: It is the most common cause of a sore throat and several viruses are present which can result in a sore throat of many intensities.
Toxins like cigarettes, smoke or pollution can also lead to an acute sore throat because of the unhealthy chemicals present in these things.
A bad injury or infection in the throat can lead to a chronic sore throat. Sometimes when people should loudly for long periods also result in a sore throat because the tissues burn away of tear apart.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease also causes a sore throat when the acid from the stomach retreats back to the esophageal tract.
The development of cancer cells or tumor results in a sore throat and blocks the entire throat tract.
Treating a Sore Throat:
Sore throats are easily curable and sometimes they tend to go away on their own. Let us have a close look at the remedies:

Gargling with warm salt-water will hell you to get rid of sore throat because saltwater helps to wash away the viruses and germs.
Honey mixed in tea is an excellent detoxifier and helps your body and throat to get rid of the unnecessary foreign objects stuck in the tract.
Consuming fenugreek also helps in killing the bacterias which are causing the sore throat.
Chamomile tea is a proven relief during throat sores. It has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant abilities that help the throat to get relief and heal overtime.
Drink warm water or liquids which will constantly keep the throat wet and warm leading to the decline of the bacterias present.
Antibiotics can also be taken for 5-6 days if you think no other remedy is working in the right way. However, try not to give antibiotics to children of young age and stick to home remedies. 

Sore Throat - What Causes It?

Throat cancer is as common as breast cancer and more than prostate cancer. In cause of throat cancer, keep smoking as first cause followed by alcohol. 
It occurs when abnormally dividing cancerous cells form growth like tumors in the voice box, vocal cords & other parts of the throat like the tonsils, and the pharynx which is the hollow tube that runs from behind the nose to the top of the windpipe.

The common symptoms of throat cancer include coughing, trouble swallowing, hoarseness, and swollen lymph nodes. There are two primary types of throat cancers according to where they start in the throat- pharyngeal cancer and laryngeal cancer. Pharyngeal cancer forms in the pharynx while laryngeal cancer forms in the larynx or the voice box.

Causes of Throat Cancer
Recognizing potential signs of throat cancer in the early stages of the disease is not easy. Hence, it s critical to know the causes and risk factors for developing this type of cancer in order to be able to diagnose it at a relatively early stage of the disease and prevent a fatality. Common risk factors and causes of throat cancer include:

Gender   Men are up to five times more likely to get throat cancer as compared to women.
Age - Now even young persons in their twenties and thirties are coming with throat cancer.
Exposure to certain chemicals like Asbestos, Nickel, and Sulphuric acid fumes.
The common  lifestyle  causes for throat cancer are smoking or chewing tobacco, as per WHO there is no minimum safe limit of alcohol, vitamin A deficiency due to a diet deficient in green vegetables, and infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) which causes cervical cancer in women and occurs due to unsafe sex.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and poor dental hygiene are also some of the known causes.

The association of throat cancer with HPV infection, a sexually transmitted virus is very interesting. The Cancer Treatment Centers of America has stated that HPV infection is a risk factor for certain oropharyngeal throat cancers.

Cancer Research UK also warns that oral sex, especially with multiple partners, leads to oral cancers due to HPV infection. It further states that men are also more prone to get infected with HPV through oral sex than women and HPV infection is more common in men who have oral sex with multiple partners.

Apart from this, throat cancer has also been linked to other types of cancers like esophageal, lung or bladder. So, if you ve been diagnosed with any of these, you are at greater risk of contracting throat cancer. These cancers also often have the same risk factors.

You can take a few steps to reduce your risk for throat cancer like stop smoking, reduce alcohol intake, maintain a healthy lifestyle   eat plenty of greens, reduce fat and salt intake, and lose excess weight by exercising regularly. You can also reduce your risk of HPV infection by limiting your sex partners and using condoms. Stop alcohol rather than reduce.

Throat Cancer - What Are The Most Common Causes Of It?

Allergies and the common cold afflict everyone. Every person comes down with either of these or both multiple times a year. Children, adults and the elderly all are equally vulnerable to both these minor ailments. And one of the chief complaints of both is a sore throat. But, how can you tell whether your painful throat is a result of an allergy or a cold? Read on to know more.

How are Allergies and Common Cold Similar?

Sore throat is not the only commonality between cold and allergies. There will be other similar symptoms as well.

  A runny and itchy nose

  Coughing

  Sneezing

  Blocked nose

  Painful sinuses

  Postnasal drip

  Conjunctivitis

That is why similar symptoms like sore throat and all the rest make it very hard to tell allergies and a common cold apart.

Can you tell the Difference between Sore throat caused Common Cold or Allergies?

There are a few questions that you will have to ask yourself to find the answer to whether your sore throat is triggered by cold or allergy.

  How did your sore throat manifest itself? Have you been feeling it coming for quite a while now? Maybe, your throat has been feeling itchy for a few days before a full-blown painful throat came along. Or did it start suddenly without a warning? If it is the former, then it is a case of a common cold. But the latter is possibly an effect of allergies.

  If other symptoms are periodic, that is they manifest at certain times of the day like early in the morning or during sunset, your sore throat could be because of allergies. But if the other symptoms last all day, then your sore throat owes its origin to the common cold.

  Are you feverish? Does your thermometer register an above normal body temperature? Then it is a case of a common cold. Allergies do not trigger a fever.

  Have your sore throat and other symptoms started abating in six or seven days? Then it is possibly common cold. The duration of allergies lasts much longer. Or they come and go   depends on the presence of allergens in the air. Treatment for the two kinds of sore throat Common cough and cold have no cure. Your doctor will suggest paracetamol to help manage the symptoms of the common cold and this will bring relief from a sore throat as well. Allergies can be treated with antihistamines. Talk to your doctor who will recommend the necessary medicines.

A sore throat can be a very painful and annoying problem. It could be triggered by both allergies and the common cold. However, there are medicines that can help with both.

How To Tell If A Sore Throat Is From An Allergy Or A Cold?

What is a foreign body (FB)?
Foreign body or FB is an object or piece of extraneous matter that has entered the body by accident or design. It is common to see certain items getting stuck in the ear, nose or throat especially, in young children. While most of the time they do not raise an alarm, however, sometimes they can lead to severe consequences like rupture of the eardrum or even choking.

How do FBs affect ear, nose and throat?

Children over 9 months develop an ability to pick up objects. As they explore the environment around them, they tend to put items such as peas, beans, marbles, beads, cotton, paper, etc, in their mouth, nose or ears. Similar trend may be seen in adults with mental disorders.
Trauma/ fall/accident can force FBs like rock, pebbles into the ear, nose or throat.
Adults while riding a bike or sleeping on the ground (campsites) can have insects: flies, ants, roaches fly into the nose or ear.
Choking occurs when FBs block the airway, common reasons are: not chewing the food properly, diseases like Parkinsonism, drinking alcohol or certain drugs that slowdowns the process of swallowing.
Managing FB in the ear, nose and throat

Foreign bodies in the ear
Symptoms: Pain in the ear, discharge or bleeding from the ear, feeling of fullness or pressure in the ear and dizziness and nausea in extreme cases.

Management: 

Make sure the patient is sitting in an upright position, pull the pinna or outer semicircle of the ear towards the back. This can help you see the object clearly and also loosen it to wiggle out. If you can see the object clearly, use a tweezer to grasp the object and gently remove.
In case a live insect gets trapped inside the ear lie down and place few drops of warm vegetable or baby oil. Use oil only if symptoms of eardrum perforation like pain, bleeding/discharge from the ear is absent.
Tilting the head to the affected side can facilitate gravity to dislodge the object.
Foreign bodies in the nose:
Symptoms: Pain and difficulty in breathing from that side of the nose.
Management: Keep the uninvolved nostril closed by pressing a finger against the side of the nose and gently ask the person to blow from the affected nostril.

Foreign bodies in the throat:
Symptoms: Choking, inability to breathe and speak 
Management: Perform Heimlich maneuver: abdominal thrusts, if trained otherwise, it is advised to call for medical help immediately.

How can you prevent foreign bodies from entering your ear, nose, throat?

Discourage talking, playing, laughing when food is in the mouth.
Do not give whole grapes, popcorn, nuts to children below 3 years.
Keep small objects out of reach of small children.
Teach children to avoid placing objects into their nose, ears.

Presence Of Foreign Bodies In Ear/Nose/Throat - How It Can Be Managed?

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