Sore throat

A chronic sore throat is a commonly reported symptom in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). It forms part of a range of flu-like symptoms that are very common in ME/CFS patients.

Presentation
Sore throats can be particularly common during the initial onset of the illness, which often presents with flu-like symptoms. A sore throat usually appears most commonly in the morning upon waking, or during post-exertional malaise. Some patients see a sore throat as a warning sign to reduce their activity.

A bacterial or viral infection is rarely found.

Prevalence

 * Katrina Berne, PhD, reports a prevalence of 50-90% for chronic sore throat in ME/CFS.
 * In a 2001 Belgian study, 74.1% of patients meeting the Fukuda criteria and 84.1% of patients meeting the Holmes criteria, in a cohort of CFS 2073 patients, reported sore throat.

Symptom recognition

 * Features in the Fukuda criteria, Canadian Consensus Criteria, International Consensus Criteria
 * In the Canadian Consensus Criteria, recurrent sore throat is an optional criteria for diagnosis, under the section Immune Manifestations.
 * In the Fukuda criteria, the symptom of sore throat can be used to help form a diagnosis.
 * In the Holmes criteria, a sore throat is an optional criteria for diagnosis, under the section Minor Symptom Criteria.

Potential treatments

 * Zinc
 * Herbal teas
 * Hot lemon and honey
 * Throat spray or lozenge