How to cope with a COVID-19 sore throat
Loss of smell and shortness of breath are no longer the primary symptoms that you have COVID.
As the virus has evolved in the last three years, the symptoms that are associated with COVID have also changed. They’re milder compared to the original strain, since those who are currently contracting the virus have already been vaccinated or have been infected by it earlier.
Still, we shouldn’t let our guard down. Because a person can test negative and later test positive for COVID-19. It happened to me on a recent trip overseas. Now, that’s a different story.
Top (new) COVID symptoms
According to WebMD, a study of COVID-patients in the United Kingdom reported that a sore throat is still the predominant symptom for COVID BA.4 and BA.5 variants, followed by a headache, blocked nose, a cough with no phlegm, and runny nose.
The good news is that the COVID sore throat can be alleviated with an antiseptic gargle.
In a recent in-vivo study conducted by the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay (UERM) Memorial Medical Center, it showed that a gargling solution containing both benzydamine hydrochloride (HCI) and chlorhexidine gluconate could ease sore throat in COVID-19 patients.
The in-vivo study focused on establishing whether the combination of bensydamine HCI and chorlexidine gluconate is effective in a real-world setting.
The results of the research — conducted from November 2021 to February 2022 — showed that 70 percent of 219 adult Filipino patients with COVID-19 were relieved of sore throat symptoms after using Difflam-C, a locally available gargle, at least once a day.
“Sore throat normally lasts seven to 10 days untreated, but the intervention shortened the duration of sore throat to five days,” reported Dr. Jennifer M. Nailes, lead investigator of the study. “Some even felt better within 30 minutes of gargling.”
Participants of the study were instructed to gargle 15 milliliters of Difflam-C for 30 seconds at three-hour intervals for the first day, and at least once a day for the next six days.
“We asked everybody to still gargle until the end of the seven days, because there are occasions where throat pain can recur,” said Dr. Nailes.
This combination of active ingredients (bensydamine HCI and chorlexidine gluconate) found in the Difflam-C solution have been gaining popularity in the Philippines, particularly among doctors and healthcare professionals, with the synergistic action of its anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anesthetic, and antiseptic properties in relieving sore throat, as well as other symptoms of throat and mouth infection.
“This gargle solution could be viewed as an effective treatment for patients with odynophagia (painful swallowing) or dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), conditions associated with severe sore throat among COVID-19 patients,” said Dr. Nailes.
However, this doesn’t mean that the gargle can reduce one’s viral load, since the study focused only on the resolution of sore throat, clarified Dr. Roberto Salvino, medical director of iNova Pharma Philippines Inc., manufacturer of Difflam-C.
“There’s no specific regimen or guideline in terms of the treatment of sore throat in COVID-19,” he said. “It depends on the doctor prescribing it and at the same time on the patient, because the majority might have self-medicated.”
He added that the gargling solution alone can’t treat a patient, as they are usually also prescribed paracetamol for fever and multivitamins to strengthen the immune system.
As cases rise and new Omicron variants are discovered, the results of this study could be valuable information in making the public more aware of clinically tested remedies to help address key symptoms like the COVID-19 sore throat.
