Symptomatic therapy for sore throat

Symptomatic therapy is recommended for all patients with sore throat.

Symptomatic therapy includes:

paracetamol or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to relieve pain and fever. For dosages, see Oral drugs for mild, acute nociceptive pain in adults or Oral drugs for mild, acute nociceptive pain in children
medicated lozenges containing an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory or anaesthetic drug, or medicated throat sprays containing an anti-inflammatory drug, to relieve throat pain in adults and adolescentsNational Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), 2018.

Patient information on symptom management has been created by NPS MedicineWise and is available here for adults or here for children; alternatively, see the NPS MedicineWise website.

For patients with severe symptoms of sore throat (eg severe throat pain, dysphagia, drooling), consider using a corticosteroid to reduce the intensity and duration of pain. Typical regimens arede Cassan, 2020 The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne (RCH), Last updated May 2019:

dexamethasone 10 mg (child: 0.15 to 0.6 mg/kg up to 10 mg) orally, as a single dose dexamethasone dexamethasone dexamethasone

prednisolone (or prednisone) 50 mg (child: 1 mg/kg up to 50 mg) orally, daily for 1 or 2 days. prednisolone prednisolone prednisolone