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Pharyngitis or tonsillitis, a throat infection that usually presents with a sore throat, is a common upper respiratory tract infection. Most sore throats are caused by viruses, but sometimes bacteria are involved. Many people carry bacteria in their throat without becoming ill. However, sometimes a bacterial throat infection can occur. Infection with ...

The insertion of a grommet is a common surgical procedure performed in children. Ear discharge (otorrhoea) is often complained of after the procedure. A wide range of treatments are used to prevent the discharge, but the evidence for their effectiveness is inconclusive: indeed, it is not known whether treatment is even necessary. This review found 15 ...

People with cystic fibrosis often have polyps in their nose which can cause discharge from the nose and block it up. We know that people with cystic fibrosis who have polyps in their nose also have more of some types of bacteria in their lungs. This can lead to serious chest complications later on. If we treat the polyps effectively at an early stage, ...

Acute laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx. The most common symptoms are hoarseness, fever, sore throat, postnasal discharge and difficulty in swallowing. Antibiotics are frequently prescribed by physicians or self prescribed. Reasons for over-prescribing antibiotics in upper respiratory tract infection such as acute laryngitis are varied but ...

People with tinnitus hear sounds such as crackling or whistling in the absence of external noise. Noises appear to arise in the ears or inside the head and may be experienced all of the time, or only intermittently. The causes of tinnitus are not yet fully understood and a variety of treatments are offered including medication, psychotherapy, noise ...

Ménière's disease is characterised by recurrent attacks of three major symptoms: vertigo (rotational dizziness), deafness and tinnitus (ringing of the ears), and/or aural fullness, all of which are discontinuous and variable in intensity. The symptoms of Ménière's disease are thought to be caused by excess pressure in the fluids of the inner ear which ...

An acute middle-ear infection (acute otitis media (AOM)) is one of the most common childhood infections, causing pain and deafness. By three years of age, most children have had at least one AOM episode. Though AOM usually resolves without treatment, it is often treated with antibiotics. We assessed the effectiveness of antibiotics as compared to placebo ...

Patients with cancer of the head and neck are at risk of malnutrition during radiotherapy treatment due to the side effects of this treatment and they may need tube feeding to meet their nutritional needs. Tube feeding can either be delivered via a nasogastric feeding tube, which is a fine tube inserted through the nose into the stomach, or a gastrostomy ...

The common cold is a major cause of visits to a doctor in high-income countries and of absenteeism from work and school. There are over 200 viruses which can cause the common cold symptoms including runny nose, congestion, sneezing, sore throat, cough, and sometimes headache, fever and red eyes. Symptoms vary from person to person and cold to cold. ...

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is a condition in which wart-like growths occur in the upper airway of children or adults. This can cause difficulty in breathing or a change in voice. This condition is usually treated by repeated surgery to remove these 'warts', but it has been proposed that additionally using antiviral medications may help ...