Why Your Throat Might Be Burning—And How To Treat It
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Medically reviewed by Benjamin F. Asher, MD
A burning throat can feel like scratchy or tender pain in the back of your throat, especially when you swallow. Infections like cold viruses and strep throat typically cause a burning throat. Allergies or acid reflux can also lead to a burning throat.
How you soothe a burning throat depends on its cause. Sometimes you can treat it by taking over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications or gargling salt water. Sometimes you might need prescribed medications or other treatment.
Knowing the potential causes of a burning throat can help you figure out what may be causing yours and what you can do to get relief.
Causes of a Burning Throat
A burning throat is another way of describing a sore throat, known medically as pharyngitis. Bacterial and viral infections that target the throat and nose are the leading causes of a burning throat, but there are other potential causes as well.
Common Cold
A cold is a mild upper respiratory tract infection caused by a virus. Nearly 200 different viruses can cause a cold, but the rhinovirus is the most common cold virus. These infections target your nose and throat, causing inflammation in the back of your throat that creates a burning sensation.
Besides a burning throat, cold symptoms can include:
Stuffy nose
Sneezing
Coughing
Headache
Cold viruses spread from person-to-person or from infected surfaces. If you get a cold, you'll notice symptoms a few days after infection. A cold usually gets better in about 10 days.
Influenza (Flu)
The flu is a mild-to-severe respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. Flu viruses infect the nose, throat, and sometimes your lungs, causing a burning throat.
Other symptoms of the flu include:
Fever or chills
Cough
Runny or stuffy nose
Body aches
Headaches
Vomiting and diarrhea (usually in children)
Children and people older than 65 are more likely to have more severe illnesses from the flu. The flu likely spreads when someone with the flu coughs, sneezes, or talks, and their droplets infect you. You're less likely to get the flu from touching an infected surface. Recovering from a non-life-threatening flu can take a few days to almost two weeks.
Post-Nasal Drip
Post-nasal drip is when extra mucus from your nose runs down the back of your throat. This can irritate your throat and cause coughing, leading to a sore, burning throat.
Other symptoms of post-nasal drip include:
Feeling like there's a lump in your throat
Increased swallowing
Irritated sore throat
Speech that sounds raspy or like you're gurgling
Throat clearing
You can develop post-nasal drip from colds, flu, allergies, and cold temperatures. Avoiding allergy triggers, treating allergies, and recovering from infections will typically get rid of post-nasal drip. However, some people may have a chronic cough and sore throat if post-nasal doesn't improve.
Strep Throat
Strep throat is a bacterial infection that affects the throat and tonsils. It is caused by bacteria called group A Streptococcus (group A strep). Strep throat is one of the most common causes of a burning throat, as bacteria cause throat and tonsil inflammation.
Other symptoms of strep throat include:
Fever
Red throat
Red and swollen tonsils
Streaks or white patches of pus on the tonsils
Small, red spots on the roof of the mouth (petechia)
Swollen lymph nodes on the front of the neck
Children may also experience headaches, stomach pain, and nausea or vomiting. Unlike viral infections, strep throat doesn't cause a cough or runny nose. Strep usually isn't a severe illness, but it needs to be treated with antibiotics.
Infectious Mononucleosis
More commonly known as mono, infectious mononucleosis can cause a burning throat. Viruses, usually the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cause mono. The disease is especially common among teenagers and young adults, as mono is spread typically spread through saliva.
Besides a sore throat, mono can cause symptoms like:
Fatigue
Fever
Headache
Body ache
Swollen lymph nodes in the neck and armpits
Rash
Mono symptoms usually last for two to four weeks. Treatment would involve managing the symptoms, such as taking OTC medication to relieve your fever or pain.
Gastroesophageal Reflux (GER) and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
GER, also known as acid reflux, is when stomach acid moves up the stomach and into the esophagus. Your esophagus is the tube that helps carry food from your mouth to your stomach. Stomach acid is acidic, so if it reaches the throat, it can irritate the tissue and cause a burning throat.
GER usually happens after eating or at night. People who experience acid reflux symptoms daily or several times a week may have GERD. This chronic condition can damage the esophagus.
Other common symptoms of GER and GERD include:
Burning in the mid-chest area (heartburn)
Regurgitation
Esophagitis
Esophagitis is inflammation or injury of the esophagus. It's usually caused by GERD, but infections, food allergies, and overuse of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like Advil (ibuprofen) can also lead to esophagitis.
Like acid reflux, stomach acid that enters the esophagus irritates and inflames the throat, causing the throat to burn.
Other symptoms of esophagitis include:
Chest pain
Painful swallowing
Difficulty swallowing
Laryngitis
Laryngitis causes inflammation of the vocal cords. Your vocal cords are inside your voice box (larynx)—the muscular organ in your throat. Viruses that cause upper respiratory infections often lead to laryngitis. Smoking, allergies, and overusing your voice can also cause laryngitis. People with laryngitis often have a constant sore or burning throat when they speak or swallow.
Other symptoms of laryngitis can include:
Fever
Hoarse voice
Feeling like you need to clear your throat
Swollen lymph nodes in the neck
Tonsillitis
Tonsillitis is when the tonsils become infected or inflamed due to bacterial or viral infections. Strep throat often also causes tonsillitis. Your tonsils are large glands on the sides of the back of the throat that help fight infection. When you get sick, the glands make antibodies and swell to eliminate the virus or bacteria. As a result, the throat often becomes painful or sore.
Other symptoms of tonsillitis include:
Red, swollen tonsils
Trouble swallowing
A white or yellow coating on tonsils
Swollen lymph nodes in the neck
Fever
Bad breath
Sexually Transmitted Infection
One type of sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can cause a sore throat is gonorrhea. Usually, the Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria that cause gonorrhea affect the mucous membranes of the reproductive tract. However, it is possible for the bacteria to affect the mucous membrane of the throat.
When you have sexual contact with your mouth, your mouth and throat can be affected by gonorrhea. Usually, gonorrhea of the throat doesn't have any symptoms. When it does, the main symptom would be a sore throat.
If you do have pharyngeal gonorrhea (gonorrhea of the throat), you may be prescribed antibiotics. You would then need to check back in a week or two to make sure the infection has been cleared.
Throat Cancer
Throat cancer is a general term to describe cancer that affects the pharynx (pharyngeal cancer), larynx (laryngeal cancer), or any other part of the throat. Smoking, heavy drinking, and having human papillomavirus (HPV) are the main risk factors for throat cancer. A chronic sore throat that doesn't go away after rest or taking antibiotics is often a sign of throat cancer.
Other symptoms of throat cancer can include:
Trouble swallowing
Lump in the neck
Ear pain
Treatment typically involves surgery to remove any tumors, followed by radiation and chemotherapy to kill cancer cells.
How to Soothe a Burning Throat
You can typically use at-home remedies to ease your throat irritation. However, depending on the cause of your burning throat, you may need additional medical attention.
Home Remedies
Viruses typically take time and rest to get better, but you can still help soothe a burning throat as you heal. Some home remedies that can help soothe a sore throat include:
Warm liquids: Drinking warm liquids like tea can help ease throat pain.
Cold liquids: Drinking ice water or eating an ice pop can help soothe your burning throat.
Salt water gargle: Gargle with warm salt water several times a day to ease throat pain and inflammation. Make it by mixing half a teaspoon of salt with 1 cup of warm water.
Cool-mist humidifier (vaporizer): Adding moisture to the air helps relieve a sore throat and other symptoms of colds and flu viruses.
OTC pain medications: Pain relievers like Tylenol (acetaminophen) can help relieve moderate throat pain.
Antibiotics or Antivirals
Since most burning throats are caused by viruses, you likely won't need to take antibiotics if you have a sore throat. However, bacterial infections that cause a burning throat, like strep throat, may need to be treated with antibiotics.
Your healthcare provider can diagnose a bacterial infection by swabbing your throat and testing the sample (culture) for bacteria that cause strep. Antibiotics will only help treat sore throats caused by bacterial infections. Antibiotics will not help treat a viral sore throat.
If a sore throat is caused by the flu, antiviral medications may help relieve a sore throat as it treats the infection. Flu antiviral medications require a prescription and are typically used to treat people with a higher risk of flu complications.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
If you have a burning throat, it's usually not a sign of a severe health condition. But if you suspect you have a bacterial infection that might benefit from antibiotics, consider contacting your healthcare provider for a diagnosis.
You should also see a healthcare provider if your sore throat doesn't get better after 10 days or your symptoms get worse. Other signs that it is time to see a healthcare provider include:
High fever that lasts longer than four days
Swollen lymph nodes on the neck
Rash
Trouble breathing
While a burning throat caused by a virus usually gets better after resting at home, colds can lead to other illnesses, like bronchitis or pneumonia. Flu complications can also lead to bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, and sinus infections. If you have any concerning symptoms, speak to a healthcare provider.
A Quick Review
Viruses or strep throat typically cause throat inflammation that can cause a burning sensation. Post-nasal drip, acid reflux, mono, esophagitis, laryngitis, tonsillitis, and gonorrhea can also lead to a burning throat. Rarely, so can throat cancer. You can normally treat a burning throat with OTC pain medications, rest, and salt water gargles. However, for certain causes—such as strep or gonorrhea—you may need additional treatment, like antibiotics. Once you treat the underlying bacterial or viral infection, your sore throat should go away. If symptoms stick around or get worse, see your healthcare provider.
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