
Inflamed Throat Glands, Pain While Swallowing, Is It Mechanical Damage Rather Than Viral?

i've had what i thought was inflammed throat glads for a while now, but swallowing pain has been irregular and my glands aren't sore to tough just a minute ago i swalloed and something made a small snapping noise/feeling and suddenly became much more painfull. I now wonder if it is much more mechanical damage than viral. It is very paianful to swallow now and does feel a little like something wants to give way or collapse.
Thank you for your query.
1. The entire throat (pharynx) and voice box (larynx) is formed of and suspended between our skull, spine and chest by various sets of muscles and ligaments.
2. All these structures move and glide over neighboring structures during swallowing, breathing, speaking and movements of the neck and head.
3. During a sore throat, there is inflammation in the throat, lymph nodes and other tissues. Any sudden movement, spasm of any muscle (causing more pain) or swallowing with a dry, dehydrated or inflamed throat may cause the feeling of something snapping inside. This feeling may also occur when the cartilages of the throat and voice box grind against the spine or other ligaments. However, anything actually snapping inside is not possible without extreme trauma or a foreign body.
4. If your pain is not subsiding with muscle relaxants and antispasmodics, you may get a neck sonography (USG) and neck X-rays done. Get a routine throat examination from your local ENT Specialist who may also perform a video laryngoscopy to rule our any trauma within the throat.
5. Rarely, this may be a side effect of your current medication. You may review this with your primary physician.
I hope, I have answered your query. If you have any follow up queries, I will be available to answer them. Please accept my answer in case you have no follow up queries.
Regards.

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