Q. What are some of the causes of throat pain when breathing?
Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.
There are many potential causes of throat pain when breathing, ranging from common and minor problems to more serious medical conditions. Most commonly, the reason for throat pain when breathing is due to something called laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), which occurs when stomach acid travels up through the esophagus into the back of your throat. This can cause irritation in the throat and lead to pain when swallowing or breathing. Other possible causes include smoking, allergies, environmental irritants such as dust or pollution, postnasal drip caused by a cold or allergies, sinusitis (inflammation of one or more sinuses), strep throat infection, tonsillitis (inflammation of the tonsils), pneumonia or bronchitis (inflammatory lung infections usually caused by viruses or bacteria). In some cases, certain viral respiratory infections can also be implicated in causing this type of throat pain. Additionally it’s important to understand that certain types of tumors located in the head and neck region may also cause this type of symptom – so if you experience any other strange symptoms alongside your soreness then make sure you seek medical help straight away.