The problem comes when that assumption remains unchanged even as the symptoms change.
A mild sore throat yesterday does not mean severe difficulty swallowing today should be treated as equally minor.
The decision about whether to seek care should be reassessed as an illness evolves.
When an Infection Becomes More Serious
Most throat infections remain localized and resolve without major complications.
In uncommon cases, however, infection or inflammation can become more extensive.
Doctors may consider several possibilities when a patient arrives with severe throat symptoms, depending on the person's examination, age, medical history, symptoms, and test results.
These can include bacterial throat infections, abscesses involving tissues around the tonsils or deeper structures in the neck, severe inflammation involving the upper airway, and systemic complications related to infection.
One of the most serious possible complications of an infection anywhere in the body is sepsis.
Sepsis occurs when the body's response to an infection becomes dangerously dysregulated and begins threatening normal organ function. It is a medical emergency.
