Office Workers Beware of Pharyngitis "Striking When You're Weakened"
It mainly manifests as pharyngeal symptoms. In the early stage, the throat feels dry and itchy, with a burning sensation, which gradually develops into pain that worsens when swallowing, and increased saliva. According to data, people with varying degrees of pharyngitis account for 40% of the healthy population. As one of the most common diseases in life, pharyngitis is divided into acute and chronic types. Acute pharyngitis is mainly caused by viruses and bacteria and is most common in winter and spring, while chronic pharyngitis is primarily formed by incomplete treatment and repeated episodes of acute pharyngitis.
Compared to other groups, office workers have a more severe proportion of pharyngitis. According to a survey, 70% of office workers suffer from varying degrees of "office diseases," with pharyngitis ranking first among the top five.
Multiple Factors Induce Pharyngitis in Office Workers
Industry experts believe that as a high-risk group for pharyngitis, office workers have more complex causes compared to others. Large temperature differences between indoor and outdoor offices and poor indoor air quality can easily trigger pharyngitis.
Most office workers work in office buildings with central air conditioning. Due to the difficulty in controlling the temperature with central air conditioning—indoor temperatures are too low in summer and too high in winter, creating a large temperature difference between indoors and outdoors. Furthermore, the difficulty in cleaning central air conditioning affects indoor air quality. These factors can easily induce oropharyngeal diseases such as pharyngitis in office workers. Additionally, in enclosed office buildings with poor ventilation, bacteria and viruses breed. Coupled with smokers "inhaling clouds and exhaling mist," over time, bacteria, viruses, and various irritating gases can lead to oropharyngeal diseases like pharyngitis.
The high work pressure and long-term mental stress of office workers lead to a weakened immune system, allowing pharyngitis to strike when you're weakened. Modern scientific research has confirmed that when immunity decreases, the number of lymphocytes in the human blood relatively decreases, making it easier for bacteria to take advantage. Most office workers, due to high work pressure, long-term mental stress, and irregular lifestyles, can easily disrupt the balance of normal resident bacteria in the body, leading to a decline in immunity. Once immunity is compromised, bacteria can take the opportunity to invade and cause diseases, such as pharyngitis caused by a bacterial infection of the throat.
Furthermore, the frequent social engagements and rich nightlife of office workers can also lead to pharyngeal infections and pharyngitis. As social elites, office workers often need to attend various social events for work, causing their throats to "suffer." Men, under the "siege" of alcohol and cigarettes, see their throats "fall." Female office workers, often dressed "coolly" and "influenced" by smoke, can also develop pharyngeal infections and pharyngitis.
Relevant experts also remind not to ignore early symptoms and let a "minor illness" turn into a "major disaster." Facing a disease like pharyngitis, which is neither minor nor major, many office workers do not actively seek treatment after getting sick. Some even maintain unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking, and staying up late when they experience pharyngitis symptoms. This irresponsible attitude towards health traps them in a vicious cycle of acute pharyngitis becoming chronic pharyngitis.
Many Ways to Prevent and Treat Pharyngitis
It is understood that pharyngitis is part of upper respiratory tract infections, so office workers can greatly reduce their chances of getting sick by paying attention to their daily work and life. First, frequently opening windows for ventilation to keep the air circulating is an effective measure to prevent and treat chronic pharyngitis. Dry indoor air, as well as temperatures that are too cold, too hot, or too humid, can affect the defensive function of the pharyngeal mucosa, causing dysfunction, abnormal pharyngeal sensation, and eventually leading to chronic pharyngitis. Gargling and brushing your teeth in the morning, after meals, and before bed can keep your mouth clean. At the same time, preventing and treating oral and nasal diseases and eliminating inflammatory foci should not be ignored for preventing and treating pharyngitis.
Dietary conditioning is also necessary. A light and easily digestible diet is recommended, supplemented by refreshing, fire-quenching, and tender, juicy foods. Such as oranges, tangerines, pineapples, sugarcane, olives, duck pears, apples, etc., or drinking plenty of water and cool beverages, but the beverages should not be too strong. Avoid smoking, alcohol, ginger, pepper, mustard, garlic, and all spicy foods.
In addition, treating pharyngitis requires symptomatic medication, which is the most important point. Chronic pharyngitis is not caused by a bacterial infection, so repeated use of antibiotics is not advisable. First, it is ineffective, and second, it can produce side effects that are harmful to the body. Focusing only on drug treatment while neglecting daily throat care will result in poor self-treatment effects and even recurrent episodes. If pharyngitis acutely flares up with symptoms such as difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, and purulent white spots that cannot be wiped off, self-treatment is not advisable, and one should go to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment.