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What's Causing Dry Throat in the Colder Months?
Interviewer: Cold winter air can leave a lot of us dealing with this frustrating dry throat that just doesn't want to go away. But what causes that dry throat? How can you relieve it? And when should you go see a doctor?
Dr. Breanne Schiffer is a laryngologist, which means she's an expert in throat issues. And she's going to help us understand throat dryness caused by cold air, explore some remedies, and explain when it might be something you want to go see the doctor for.
First off, why do I get a dry throat in the wintertime with cold air? What's going on?
Dr. Schiffer: We use our nose and our mouth to humidify and warm all of the air that we breathe in. So regardless of whether you're breathing in through your nose or through your mouth, but more often it's through your nose, all of the air that comes into our bodies is humidified to 100%, and then it's also warmed to match our natural body temperature.
And in the winter months, our nose and our mouth have to work a lot harder to warm and humidify that air to appropriate levels. As a result, our bodies can become more cognizant of the difference between the outside air, the air that we're taking in, as well as how much our bodies are working to keep that air warm and humidified. And that can lead to some of the differences that we feel with regards to dry throat or sore throat.
Differentiating Between Dry Throat and Sore Throat
Interviewer: Do you find the patients, for the most part, have a pretty good sense of, "Oh, this is probably just a dry throat," versus maybe other symptoms? How could they differentiate those two things?
Dr. Schiffer: So dry throat is typically something that I associate more with just when I'm breathing in, or just kind of sitting quietly and resting, I can tell that my throat feels maybe a little bit dry, a little more parched, maybe a little more scratchy.
Whereas a sore throat typically has symptoms that might be associated more with pain with swallowing or talking or potentially just pain at rest. But that's how I typically will differentiate between the two.
Relieving Dry Throat
Interviewer: And if somebody is suffering from dry throat, how can they find some relief? What are some of the first steps you tell them? And then let's talk about some of the more advanced steps in case somebody has tried the first ones.
Stay Hydrated
Dr. Schiffer: So, initially, I recommend that patients really take stock of what they're doing on a daily basis that might be worsening their dry throat. And so usually the questions that I'm asking patients are, "How much water are you drinking on a daily basis?" Ensuring that they're adequately hydrated, that they're drinking water regularly, and that that's helping to moisturize the throat and the nose and make sure their body is not becoming dehydrated.
Evaluate Your Surroundings and Home Environment
In addition, I recommend evaluating your surroundings and looking at just your home environment. Obviously, here in Utah, we live in a very dry, arid climate, and during the winter, when we're running the heaters in the house and things like that, that can actually increase the dryness of the air. So we often recommend humidification, particularly in the bedroom where we're sleeping at night, breathing through our nose, breathing through our mouth, not really necessarily drinking as much water or things like that.
Avoid Things that Could be Making Your Dry Throat Worse
The other factors that I recommend patients look at are things that they could be doing that might be making dry throat worse. So drinking water and other hydrating beverages is great, but there are certain things that could potentially be making that worse. And so that can include things along the lines of caffeine. So look at the amount of coffee or soda or caffeinated tea that you're drinking on a daily basis, and whether or not that may be further drying your throat out, as well as any medications you're taking, whether over-the-counter or prescription medications that may have a drying effect.
Be Cautious of Menthol-Based Lozenges
The other thing is oftentimes patients will start using cough drops or lozenges to try to help moisturize or coat the throat and improve dryness. But some of those medications or some of those over-the-counter lozenges can have slight drying agents in them. For example, menthol is typically considered a little more irritating than other, perhaps glycerin-based, lozenges. And so that can actually make the symptoms a little bit worse. And so I recommend really doing an evaluation and taking stock of some of those factors and then considering what you could change that might help your symptoms.
Limit Smoking and Alcohol
Interviewer: And how about alcohol or smoking? Could that also contribute?
Dr. Schiffer: Yes, definitely. So smoking definitely will dry out the mucous membranes of the nose and the throat. And that can include both the use of e-cigarettes or vapes. That can make things worse as well.
Alcohol also has a drying effect, and many patients will experience that if they've ever perhaps overindulged and got a little bit of that cotton mouth the following day or something along those lines. But just in general, chronic, persistent alcohol use may have much more of a drying effect, particularly during the winter, that can make things worse.
When to See a Doctor About Dry Throat
Interviewer: And then if somebody's taken stock of these things, they're drinking more water now, they've made some lifestyle changes, added a humidifier to their house, and they're still not getting relief, what could a patient do at that point?
Dr. Schiffer: So I think at that point, particularly if your symptoms have been lasting longer than maybe six to eight weeks, it would be very reasonable to make an appointment with likely your primary care doctor initially to discuss some of these symptoms and see if there's anything else that could be done to improve what you're experiencing. And then, oftentimes, there may be consideration of a referral to an ear, nose, and throat physician. One of the options that we have in the clinic is to place a small camera that goes through your nose and we can look at the tissue in the nose and the tissue in the back of your throat. We may be able to potentially identify if there is true irritation or obviously any infection or any other concerning findings that we would want to address.
Medication Options for Dry Throat
Interviewer: And then are there medications or nasal sprays or anything of that nature that somebody could use to maybe find a little bit of relief? Would that be something that they do through their primary care physician or something that they would do over the counter?
Dr. Schiffer: Sure, there are a lot of over-the-counter medications that are available, and I think it's always beneficial to potentially talk to your physician before starting anything, just to make sure that it is safe for you to use given your own unique or particular medical history.
But some of the ones that are oftentimes used for moisturization of the nose include saline sprays, potentially something along the lines of Aquaphor or Vaseline. There are also some other medications, such as NasoGel, Ayrgel, or Pretz nasal spray, which are designed to be a little bit longer-lasting in the nose and help with moisturization and humidification in the nose. Those may be useful, but I would recommend discussing that with either your primary care physician or an ear, nose, and throat physician to make sure that they're safe for you to use.
Interviewer: Oh, so there can be some safety issues with those for some people?
Dr. Schiffer: There can potentially be safety issues. Particularly if you are somebody who uses oxygen at night or during the day, you want to make sure that you're not putting anything in the nose that could potentially interfere with the safety of the oxygen use.
When is Dry Throat a Serious Health Concern?
Interviewer: And is there a time when somebody should be concerned about their dry throat, that it could actually be a symptom of something else?
Dr. Schiffer: Most of the time, dry throat is probably relatively benign, and it's typically more of a response to potentially surrounding factors, for example, the environment or air quality or something along those lines.
There are some factors that patients should take into play with regard to why they may be having more of a dry throat at one time of year versus another. Some of those factors might include whether or not you're more likely to have allergies at a particular time of year, as well as medications that you may be on, whether that's over-the-counter or prescription medications, the likelihood that you may be contracting more upper respiratory infections or other illnesses during a certain time of year, or just your actual surroundings, your home and the environment that you're living in and what that is presenting to you on a daily basis.
Anytime a symptom has really gone on longer than about six to eight weeks, it's reasonable for it to be considered potentially more of a chronic issue rather than an acute problem. And it's worth evaluating if there's something that something more that's going on. Typically, if you have any symptoms that include persistent or worsening ear pain, throat pain, trouble swallowing, changes in your voice, or any episodes where you're coughing up blood or anything abnormal in that regard, that would be more of a red flag. That would warrant a more in-depth evaluation to rule out that there are no other concerning findings in the throat.