Q: Why do doctors always put a stick in your mouth and look in your throat?

Answer:

Those wooden sticks aren’t very tasty, are they? But getting a good look at the back of your throat tells us a lot about whether you are sick, and if you will need antibiotics (medicine to kill germs) to get better.

When you have a sore throat, it becomes very red. Sometimes, the tonsils along the sides of your throat get swollen. This means that they are trying to help fight an infection. The doctor wants to make sure that you can breath well if your throat is swollen, and that you’ve been drinking enough fluids to prevent dehydration.

If the doctor isn’t sure about whether it is a virus or strep throat that is making you hurt, the doctor may use a soft q-tip to touch the back of your throat and send a test. This will tell whether antibiotics will help you get better.

Looking at the back of your throat tells us lots of information about how to help you feel better. Sometimes, if my patients don’t want me to use that stick, I ask them to open their mouth very wide, stick out their tongue, and pretend they are roaring like a lion. If I can see all the way back when I shine my light, I don’t have to use the stick. It’s a good trick!

Meg Douglass, RN, MSN, Acute-Care Nurse Practitioner

Durham Regional Hospital and Durham Emergency Physicians

Activity:

Unfortunately, there are a lot of things in life that are necessary that we don’t really like. For example, having a vaccination shot (to protect us from diseases) or getting a flu shot (to protect us from the flu). Look through today’s Herald-Sun and find those things that are not necessarily pleasant for us to deal with but are good for us in the long run. Discuss your findings with your classmates.