Pharyngitis and tonsillitis
Disease Information
Overview
Pharyngitis and tonsillitis are infections in the throat that cause inflammation. If the tonsils are primarily affected, it is called tonsillitis. If the throat is primarily affected, it is called pharyngitis. A child might even have inflammation and infection of both the tonsils and the throat. This is called pharyngotonsillitis. These infections are spread by close contact with other individuals. Bacterial infections are more common during the winter. Viral infections are more common in summer and fall.
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Pharyngitis and tonsillitis are most commonly seen in children between the ages of 6 and 8.
- Strep throat, a particularly severe sore throat cause by the group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS), rarely occurs in children under age 2. It is more common in older children.
How Boston Children's Hospital approaches pharyngitis and tonsillitis:
Your child will be treated by our General Pediatric Otolaryngology team, which specializes in these infections, which are especially prevalent in childhood.
| Local approach to strep throat |
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| Andrew Fine and Kenneth Mandl of the Children’s Hospital Informatics Program (CHIP) and Department of Emergency Medicine found that using a more local approach to examining strep throat populations could help diagnose 62,000 cases per year in the United States, which may otherwise go unnoticed. Learn more about the potential benefits of a local approach to studying and controlling strep throat in the Children’s newsroom. |
