I have throat irritation, ear fullness, and lump in forehead. Is this a sign of throat cancer?

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

The most common reason of having this irritation in throat is associated with soreness and lump like feeling can definitely be a feature of chronic silent GERD with LPR (gastroesophageal reflux with laryngopharyngeal reflux). Even though you might be asymptomatic or never had gastric issues in between, the inflammation in the throat often exists in the hidden form and can resurface when adequate care is not taken. Why does hidden acid reflux become so problematic? As you know, the stomach usually has got cells that release hydrochloric acid and thus keep the gastric environment acidic in nature. Your entire mucosal lining from the mouth throat and food pipe (esophagus) is not meant to handle anything acidic. Of the three structures, the throat is the most sensitive due to its rich nerve supply. If in a given situation, your mouth, throat or food pipe chronically comes in contact with acidic contents, an inflammation starts which the body initially takes care of, but once this compensation wears out, you start developing symptoms that you have mentioned. Please try to follow the advice mentioned below: 1. Maintain a strict diet, eating on time. 2. Avoid spicy oily and cold food/drinks. 3. Keep a gap of two hours between meals and going to bed. 4. Do not overeat, rather keep your stomach half empty and have regular intermittent light food like fresh-cut fruits in between major meals. 5. Saltwater gargling 8 to 10 times a day for 15 days. 6. Avoid alcohol and smoking as it can potentiate reflux. Treatment plan: Tablet Pan D (Pantoprazole and Domperidone) 40 mg (or its equivalent) once in the morning before breakfast for one month, syrup Mucaine gel (or its equivalent) 1 teaspoon three times a day 20 minutes before meals for one month tablet Sinarest (Paracetamol, Chlorpheniramine maleate, and Phenyleohrine Hydrochloride) one tablet in the morning and evening after food for one week.

This eases out the ear, which has probably got clogged due to eustachian tube dysfunction. Make sure you follow the precautionary measures as much as possible as mere medications would not fetch long term relief. This typically takes two to three weeks for things to normalize and for symptoms to subside.

The lump on the forehead could be an enlarged lymph node due to subclinical infection of the scalp which may or may not be symptomatic. Your symptoms do not go in favor of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and there is absolutely nothing that you need to worry about.

With the above-mentioned advice, things should be fine in a few weeks duration. I hope this helps.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Yes, absolutely, the underlying problem is the same and can present itself in a different way in different patients. Syrup Mucaine gel or its alternative Gaviscon is fine, there are multiple brands out there in the market. Any good antacid syrup should suffice (ultimately they are all antacids, which neutralize the acid in the stomach and upper aerodigestive tract). Tablet Pan D contains Pantaprazole 40 and you have other substitutes such as Esomeprazole, Rabeprazole which are the same line of drugs, they are categorized into what we call proton pump inhibitors or PPIs. Some countries do market a combination OD Pantoprazole with Domperidone 30 mg and if you could get that it would be wonderful. The above-mentioned medications are for the throat. Tablet Sinarest has a combination of Phenylephrine 10 mg, Levocetirizine 5 mg, and Paracetamol 500 mg and is meant for decongesting your ear. Any brand name having this combination would suffice. I am afraid, there is no provision out here on this platform to provide a prescription as such. However, there is absolutely nothing that you need to worry about as these are drugs that are available OTC and you should be able to get them.

I hope this helps.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

I had a look at all the 4 pictures and they all look good to me. Progress as far as dryness in the throat is concerned is mainly attributed to the gerd and as we discussed in our previous conversations, this will take at least a month's time for things to even start feeling some percentage of benefit. Gerd is a chronic problem and you need to be patient as far as the relief from symptoms is concerned. The reason behind this is that healing occurs in various stages and as a rule, takes at least 4 to 6 weeks for things to go back to normal. Please follow all the instructions given to you in the previous messages as it constitutes 80 % of the treatment for this particular problem. As far as your tonsils are concerned, both tonsils look good to me, yes there is some hypertrophy as far as the size is concerned, but do not have any ulcerative changes nor any beefy red appearances which when present usually go in favor of malign. Yellowish bumps on the tonsils and non-yellowish bumps at the back of the throat are lymphoid follicles that have increased in size and again do not have anything to do with malignancy. These yellowish lymphoid follicles are a part of the immune system and form the first line of defense for the body. As I probably said earlier, the tonsils and adenoids are themselves huge aggregates of such lymphoid follicles which are there to serve as checkpoints for pathogens that can enter through the nose or oral cavity. The probable reason why they have increased in size is due to an ongoing inflammation in the throat and the cause of the inflammation here in this case is mostly attributed. The acid refluxing into the throat constantly irritates the area causing these follicles to increase in size. Follicles use of moistness in the throat and that's when you feel your throat going dry. Had it been an infection, there would be soreness and pain associated with low or high-grade fever, all of which do not seem to be there in you currently. There is no symptom or sign indicating malignancy or cancer in your case and hence there is absolutely nothing that you need to worry about. Please be patient as far as the dryness is concerned, as it will definitely take a month's time for it to reduce and it's worthwhile not to hurry or panic, ending up getting unnecessary radiological investigations and thereby exposing yourself to radiation and its risks. Please do not worry too much. Everything will be fine and there is absolutely nothing that you need to get stressed about.

Hope I have answered your query. If there is anything more that you need to enquire about, please do let us know and we will get back to you.