Sore Throat At Night: Only, Sweats, Causes, Treatments, And More

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Why Do I Have a Sore Throat at Night?

Medically reviewed by Kelsey Nank, PA-C — Written by Ana Gotter — Updated on March 21, 2024

Causes
See a doctor
Treatment
Outlook

A number of factors can cause your throat to hurt at night, from talking all day to having a serious infection. If you have other symptoms like fever or night sweats, your nighttime sore throat is likely the result of an illness.

Over the past few nights, you’ve noticed that your throat has felt a little tender, scratchy, and sore. It feels fine during the day, but for some reason, it’s hurting by the time night rolls around.

What causes this? Is there anything you can do?

Read on to find out what might be causing your bedtime sore throat and what might help bring relief.

What causes a sore throat at night?

Conditions that can cause nighttime sore throat include:

Allergies

If you’re allergic to something, and you’re exposed to it during the day, your immune system reacts as if your body is being attacked. Potential allergens might include:

pet dander
dust
plants
foods
cigarette smoke
perfumes
mold
pollen

These allergens could cause you to have a sore or scratchy throat during the evening and nighttime hours.

Other common allergy symptoms include:

itchy eyes
watery eyes
sneezing
runny nose
coughing
postnasal drip

Postnasal drip

Postnasal drip occurs when you have too much mucus draining from your nasal passages into the back of your throat. This drainage can cause your throat to hurt or feel scratchy and raw. Multiple triggers can set off postnasal drip, such as:

eating spicy foods
coming in contact with allergens
changes in the weather
medications
dust
having a deviated septum

Other symptoms might include:

foul-smelling breath
feeling nauseated from drainage moving into your stomach
feeling like you need to clear your throat or swallow constantly
coughing that gets worse at night

Dry indoor air

If the air in your home is particularly dry, your nasal passages and throat could dry out during the night, causing you to wake with a scratchy or sore throat.

It’s common for indoor air to be dry during the winter months. Running your heating system during the night dries it out further.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

GERD, also known as acid reflux or heartburn, is a common digestive tract condition.

In GERD, the sphincter at the bottom of the esophagus is too weak to stay closed as tightly as it should.

This causes regurgitation of stomach acid, which can cause a burning sensation in your chest or the back of your throat. The acid can also damage the tissue in your throat and esophagus, making it hurt.

GERD tends to be worse right after meals or at bedtime, as lying down flat can encourage reflux. If you’re experiencing a recurring sore throat at night, it’s possible you might have GERD.

Besides sore throat, some common complaints related to GERD include:

difficulty swallowing
regurgitating stomach acid or small amounts of stomach contents
getting a sour taste in your mouth
heartburn or discomfort in your chest
burning and irritation in your upper middle abdomen

Muscle strain

If you’ve been talking excessively (especially over loud noise, like a concert), yelling, singing, or raising your voice for an extended period of time, this could cause you to become hoarse or develop a sore throat by the end of the day.

This means you’ve likely strained the muscles in your throat and need to rest your voice.

If you’ve had a busy day packed with talking, particularly if you had to raise your voice often, it’s possible your nighttime sore throat could be caused by muscle strain.

Epiglottitis

Epiglottitis occurs when the epiglottis, which covers the windpipe, becomes inflamed and swollen.

This can be caused by a bacterial or viral infection. When the epiglottis swells, it can cause a life-threatening breathing obstruction and a severe sore throat.

If you have epiglottitis, you may need emergency medical care.

Some symptoms of epiglottitis include:

muffled or raspy voice
noisy and/or harsh breathing
feeling of breathlessness or being winded
fever and sweats
trouble breathing
trouble swallowing

Viral or bacterial throat infections

An intensely painful sore throat that isn’t relieved by eating or drinking could be caused by a viral or bacterial throat infection.

Some of these infections include strep throat, tonsillitis, mono, the flu, or the common cold.

Depending on your diagnosis, you might need corticosteroids or a round of antibiotics before you start to feel better.

Some signs of a throat infection include:

severe sore throat that interferes with talking, sleeping, or eating
swollen tonsils
white patches on the tonsils or in the back of the throat
fever
chills
appetite loss
enlarged, painful lymph glands in the neck
headache
fatigue
muscle weakness

See a doctor

A sore throat that doesn’t go away warrants a trip to your doctor’s office.

And there are certain symptoms you shouldn’t ignore. If you’re experiencing a recurrent sore throat with the following symptoms, it’s time to see your doctor:

blood in your saliva or phlegm
trouble swallowing
swelling or pain that interferes with eating, drinking, or sleeping
sudden fever over 101˚F (38˚C)
a lump in your throat that can be felt on the outside of the neck
red rash on the skin
trouble opening your mouth
trouble turning or rotating your head
drooling
dizziness
trouble breathing

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How to treat a sore throat at night

Treating your sore throat at home is your first line of defense against discomfort, and in most cases, you’ll be able to find pain relief.

It can be helpful to:

gargle with salt water
suck on hard candies or lozenges
take over-the-counter pain medication like acetaminophen, naproxen, or ibuprofen
sip warm tea or water with honey and lemon
eat chicken noodle soup
use pain-relieving throat sprays or gargles available over-the-counter

If the air in your home is dry, try running a humidifier at night. This could alleviate the drying of your nasal passages and throat that happens while you sleep.

If you need a little extra help managing allergies, you can purchase allergy medication over the counter or request a prescription from your doctor.

If you’ve simply strained your vocal cords, resting them should help.

You may need your doctor to diagnose GERD, if they haven’t already. Medications to reduce and control acid reflux are available both over the counter and by prescription. You can also elevate the head of your bed or prop your head up on pillows or a sleeping wedge to reduce acid regurgitation into your throat during the night.

If your throat pain is caused by a bacterial infection, your doctor will prescribe an antibiotic. If your tonsils are severely swollen, you may need steroid medication.

In rare cases, you might require hospitalization or surgery to remove chronically infected or dangerously enlarged tonsils.

What is the outlook for a sore throat at night?

You can often easily manage nighttime sore throat with home remedies and over-the-counter medications.

If you have an infection, antibiotics, antivirals, or steroids should relieve your symptoms within about a week. Follow up with your doctor if your sore throat doesn’t go away.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Allergy symptoms. (2015).https://aafa.org/allergies/allergy-symptoms/
Guerra AM, et al. (2022). Epiglottitis.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430960/
Post-nasal drip. (n.d.).https://muschealth.org/medical-services/ent/sinus-center/drainage
Symptoms & causes of GER & GERD. (2020).https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/acid-reflux-ger-gerd-adults/symptoms-causes

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Medically reviewed by Kelsey Nank, PA-C — Written by Ana Gotter — Updated on March 21, 2024

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