Table of Contents
Introduction
A sore throat is a very irritating disease. Only a person who is suffering from this disease knows how much discomfort this is and the worst part of a sore throat is that people who have sore throats are not able to take their desired meals.
During a sore throat period, people are usually confused about what kind of drinks they should consume or what kind of food they should eat that cannot make their throat diseases worse. Similarly, if a coffee lover, especially an iced coffee lover, has recently been infected with a sore throat, they will definitely be thinking about a common query can I drink iced coffee with a sore throat…
So, don’t worry about this query. In this article, you will get all the important details regarding your question, can I drink iced coffee with a sore throat…
Understanding a sore throat
The first important thing is to understand a sore throat, it is necessary to go through it before exploring can I drink iced coffee with a sore throat. So, what is a sore throat…
Definition, symptoms and causes of sore throat
A sore throat is an internal neck or throat infection. It is very irritating and feels like scratchiness, pain and sensation. A person who is suffering from it faces difficulty in swallowing and also experiences a muffled and hoarse voice. It can be caused by several reasons, like…
- It can be caused by viral infections like the common cold or flu or like COVID-19.
- Also, it can be caused by bacterial infections or allergies like strep throat, pollen, pet dander or dust.
- Dry air, gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD) and irritant exposure like smoke, chemical molecules in the air and pollution can also be the reason for sore throats.
- Sometimes, shouting and overuse of voice can also lead to a sore throat.
Why temperature is an important factor in throat health
Meal temperature, especially beverage temperature, is one of the most important factors that can affect throat issues.
Beverages with warmth, like herbal tea, can create a good impact. Its warmth can soothe the throat, which helps in loosening mucus and reduces the pain and irritation but remember, too much hotness can damage the throat tissue and make sore throats worse.
When we talk about cold beverages, their effect is completely opposite to warm beverages. Cold beverages may provide short relief from inflammation but in the long term, they may worsen your throat diseases. It can tighten throat muscles which can trigger cough and increase pain and scratching.
Effect of cold beverage on a sore throat
In the above section, we already discussed the impact of cold beverages on throat diseases but for a better understanding of can I drink iced coffee with a sore throat. We have to explore the effect of cold beverages on a sore throat in detail, which is given as follows
Short term relief
Cold beverages reduce the sensation of pain or burning for a very short time period but this is a very instant feeling and people feel temporary relief after taking a sip of a cold beverage.
Muscle Constriction and Tissue Irritation
During a sore throat, a person feels difficulty in swallowing but this will be more difficult and painful after drinking cold beverages because cold beverages will contract your sore muscles more. Also, it will further cause irritation on throat tissue which leads to more discomfort.
Enhance mucus production
Sometimes people face coughing and congestion diseases after drinking cold beverages and it stimulate the production of mucus. This extra production of mucus will make the throat condition worse.
Can I drink iced coffee with a sore throat
After reading about the effect of cold beverages on sore throats, it seems like drinking cold beverages may worsen the disease. So, can I drink iced coffee with a sore throat?
The answer depends on the level of your throat diseases and the reaction of your body to cold temperatures.
Can drinking iced coffee make a sore throat worse
Until now, can I drink iced coffee with a sore throat and how a cold beverage affects throat diseases? Now let’s explore if iced coffee worsens your sore throat.
The answer is not only the cold temperature but there are some other ingredients that are problematic too for persons who are suffering from throat infection and the details are given as follows
Ingredient in Iced coffee that can be problematic
Caffeine
Staying hydrated is necessary for curing sore throats. Coffee contains caffeine that can cause dehydration and because of that, people feel dry and scratchy.
Sugar
Coffee has a larger amount of sugar in it. It will slow down the immune system and increase inflammation. Also, it will increase the chances of bacterial infection because excess sugar can feed harmful bacteria.
Dairy and nondairy ingredient
As we discussed above, extra production of mucus leads to a sore throat that worsens. Dairy products will enhance the production of that mucus. Similarly, nondairy product contains gums, sugars and other ingredients that negatively contribute to throat diseases.
If you think that going towards a decaffeinated option, selecting unsweetened iced coffee or drinking a plain or black coffee that doesn’t contain any dairy or nondairy ingredients may not worsen your sore throat, then we remind you about the coldness of ice. This will definitely cause a negative impact.
So, it is better to try to avoid drinking iced coffee till you completely get well from sore diseases.
Conclusion
Now, if you are still thinking about drinking iced coffee with a sore throat, then we suggest you read the article again and try to avoid those mentioned factors that can worsen your throat diseases.
And we also suggest you take advice from your personal doctor or specialist, especially an ENT specialist, about drinking iced coffee at the time of a sore throat.