Does neck pain prevent you from enjoying eating or drinking, making you realize: The side of my neck hurts when I swallow. There are many possible causes of neck pain on the side. Many of these causes don’t need medical treatment.
Pain on one side of the neck when swallowing is common due to laryngitis or canker sores. It can also be due to swollen lymph nodes. Due to such pain, the discomfort associated with eating is usually temporary. It will disappear after a few days, but you should still visit a doctor.
Why Does the Side of My Neck Hurt When I Swallow?
1. Laryngitis
If you are dealing with laryngitis disease, you may face pain on the side of your neck when you swallow.
During laryngitis, the voice box becomes inflamed due to irritants or infection. The larynx connects with your vocal cords, a pair of mucus membranes that protect your muscles and cartilage.
A vocal cord’s smooth movement and vibration produce sound during opening and closing. When you have laryngitis, you suffer from inflammatory or irritated vocal cords.
As a result, the vocal cords swell, distorting their sound. The result is a hoarse voice. Laryngitis can cause your voice to be virtually undetectable in some cases.
This condition can last a short time or last for a long time. The vast majority of laryngitis cases occur because of a viral illness. If you experience A persistent hoarse voice due to laryngitis, it can signify serious health issues.
2. Canker Sores
A canker sore may cause mouth irritation resulting in pain on the side of your neck when swallowing. Usually, these ulcers will occur in your mouth anywhere and stay for at least a week or two.
A mouth ulcer can happen due to several things, including your diet, mouth trauma etc. However, it is easier to treat canker sores.
3. Swollen Lymph Nodes
Pain on the side of the neck while swallowing can also occur because of a swollen lymph node. Your body holds several lymph nodes that contain your immune system cells.
In essence, they are there to prevent you from getting sick by removing viruses. There is a collection of lymph nodes located throughout your entire body.
When you are sick, your lymph nodes send out immune cells to fight the infection. The swelling of your lymph nodes could cause pain on the side of your neck.
After treatment for viral infections, swollen lymph nodes usually return to normal. Lymph nodes can swell in your body, including your neck.
Some swelling of the lymph nodes can go away after a while and with hot compresses. When lymph nodes swell due to an infection, the treatment will vary.
Conclusion
Although pain on the side of the throat when swallowing is unpleasant, it tends to only last for a short time. Within a few days, you should be able to get rid of such pain if you find out its cause and treat it accordingly. The pain in a person’s neck when swallowing might get resolved within a week if it is because of a cold.
In the short term, there are several remedies available at home that can relieve pain caused at the side of your neck while swallowing due to certain diseases. However, if your neck is sore, see your doctor immediately to get relief from pain.
