Mostly, red spots on back of throat (on throat wall) also appear on tongue or on roof of mouth. Whether they are painful or painless, they are often an indication of various health issues. Explore facts, pictures, causes, signs, and symptoms of red spots on back of throat. Furthermore, learn how to get rid of them with medical treatments and home remedies.
Signs and Symptoms of Red Spots on back of Throat
Do you have red spots or bumps on the back of your throat? These spots could be parts of the normal structure of the oral cavity or a sign of health problem. Normal red spots in the oral cavity are usually painless and harmless.
The back of the tongue has natural large taste buds that may appear as red spots on back of your throat. These bumps might appear as red or pink in color especially when your mouth cavity is irritated by spicy foods.
However, red spots on your throat could be an indication of a medical condition. Such spots on your mouth might advance into health complications. In case you noticed that your throat has strange red spots that look worrisome, you need to seek the help of your doctor for diagnosis and treatment.
Red spots on back of throat can show up in different signs and symptoms that include the following:
- Painful small or large red dot or bump on throat wall
- Soreness in throat, Pain, and difficulties in swallowing
- Red bumps on the roof of the mouth
- Red spots or bumps on tongue surface at the back
- Fluid-filled blisters or open sore on back of the tongue
- Dryness in the throat
- Inflamed or swollen tonsil
- Swollen glands in the neck region
- Bad mouth breath or smell
- Nasal congestion
- Hoarse voice
- Fever and chills
- Headaches
- Vomiting or nausea
- Loss of taste or bad mouth taste
- Tiny rash in the mouth cavity and on the surface of the body
Red spots on back the throat in babies, infants, toddlers or infants can also accompany other strange symptoms such as drooling, restlessness, and diarrhea.
Causes of Red Spots on Back of Throat
Your throat can develop red spots due to various causes. These causal agents may lead to a mild or more serious health problem. It is important for you to have a general knowledge about causes of red spots on throat. This can help you to make the right decision whether to go for medical treatment or not.
The common possible factors that can cause red spots to appear on your throat include the following:
1. Strep throat
Red spots on back of your throat can appear as a consequence of strep infection. This is a bacterial infection that can affect your throat to develop painful red sores and bumps that can lead to difficulties in swallowing something.
It can also lead to other symptoms such as fever, headaches, fatigues, swollen tonsils, inflamed neck glands, hoarse voice, and rashes on the skin. Severe infection of strep throat can lead to health complicated problems such as the inflammation of the kidney and rheumatic fever.
Strep throat is caused by streptococcus bacteria. This bacterium is highly contagious and it can spread faster in a population. You can easily get strep infection through direct in contact with contaminated saliva and water.
2. Oral herpes
This is a viral infection that can lead to red spots on the back of your throat. It is caused by herpes simplex virus type1 (HSV-1) that are associated with cold sore infection. Herpes virus is highly contagious and it can spread easily through the contaminated saliva by sharing one glass of water and by kissing process.
3. Tonsillitis
The inflammation and swollen tonsils can result in the development of large red bumps on the back of the throat. Tonsils are major lymph nodes that are located on the top surface of your throat. This condition can occur in your oral cavity when you are infected by bacteria or viruses in your throat.
Usually, this condition can show up other symptoms such as a sore throat, ear pains, headaches, fever, and tenderness of the entire oral cavity. Tonsillitis is a common condition that affects children often than adults.
4. Mononucleosis
Red spots on back of throat can appear due to mono infection or kissing disease. This condition is caused by Epstein-Barr virus or EBV. This virus can spread from infected person to another through contaminated saliva during kissing process hence its name was generated as kissing disease.
5. Scarlet fever
The back of your tongue can develop red bumps due to scarlet fever infection. The infection is caused by bacteria that belong to the same group of streptococcus that leads to strep throat. Scarlet fever is highly contagious.
This infection is common in babies, infants, toddlers or young children below 15 years. As an adult, you can also be affected by scarlet fever when you have weakened the immune system. The common symptoms that are associated with scarlet fever include a sore throat, nausea, skin rash, fever, and headaches.
6. Hay fever or allergic rhinitis
Your throat wall can develop painful red spots due to hay fever. This condition is not caused by bacteria or various. You may develop this condition due to an allergic reaction. Exposure to dust, pollen grains, and other irritants can lead to hay fever.
Other symptoms that you might develop as an effect of allergic rhinitis include running nose, itchiness in the eyes, congested sinus of the ear and sneezing. Hay fever can affect anybody regardless of your age and gender.
7. Oral thrush
Red spots on back of throat can appear due to an oral thrush infection. This is a fungal or yeast infection that is also called oral candidiasis. The condition is caused by the overgrowth of yeast cell in the mouth cavity.
The infection of oral thrush is usually characterized by white or creamy spots on tongue, gums, mouth roof and on the throat. It can also lead to the development of painful red spots or bumps on your throat and other parts of the oral cavity.
8. Canker sore
Canker sores are painful oral sores or bumps may appear on your throat. These sores are usually characterized by gray or white bumps that have red color on its base that makes them appear as red bumps.
The main cause of the outbreak of canker sore is not clearly identified by dentists. However, canker sore infection is linked to oral trauma, allergic reaction, stress, fatigue, and weak immune system.
9. Oral cancer
Red bumps or spots on the back of your throat can appear due to oral cancer. This is a serious health condition that can lead to either painless or painful strange red bumps of the back of the tongue that can bleed easily if something touches on them.
Cancer of the throat is a serious health condition that can advance into health complications. It is advisable to seek the help of your doctor in case you notice that your throat has strange bumps that look worrisome.
10. Toxic shock syndrome
Toxic shock syndrome is a rare condition that might be life-threatening to you. It results from a bacterial attack that may produce toxic substance into your body system. The condition is often associated with the use of contraceptives and tampons.
Although children and men can also develop this condition if bacterial enters their body system through an open sore or wound. The common symptoms that are associated with this condition include redness and inflamed throat, fever, skin rash, vomiting, headaches, seizures, confusion and muscle pain.
11. STD infection
If you develop red spots on back of throat after unprotected oral sex, it could be signs of STD infection. HIV, syphilis, and herpes are an example of STD infection that can lead to redness and sore throat.
12. Chickenpox
This is a rare infection that can lead to red spots on throat. This infection is caused by zoster varicella virus. The virus can attack your body once in your lifetime then the body immune develops a resistance against the future attack.
13. Common cold
The common cold is a viral infection that can result in redness of throat, running nose, headaches, and nausea.
14. Burns
Chemical and thermal burns in your oral cavity can lead to red spots on your throat and other parts of the oral cavity. Drinking poisonous chemicals such as acids and bases can burn your throat to develop red spots.
The thermal burning of the oral cavity can occur when you eat or drink hot food. Thermal buns on the tongue, the roof of the mouth and throat can form red fluid-filled blisters.
15. Vomiting
Red bumps on your throat after throwing up could be an effect of physical injuries caused by vomiting pressure.
16. Other causes
Your throat can develop red spots due to other rare causes that include:
- Mumps
- Epiglottitis
- Respiratory syncytial virus
- A hiatal hernia
- Viral pharyngitis
- Laryngitis
- Acute sinusitis infection
- Smoking
- heartburns
Red spots on Back of throat No pain
Sometimes you might notice that your throat has red spots that have no pain. This could be a harmless normal condition that you should not worry more about it. Tonsil on back of your mouth can appear as red or pink bumps that sit at the back of the tongue.
However, some types of abnormal oral bumps might appear as red spots that have no pain. For this case, it is advisable to visit your doctor to help you in diagnosis and treatment.
Red spots on Back of Throat No Fever
Most of the bacterial and viral infections that lead to a sore throat are usually associated with symptoms of fever. Occasionally, your throat can develop red spots or bumps with symptoms of no fever and headaches. This could be a harmless and mild oral condition that can resolve on its own without treatment.
One Red Spot on Back of Throat
A single red spot on the back of your throat could be symptoms of either harmless or more serious health condition. If your throat develops tiny and single red spot that has no pain or is not associated with others strange symptoms such as fever, such oral red spots are typically harmless and could be parts of a normal structure of a throat.
When your throat wall develops one red spot that is painful and is growing into a large lump that appears worrisome, this is not normal. You should visit your doctor to help you in diagnosis and treatment.
Red Spots on Back of Throat and Roof of Mouth
The roof of your mouth and back of the tongue are the common parts of the oral cavity that can develop red spots when you have a sore throat. It is possible for red spots on your throat to spread up to your uvula that is located on the roof of the mouth at the back.
Red spots on throat that spread to the roof of your mouth can occur due to any of the causes that are already been discussed in the relevant section of this post.
Treatment
You can remove red spots from your throat using various treatment methods depending on your oral condition. You can go for medical treatment if your mouth has red spots that are likely to advance into a health complicated problem.
Alternatively, you can use suitable home remedies to treat red spots on your throat if they are tiny, few, mild and they cannot develop into a serious health problem. Home remedies are usually effective to treat health condition that is caused by minor health problems.
Medical treatment can be done by visiting your doctor. Your doctor may diagnose your oral problem using observation method. Also, the doctor can extract an oral sample from your mouth and take it to the laboratory for more medical examination.
After diagnosis, your doctor might give you suitable treatments that include:
- prescription of antibiotics drugs that can help to treat strep throat infection
- surgical treatment that can help to remove chronic red bumps from your throat
- radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment that can help to treat cancerous red spots in your oral cavity
Home Remedies
You can use the following home remedies to treat mild red spots on back of throat that include the following:
1. Lemon juice and raw honey
A mixture of lemon juice and raw honey is an effective home remedy that you can use that can help to remove red spots from your throat.
How to use:
- Get 1 teaspoon of raw honey and mix it with equal amount of lemon juice
- Sip this mixture into your throat
- Allow it to stay in your throat for 2 minutes before you swallow it
- Repeat this treatment three times daily until red spots on your throat clear away
2. Salt rinse
Rinsing your throat with salt solution is an excellent home remedy that can help to relieve strep throat and help to remove red bumps from the tongue, roof of mouth and back of the throat.
How to use:
- Mix 1 teaspoon of salt into one glass of warm water
- Gargle the salt solution over your throat for about 1 minute before you spit it out
- Repeat this procedure three times daily until red spots on back of your tongue clear away
3. Garlic
Garlic has medicinal properties that can help to relieve a sore throat. It can also help to remove red spots from the throat walls.
How to use:
- Crush a bulb of garlic and mix it into one cup of warm water
- Leave it to settle for about 5 minutes
- Sip the garlic extract into your throat slowly
- Repeat this steps twice in a day for few weeks until red spots on back of throat go away
4. Apple cider vinegar
You can use the solution of apple cider vinegar to remove red spots from your oral cavity. This reagent has antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties that can help to cure strep throat infection.
How to use:
- Dilute ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar with equal amount of warm water
- Gargle the solution in your throat for about 20 seconds before you spit it out
- Repeat this treatment three times per day until red spots on your throat clear way
5. Hydrogen peroxide
The antiseptic nature of hydrogen peroxide can help to treat a sore throat. Also, it can help to clear away red spots and bumps from the throat and other parts of the oral cavity.
How to use:
- Add 2 teaspoons of 3% hydrogen peroxide into one cup of warm water
- Gargle the solution over your throat for few minutes before you spit it out
- Repeat this treatment three times daily until red spots on back on your throat clear away
When to See a Doctor
You can see your doctor over red spots on back of throat if you noticed the following conditions that include:
- When the red spot on throat has persisted for more than three weeks without clearing away
- If red spots on back of your throat cause difficulties in swallowing food due to severe pain
- When red spots on your throat are associated with other strange symptoms such as fever, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, and loss of appetite
- If red spots on your throat are growing into large bumps that looks worrisome
- When your tonsil become swollen for more than three weeks without any improvement
- When your baby develop strange red spots or bumps on throat that looks worrisome
Sources and References
[showhide type=”links” more_text=”Show Sources and References” less_text=”Hide Sources and References”]
- Red spots on back of the throat: https://www.livestrong.com/article/312859-red-bumps-way-back-on-the-tongue/
- Signs and symptoms of red spots on throat: https://symptomchecker.webmd.com/multiple-symptoms?symptoms=red-spots%7Csore-throat&symptomids=271%7C219&locations=7%7C10
- Causes of red spots on back of the throat: http://www.md-health.com/Red-Bumps-On-Throat.html
- How to get rid of red spots on back of the throat: https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-a-Sore-Throat-Quickly
- Treatment of red spots on the throat: https://www.icliniq.com/qa/throat-infection/how-to-cure-the-tiny-red-spots-in-the-throat
- Home remedies for red spots on back of the throat: https://www.livestrong.com/article/164677-home-remedies-for-a-face-blister/ [/showhide]
