CPD module: Sore point

A mother brings her 12 year-old daughter into your pharmacy and asks you if you can recommend something for her sore throat. She says that the girl’s voice has been hoarse for the past few days. She has been taking her temperature regularly and sometimes it has been slightly raised above normal. She says that she doesn’t think it’s serious enough to bother the GP with, and in any case there’s a two week wait for an appointment. In answer to your questions the daughter says that her throat hurts but she doesn’t have a runny nose, a headache or pain around the eyes. You ask to look in the girl’s mouth and when she opens it you can see that her throat is inflamed. You ask the mother about the girl’s general health; she tells you that she gets hay fever in the autumn, for which she takes loratidine, but is otherwise healthy.