Why is my throat and chest burning? Here are common causes and home remedies

Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 10:28 am

Why is my throat and chest burning? This is the question many of you might be worrying about. Often this is a common phenomenon, but sometimes can prove very disturbing, irritating, and sometimes concerning also. This is a symptom that troubles you, causing mild irritations and sometimes severe pain.

Sometimes it is so irritating that you wish to get rid of this problem as soon as possible.

Anyway.

Understanding and knowing possible reasons for throat and chest burning would help you to avoid this problem from occurring. In this article, we will explore some reasons behind burning chest and throat sensations, so that you will be able to avoid it or alleviate it.

So, if you’re stuck on a question, “Why is my throat and chest burning?” keep reading for some valuable information and guidance.

Understanding the causes of why are your throat and chest burning?

1. Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD)

This is the most common reason why your throat and chest are burning. GERD being the most common cause of throat and chest burning, it is very common to occur this phenomenon easily even in healthy people.

Let’s understand it in a more detailed perspective.

Anatomy for GERD

The part of the digestive system involved in GERD plays an important role. To understand this, we must know the basic anatomy regarding this. It is what it is.

• Oral cavity- Throat- Esophagus-LES– Stomach.

The food from the oral cavity enters in esophagus through the throat. From the esophagus food enters in stomach through a small valve-like structure between the esophagus and the stomach called Lower Esophageal Stricture (LES).

• LES plays an even more important role in the process of GERD.

This LES acts as one one-way route for food and liquid to enter in stomach. This is the normal function of LES. But in some cases, LES gets weakened, which makes it relax more often.

This often relaxation of LES makes the content in the stomach pull up in the esophagus. This stomach content mainly includes the acid from the stomach and sometimes food too.

This reflux or re-entry of food into the esophagus happens. Now here the esophagus doesn’t have the system to bear this acid, as the stomach does. The stomach has a special mucosal layer of cells that can interact with the acidic environment of the stomach. So, in this situation, you feel the burning and irritating sensation in your throat and chest.

In this way GERD becomes the leading cause for your throat and chest burning.

2. Inflammation of the Esophagus (Esophagitis)

Another common cause for your chest and throat burning is a condition, called esophagitis. Esophagitis is inflammation of the esophagus.

It is a very common cause of throat and chest burning sensation, after the GERD. GERD is the cause of esophagitis. The acid refluxed in the stomach in GERD condition, causes irritation and burning in esophageal tissues. It causes the inflammation in esophagus.

Other conditions that cause esophagitis.

Causes for esophagitis

• GERD
• Viral, and bacterial infections
• Food allergies
• Radiation therapy
• chemical ingestion

Symptoms of esophagitis

In esophagitis, there could be other symptoms as well.

• Throat burning (irritation)
• Chest burning (irritation)
• Difficulty in swallowing
• Sore throat

3. Laryngitis

Inflammation of the larynx is known as laryngitis. Inflammation of the larynx (voice box) also sometimes causes your throat and chest to be burning. It is a rare cause of chest and throat burning. But causes too much irritation in your throat.

Causes of laryngitis

• Bacterial infections: Bacterial infections are a rare cause of laryngitis.
• Viral or fungal infection: These are the common cause of laryngitis.
• Smoking.
• Excessive use of voice.
• Exposure to environmental irritants.

Symptoms of laryngitis

• Constant throat pain, especially while swallowing and drinking.
• Hoarseness of voice.
• Sometimes chest burning.

4. PND (Postnasal Drip)

Even if PND doesn’t typically cause a burning sensation in the chest and throat, the discomfort it causes can be related to the constant irritation.

Postnasal drip is a condition in which the excess mucus accumulates behind your throat. In normal condition, the mucus produced by various glands drips through the nose or sometimes mixes with saliva. But sometimes this mucus accumulates in the back of your throat.

This accumulation of mucus in the throat causes various problems related to the throat. Along with throat and chest irritation, it may cause other symptoms also :

• Throat congestion
• Cough (that bothers you more at night)
• Sinus infections
• Ear infections

I motioned earlier that this condition doesn’t necessarily cause your chest and throat to burn. But it is the intense throat and sometimes chest irritation that may feel like burning.

5. Tonsillitis

Tonsillitis is the infection or inflammation of the tonsils. Tonsils are two pads of tissues situated at both sides and the back of your throat. This organ helps us fight against infections. They are a sort of defense mechanism of your body. Tonsils build up the antibodies we require to fight against infections.

But sometimes these tonsils themselves get swollen and congested. Though rare tonsillitis can also cause throat and chest burning. This condition is known as tonsillitis.

Tonsillitis mainly commonly occurs in small children.

Causes of tonsillitis

• Mainly bacterial infections from streptococcus. These are rare but can lead to severe forms of tonsillitis.
• Viral tonsillitis: This can lead to common, almost 70 % of tonsillitis cases. It is a mild form of tonsillitis.
• Common cold

Symptoms of tonsillitis

Other than throat and chest burning, tonsillitis may also cause other symptoms. Such as :

• Sore throat
• Throat congestion
• Fever
• Chills
• Difficulty for swallowing
• Difficulty for drinking
• Headache
• Earache

6. Burning mouth syndrome (BMS)

The cause for your throat and chest burning as burning mouth syndrome is rare. It is not seen commonly. Only 2 percent of the population is estimated to have Burning mouth syndrome.

What is burning mouth syndrome?

Burning mouth syndrome is an ‘oral pain disorder’. It is characterized by :

• Burning sensation in the mouth cavity, that may extend to lips, palate inner surface of cheeks sometimes throats too.
• A burning sensation may accompanied by a tingling sensation along with soreness of the mouth cavity.

Burning mouth syndrome tends to occur more commonly in males than in females. In the female population, post-menopause is the common period in which burning mouth syndrome occurs.

Burning mouth syndrome symptoms

Apart from the burning sensation of the mouth cavity, other symptoms may occur. As,

• Dry mouth
• Pain in mouth
• Difficulty in swallowing, food, and drinking both
• Change of taste in the mouth
• Burning sensation in the throat

Burning mouth syndrome causes

The causes of burning mouth syndrome are not yet known to anyone. However many healthcare professionals found that under certain conditions, burning mouth syndrome appears to be more common. So, the possible burning mouth syndrome causes are :

• Certain medications
• Mouth cavity infections, especially fungal infections like oral thrush.
• Nutritional deficiency
• Allergies
• Diabetes
• Hypothyroidism
• Irritation causing toothpaste, mouthwashes
• Some psychological issues such as stress, and anxiety also play an important role in causing mouth-burning sensations.

Above causes for mouth burning syndrome are just documented from observations of experts. As causes are not well known, sometimes it becomes difficult to treat the problem.

7. Peritonsillar abscess

Peritonsillar abscess is the infection of the tissues around the tonsils. It is the common infection occur as the complication of tonsillitis.

If tonsillitis remains untreated for long, the infection spread around the tonsils which forms there a pouch of pus called abscess. This condition is very painful in which pain may radiate to throat.

Peritonsillar abscess is also known as Quinsy.

The peritonsillar abscess could be the cause of your throat and chest burning.

Apart from this, there are also other symptoms that are manifested in peritonsillar abscess.

Peritonsillar abscess symptoms

• Difficulty to swallow food and drink.
• Fever and chills.
• Pain in the ear.
• Inflammation in the mouth cavity.
• Jaw spasm.

Peritonsillar abscess causes

As I have mentioned earlier that peritonsillar abscess typically occur as complication of tonsillitis, it is also having other causes also.

• Chronic tonsillitis
• Smoking
• Gum diseases
• Mineral deposits in tonsils

Peritonsillar abscess is most common in young adults while tonsillitis is in children.

Home remedies for burning sensation in throat and chest

Fortunately, there are some home remedies that you could try to get rid of burning sensation in throat and chest. Let’s discuss them. Adding this home remedies into your daily routine and lifestyle will definitely reduce the incidence of throat and chest burning.

1. Stay hydrated

Staying yourself hydrated reduces the throat and chest burning. Water keeps your mucosal membranes moist for longer duration, which prevents it from burning, scratchiness and irritation.

2. Practicing good posture

Lying down just immediately after your meal will trigger the throat and chest burning. It will cause the GERD. You know that acid from stomach will reflux back into the esophagus and throat which will cause irritation and burning in throat and chest. For this reason, you must maintain upright posture for two hours after your meals. Just don’t immediately keep lying yourself.

3. Eat small and frequent meals

This is the best remedy you can try for your throat and chest burning issue. Keep your meal small and do keep eat frequently. It will help to suppress the acid regurgitation that occurs after digestion process and thus will reduce the acid influx in esophagus and throat.

4. Quit smoking

Even if smoking doesn’t seem much cause for throat and chest burning, it highly causes the throat and chest burning. Smoking actually irritate and cause inflammation in mucosal lining of respiratory tract which may cause irritation and burning in throat and chest.

Let’s wrap it up

At last, there are many possible reasons to why your throat and chest is burning. Acid reflux, respiratory are the most common and possible reason for this.

It is important to consult with a medical professional to accurately diagnose and treat the underlying issue.

In this article I have provided some general information on possible causes, but it is always wise to seek personalized medical advice.

If you have any questions or would like to share your experiences, please feel free to comment below. Thank you.

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