ABSTRACT
Sore throat and mouth are usually due to inflammatory or infective causes. The most common cause in young children is by far a viral upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). Examination of the mouth should include the gingiva, buccal mucosa, tongue, teeth, hard and soft palate and posterior pharyngeal wall. Hoarseness and stridor occur subsequent to an acute upper airway obstruction, commonly in association with a viral URTI (particularly parainfluenza type B viruses) or without it (spasmodic croup). Stridor is a harsh inspiratory sound caused by extrathoracic airway obstruction. It is predominately inspiratory due to obstruction in the subglottic area or trachea down to the thoracic inlet. Lumps in the neck are common and are usually benign. In older children, an important cause is torticollis (wry neck), which is characterised by holding the neck tilted to one side with the chin rotated in the opposite direction, and meningism. Meningism is an important cause that always requires emergency evaluation.
