Sore throat for a month

[Hopeful100]

My brother and mom had a sore throat for a while and it went away, a little over a month ago i caught it, too. It started out as a sore, internal pain on one side of my throat when i swallowed. That went away in a week or two, since then, it has been switching between being dry or having a lot of mucus (not creamy, green, or infected-looking mucus). I like exercising, but the dryness is causing me to have trouble breathing. The doctor told my brother that it was not mono and not strep.

Is there anybody who knows what this is or how I could speed up the healing process?

[Hopeful100]

I've been gargling salt water and mouthwash. I have very little time between summer school and work to visit the doctor. My throat is only sore on the left side. The tonsil in the back looks like it has swelling and irritation in an oval shape. The lump on the tonsil is not secreting discharge or anything. My breath is normal. I haven't had any discharge from my throat other than normal colored mucus. Yesterday I felt a little pressure in my sinuses (left side) and again, I haven't had congestion in my nose. My throat is red on both sides, but all of the other symptoms are involved on the left side of my throat.

My question is: What could be causing the sore throat? I would just like to have some sore of knowledge before I can get a doctor's appt.

[National Jewish Health]

You would think that the cause of the sore throat of your brother, your mom and you was the same for all 3 and that is probably correct.  An irritating dryness of the throat often follows a truly sore throat, whatever the cause.  However it is possible that your brother did not have strep but that you do.  You should get a strep throat screening test.  In the meantime, you can use any kind of lozenge to moisten your throat and relieve the dryness, until it subsides spontaneously and that should happen soon.

The healing process could be speeded up if it is strep or one of several viral sore throats that respond to anti-viral therapy.