Debunking: Drinking cold water causes sore throat

[Drgeetanjali]

If I had a nickel for every time a patient told me they got a sore throat because they had cold water from the refrigerator I’d be rich. I have had to debunk this myth more times than I can count. Sore throat, which is a feeling of discomfort or pain in the throat, is a symptom of bacterial or viral infections usually. Cold water can irritate an already sore throat but cannot cause it. The soreness could be a result of probing of a tissue already affected by an infection. It is a misconception which prevents patients from identifying the actual source of infection, leading to them avoiding the wrong “causative agent”.