Different Causes of Sore Throat
Read on to find out symptoms for various types of sore throat

Sore throat can be caused by many different things. While some causes are easily treated, some require antibiotics, and some cannot be treated at all -- you just have to wait it out with the aid of some over-the-counter medicines.
Sore Throat Caused by Dry Air
This type of sore throat is quite common and can be remedied through using a humidifier tank. Drink plenty of fluids and make sure your house is humidified properly.
Sore Throat Caused by Coughs, Colds, and Runny Noses
Coughing and postnasal drip can both cause sore throats. You can get buy cough suppressants to quiet the cough and relieve your sore throat. For postnasal drip, on the other hand, cough depressants may not be very effective. Humidity and drinking fluids will help alleviate your sore throat and keep mucus from getting thick.
Sore Throat Caused by Viruses
Several viruses may attack the mucus membranes of the throat, the tonsils, or both. These viruses are often responsible for sore throat and some, like the adenoviruses, will also cause pus to accumulate on the tonsils just like strep does. It is important to go to a medical professional if this is the case so that they can test to see whether strep is the problem. Since there are no antibiotics for viruses, drinking plenty of fluids and taking some Tylenol for pain relief will help your body heal faster and make the symptoms go away in a shorter amount of time. 

Sore Throat Due to Streptococcus
There are other bacteria that can attack the throat. However, the most common bacterial cause of strep throat is Streptococcus pyogenes, or "group A strep". Classic strep throats are very red—the color of raw beef. Often you will see white or green "exudates" or pus on the tonsils, which are also swollen. You may also see little dark-red, almost purple, spots on the back of the roof of the mouth and on the uvula, or the little dangling appendage in the back of your throat. The tongue may be very red with little white spots, like a strawberry (the "strawberry tongue") or white with little red spots.
Although coughing is rare with strep throat, a person with strep throat will have swollen and tender lymph nodes at the front sides of the neck, and the throat will hurt so much that swallowing is painful. Strep throat may evolve into scarlet fever, which results in a rash on the lower abdomen. If the disease is left untreated, it could result in complications such as rheumatic fever and post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis.
As it’s easy to treat a simple case of strep throat with penicillin, it is important to treat the disease early on before riskier complications have the chance to occur.

Sore throat lozenges are good for quick, temporary relief.