What causes a sore throat?

Sore throat may be caused by various factors, mainly including: 1. Dietary factors: Consuming excessive raw, cold, or spicy and irritating foods can cause temporary irritation to the throat, leading to sore throat. Symptoms usually resolve spontaneously after adjusting the diet. 2. Lifestyle habits: Prolonged overuse of the voice, excessive smoking and alcohol consumption, spicy and irritating diet, exposure to cold, fatigue, staying up late, and irregular作息 (作息 should be translated as "sleep patterns" or "作息 habits" could be "lifestyle routines") can lead to decreased immunity, which may result in sore throat. 3. Disease-related factors: Inflammatory conditions such as acute tonsillitis, acute pharyngitis, acute epiglottitis, and upper respiratory tract infections like wind-heat感冒 (wind-heat cold or wind-heat感冒 should be translated as "wind-heat感冒" is a TCM term for a type of cold with heat symptoms, could be translated as "wind-heat感冒" can be kept as "wind-heat感冒" with explanation or adapted as "common cold with heat symptoms") require timely medical attention. If symptoms persist or worsen, prompt medical consultation is recommended.