It’s that time of year again – no, not the countdown to Christmas, but the season of sore throats. The symptoms are all too familiar: painful swallowing, swollen glands, a scratchy cough and unquenchable thirst, and you know as the day goes on they’re only going to get worse.“Sore throats are particularly common in the UK during winter months,” explains Dr Deepali Misra-Sharp, GP Partner at Lordswood Medical Group in Birmingham. “As temperatures drop, people tend to spend more time indoors in close proximity, increasing the spread of viruses.