There are many variations of breathing difficulties, for example, feeling breathless while exercising, shortness of breath due to lung disease and wheezing. There are also varying causes leading to shortness of breath or breathing difficulty which can include airway blockages, heart or lung problems, allergies and so on.

Oral lesions, or mouth sores, can be very painful and make simple tasks such as eating and talking very difficult. Two common forms of mouth sores are fever blisters and canker sores.

Saliva, produced in the salivary glands, cleans your mouth, kills germs, and makes chewing, swallowing and the entire digestion process easier. Disorders of the salivary glands can include infections, obstruction, or cancer and can lead to symptoms such as dry mouth and even difficulty opening your mouth.

Disorders of smell and taste range from a distorted, decreased ability or inability to detect odors or taste. Upper respiratory infections, hormonal disturbances, head injury, polyps in the nasal or sinus cavities,, dental problems, and even prolonged exposure to certain chemicals or medicines could lead to a disorder of smell or taste.

Discomfort, pain and scratchiness of the throat are all descriptions of a sore throat. Symptoms might include fever, headache and swollen lymph nodes. The most common cause of a sore throat is viral while bacteria might also be the culprit. Difficulty with a sore throat could arise if one develops an airway obstruction or sores around the tonsils or behind the throat.

Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, is the sensation of trouble in passing food or liquid from the mouth to the stomach. Generally, swallowing disorders are non-life-threatening and clear up by themselves while rarely indicating a more serious disease such as a tumor or a progressive neurological disorder.

Specific disorders of the throat (pharynx) and voice box (larynx) include vocal cord polyps and nodules, contact ulcers, vocal cord paralysis, laryngoceles, laryngeal papillomas, and cancer.

Benign thyroid disease is actually quite common and refers to an abnormal growth (or nodule) in the thyroid gland that is non-cancerous. Often times there are no symptoms of a thyroid nodule but symptoms can include pain around the nodule site, signs and symptoms of too much thyroid hormone and large nodules might even lead to difficulty breathing or swallowing.

Any condition impacting the performance of the larynx, or voice box, can lead to a voice disorder. The most common symptom of a voice disorder is hoarseness.

Tonsils are one of the first lines of defense in keeping harmful bacteria and viruses out of the body. The most common problems occurring with the tonsils are recurrent or chronic infections and enlargement of either tissue.