Daily AncestorPutrid sore throat
Putrid sore throat was an 1700s and 1800s name for a severe ulcerated throat infection, covering both diphtheria and scarlet fever before they were told apart.
Putrid sore throat described a throat covered with foul-smelling ulcers or patches, with fever and great weakness. It swept through families of children in epidemics.
Physicians of the 1700s such as John Wall wrote about it without separating scarlet fever from diphtheria. When you see this phrase, either disease is possible, and diphtheria is the more likely if a membrane is mentioned.
As seen in a recordChurch burial register, 1700s
Polly, dau. of Saml. Hale, aged 6, d. of putrid sore throat, Oct. 1786
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Daily Ancestor. "Putrid sore throat." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/putrid-sore-throat. Last checked 2026-10-01.