system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:Why is it when I get strep throat it hurts to swallow my own saliva, but not food/drink?
gpt
First thought would be that with saliva you are swallowing a very small thing forcing your throat to contract more than it would with a pile of food or a mouthful of fluid.

Edit for analogy: A toothpaste tube is your throat. Squeezing out the toothpaste is swallowing. Much easier to push out the toothpaste when there is a decent amount still in the tube. Swallowing a bit of spit is like trying to squeeze out that last little bit. Now imagine the tube is sore. Poor tube :(