Resuming Activities and Exercise After Heart Surgery. If your surgery required an incision on your sternum (breastbone), it will take about 6-8 weeks for your sternum to heal. During this time, you may do light household chores, such as laundry, shopping, cooking, light gardening, dusting, and washing dishes when you feel up to it.
The most common culprits of a viral throat infection include coxsackievirus, mononucleosis, and the flu. Mononucleosis (mono) is a virus that causes symptoms that can last for weeks or months at a time. Viral throat infections are best treated with rest, liquids and other home remedies. If the sore throat causes you to have trouble breathing or a high fever, or results in spots in the back of your throat, call your doctor.
More than half of sore throats are caused by viruses (known medically as viral pharyngitis). They are often the same viruses that cause the common cold, flu, a sinus infection (sinusitis), or other upper respiratory tract infections. Throat infections with bacteria can also cause pharyngitis. Strep throat is the most common bacterial throat infection. It is caused by group A streptococcus bacteria. (For more information on whether this condition is contagious, click Pharyngitis and Sore Throat Causes. These articles also discuss various causes of this throat condition, as well as information on how to prevent spreading the infection.)