Strep throat

Strep throat is a condition that causes a sore throat, otherwise known as pharyngitis. Strep throat is caused by the bacteria Group A Streptococcus.

Strep throat is spread by person-to-person contact with fluids from the nose or saliva. It usually spreads among family or household members.

In order to make a diagnosis, your doctor will perform a rapid strep test to determine if group A strep bacteria is causing your sore throat. If the strep test is positive, your doctor will prescribe you antibiotics.

The best way to prevent strep throat is to wash your hands frequently and avoid sharing eating utensils, like forks or cups. It is  important for anyone with a sore throat to wash their hands often and cover coughs and sneezes.

Symptoms may include:

• Sore throat, usually starting quickly
• Severe pain when swallowing
• A fever (101° F or above)
• Chills
• Red and swollen tonsils, sometimes with white patches or streaks of pus
• Tiny red spots on the soft or hard palate which is the area at the back of the roof of the mouth
• Headache
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck
• Body aches
• Feeling sick
• A loss of appetite
• Abnormal sense of taste
• Rash

Some strains of strep throat can lead to a scarlet fever-like rash. The rash usually first appears on the neck and chest. The rash may It may then spread over the body. The rash may feel rough like sandpaper.

Strep throat is caused by the bacteria Group A Streptococcus.

Strep throat is spread by person-to-person contact with fluids from the nose or saliva. It usually spreads among family or household members.

In order to make a diagnosis, your doctor will perform a rapid strep test to determine if group A strep bacteria is causing your sore throat. If the test is positive, your doctor can prescribe antibiotics. Looking at your throat is not enough to make a diagnosis.

If the rapid strep test is negative and your health care provider still suspects that the strep virus is causing the sore throat, a throat swab can be tested (cultured) to see if strep grows from it. Results will take 1 to 2 days.

Call your doctor if you don't feel better after taking antibiotics for 48 hours. People with strep throat should stay home from work, school, or daycare until they have taken antibiotics for at least 24 hours.

Try the following tips to help manage your sore throat:

• Drink warm liquids, such as lemon tea or tea with honey.
• Gargle several times a day with warm salt water (1/2 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup water).
• Drink cold liquids or suck on fruit-flavored ice pops.
• Suck on hard candies or throat lozenges. Young children should not be given these products because they can choke on them.
• Try a cool-mist vaporizer or humidifier as these can help moisten and soothe a dry and painful throat.
• Can use over-the-counter pain medications, such as acetaminophen.

The best way to prevent strep throat is to wash your hands frequently and avoid sharing eating utensils, like forks or cups. It is  important for anyone with a sore throat to wash their hands often and cover coughs and sneezes.

It is recommended you get a new toothbrush after two or three days, but before finishing the antibiotics. Otherwise, the bacteria can live on the toothbrush and reinfect you when the antibiotics are completed. In addition, separate your family's toothbrushes and utensils, unless they have been washed.

If strep becomes a re-occurrence in your family, tell your doctor. He/she may check to see if someone is a strep carrier. Carriers have strep in their throats, but the bacteria do not make them sick. Sometimes, treating them can prevent others from getting strep throat.

There is no vaccine to prevent strep throat.

If the strep test is positive, your doctor will prescribe you antibiotics such as penicillin or amoxicillin.

Antibiotics will help prevent more serious health problems such as rheumatic fever.

Take an antibiotic exactly as the healthcare provider tells you. Do not skip doses. It is important you complete the prescribed course of treatment even if you are feeling better. If treatment stops too soon, some bacteria may survive and reinfect.

Patients will usually get better in about 1 week. If strep throat is left untreated, this can lead to serious complications.

If left untreated, strep throat can lead to rheumatic fever. Strep throat may also cause a rare kidney complication called post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis.

Other complications may include:

• A skin condition in which small, red, and scaly teardrop-shaped spots appear on the arms, legs, and middle of the body, called guttate psoriasis
• Abscess in the area around the tonsils
• Scarlet fever