Strep Throat: Treatments
Caused by a group A streptococcal infection. Common symptoms include fever, sore throat, and enlarged lymph nodes. Strep throat is a contagious infection, spread through close contact with an infected individual.
Part of: Strep Throat
About Strep Throat Treatment
Healthcare professionals can test for strep by swabbing the throat to quickly see if group A strep bacteria are causing a sore throat. A strep test is needed to tell if you have strep throat; just looking at your throat is not enough to make a diagnosis. If the test is positive, your healthcare professional can prescribe antibiotics. If the strep test is negative, but your clinician still strongly suspects you have this infection, then they can take a throat culture swab to test for the bacteria.
Antibiotics Get You Well Fast
The strep test results will help your healthcare professional decide if you need antibiotics, which can:
Decrease the length of time you’re sick Reduce your symptoms Help prevent the spread of infection to friends and family members Prevent more serious complications, such as tonsil and sinus infections, and acute rheumatic fever (a rare inflammatory disease that can affect the heart, joints, skin, and brain)You should start feeling better in just a day or two after starting antibiotics. Call your healthcare professional 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 so they don’t spread the infection to others.
Be sure to finish the entire prescription, even when you start feeling better, unless your healthcare professional tells you to stop taking the medicine. When you stop taking antibiotics early, you risk getting an infection later that is resistant to antibiotic treatment.
More Prevention Tips
The best way to keep from getting strep throat is to wash your hands often and avoid sharing eating utensils, like forks or cups. It is especially important for anyone with a sore throat to wash their hands often and cover their mouth when coughing and sneezing. There is no vaccine to prevent strep throat. NIH – National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases