Strep Throat: Symptoms and Treatment

Streptococcal pharyngitis, also known as bacterial pharyngitis, is an infection of the throat caused by bacteria of the genus Streptococcus,mostly Streptococcus pyogenesare easily propagated.

Typically, this type of infection causes severe sore throat, white patches at the back of the mouth, difficulty swallowing, decreased appetite, and fever.

It’s important to recognize and treat strep throat quickly, not only because the symptoms are very uncomfortable, but also because complications can arise, such as kidney inflammation or rheumatic fever, which means the bacteria manage to multiply and cause an infection. Reach other organs, making the infection more difficult to control.

The main symptoms

The symptoms of strep throat are very uncomfortable, mainly:

• severe sore throat that comes on quickly;
• Redness of the throat with pus, which can be seen by a white patch in the back of the throat;
• difficulty swallowing and pain;
• Redness and swelling of the tonsils;
• Fever 38.5 to 39.5 ℃;
• Headache;
• nausea and vomiting;
• Pain in the abdomen and other parts of the body;
• loss of appetite;
• acne;
• Neck glands are swollen and tender.

Usually, people with strep throat don’t have a cough or runny nose, which helps distinguish symptoms from the common flu. Also, in some cases, a throat swab test may be needed to find the bacteria that caused the infection.

How is strep throat spread?

Strep throat is easily spread through saliva droplets. Therefore, it is possible to spread the infection when:

• breathing infected dropletsespecially after a sick person coughs or sneezes;
• drink from the same glass or eat from the same plate the condition of the patient;
• touching an infected surface Then touch your face.

Symptoms usually appear suddenly and intensely about 2 to 5 days after exposure to an infectious organism and may disappear after 1 week if the infection is treated correctly.

how the treatment works

Treatment for strep throat should be as recommended by your GP or infectious disease specialist as it involves the use of antibiotics, even if the symptoms of strep throat disappear, as directed. In the most severe cases, doctors find other sources of infection and may recommend treatment with intravenous antibiotics.

Anti-inflammatory medications, such as ibuprofen, or pain relievers may also be needed to reduce throat swelling, relieve pain, and reduce fever. There are also tablets available to help with treatment, which are antibacterial and help with pain relief.

While eating is difficult most of the time due to loss of appetite and sore throat when swallowing, it is important to eat, preferably soft foods, as this prevents malnutrition and is good for fighting microbes. Because food helps strengthen the immune system.

Watch the video below to learn how to boost your immune system to fight pharyngitis:

94% of readers
found this useful

(17 comments)