What is strep throat?
Strep throat, caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus), is a bacterial infection. Strep throat is most common in children, but anyone can catch it.
Strep throat is extremely contagious; it travels from one host to another through the air in droplets. It can also settle onto surfaces that lots of people touch, like doorknobs.
If you don’t address strep throat, it can lead to more serious inflammatory conditions, such as:
- Rheumatic fever
- Scarlet fever
- Poststreptococcal reactive arthritis
- Kidney inflammation
Also, strep throat can spread to other areas of the body, including the:
- Middle ear
- Tonsils
- Blood
- Sinuses
- Skin
What are the symptoms of strep throat?
Usually, strep throat starts off with the sudden appearance of a sore or scratchy throat. As the infection progresses, the sore throat worsens, and you develop other symptoms, such as:
- Difficulty swallowing
- Tender and swollen lymph nodes and/or tonsils
- Small red bumps that appear on the back area of the roof of your mouth
- Pus streaks or red patches on your tonsils
- Fever
- Body aches
- Rash
- Nausea or vomiting (mostly in children)
When should I see a doctor for strep throat?
Strep throat starts off fairly innocently, so you may be hesitant to reach out to Physicians Medical Urgent Care because you think it’s simply a sore throat. If you’re having trouble deciding whether or not to schedule an appointment, ask yourself if you or your child has any of the following symptoms.
- A sore throat lasting longer than 48 hours
- A sore throat coupled with a rash
- A sore throat coupled with a fever
- Trouble breathing
- Trouble swallowing
These are a good indicator that you may have strep throat, and you should get it checked out.
In addition, if you already have a diagnosis of strep throat, and your symptoms haven’t begun to improve after taking your antibiotics for at least two days, schedule an appointment at Physicians Medical Urgent Care.
How is strep throat diagnosed?
Fortunately, it’s easy to test for strep throat. Usually, your provider can get a positive or negative result within a few minutes, using a rapid antigen test. During this test, they simply swab your throat and test the sample for antigens, which are substances that reveal the presence of strep.
Sometimes, rapid strep testing produces false positives. If your rapid strep test comes back negative, but your provider still suspects strep, they can perform a throat culture. Throat cultures are more thorough, but take up to two days to offer up diagnostic results.
If you’re suffering from pain that you think is from strep throat, don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment with Physicians Medical Urgent Care. To connect, call or use the online booking today. The practice also welcomes walk-ins.
