What type of throat infections

Follow up with a doctor if symptoms do not improve within a few days, get worse, or if you or your child have recurrent sore throats. A doctor will determine what type of illness you have by asking about symptoms and doing a physical examination. Sometimes they will also swab your throat. More about rheumatic fever. Since bacteria cause strep throat, antibiotics are needed to treat the infection and prevent rheumatic fever and other complications.

A doctor cannot tell if someone has strep throat just by looking in the throat. If your doctor thinks you might have strep throat, they can do a test to determine if it is the cause of your illness. Anyone with strep throat should stay home from work, school, or daycare until they no longer have fever AND have taken antibiotics for at least 12 hours.

If a sore throat is caused by a virus, antibiotics will not help. Most sore throats will get better on their own within one week. Your doctor may prescribe other medicine or give you tips to help you feel better.

More about antibiotic-resistant infections C. Side effects can range from minor issues, like a rash, to very serious health problems, such as antibiotic-resistant infections and C. Be careful about giving over-the-counter medicines to children.

Not all over-the-counter medicines are recommended for children of certain ages. Doctors recognize a throat infection by viewing the throat. However, because viral infections and bacterial infections often cause the same appearance in the throat, it is difficult for doctors to know whether the cause is a viral or bacterial infection just by looking at the throat.

However, people with a runny nose and cough are more likely to have a viral infection. Because it is often considered important to identify strep throat Streptococcal Infections Streptococcal infections are caused by any one of several species of Streptococcus. Typically, doctors test most children but test adults only if they meet certain criteria, such as having white patches on the tonsils tonsillar exudates , swollen and tender lymph nodes in the neck, fever, and an absence of cough.

However, not all experts agree on when testing should be done or even when antibiotics should be given. Analgesics given by mouth, such as acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs , often help reduce pain in people with a throat infection. Gargling with warm salt water has often been recommended but has not been shown to help. Some doctors also give a single dose of a corticosteroid, dexamethasone , which may shorten the duration of symptoms.

It may also help lessen airway blockage caused by mononucleosis. People with a strep infection are given an antibiotic, usually penicillin or amoxicillin. People who are allergic to penicillin may be given clindamycin. People who have repeated streptococcal infections of their tonsils may need to have their tonsils removed tonsillectomy , according to suggested guidelines.

Typically, it is children who need tonsillectomy, including children who have had more than 7 infections in 1 year, more than 5 infections in each of 2 years, or more than 3 infections per year for 3 years. Doctors consider tonsillectomy if the child has an acute infection that is severe and persistent despite being treated with antibiotics, if the child has significant obstruction including obstructive sleep disorder or a recurrent peritonsillar abscess, or if they suspect cancer.

For adults , doctors do not use these specific criteria for when to do tonsillectomy. However, doctors may do tonsillectomy in adults who have severe bad breath due to tonsillar stones.

For both children and adults , doctors do allow for individual differences when deciding whether to recommend a tonsillectomy. There are numerous effective techniques for tonsillectomy.

Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Sore throats. Accessed Feb. Sore throat. Merck Manual Professional Version. Seven tips to help you prevent a sore throat.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drutz, JE. Sore throat in children and adolescents: Symptomatic treatment. Stead W. Symptomatic treatment of acute pharyngitis in adults. Slippery Elm. Natural Medicines. Taking care of your voice. Sore throat. How to treat a sore throat yourself To help soothe a sore throat and shorten how long it lasts, you can: gargle with warm, salty water children should not try this drink plenty of water eat cool or soft foods avoid smoking or smoky places suck ice cubes, ice lollies or hard sweets — but do not give young children anything small and hard to suck because of the risk of choking rest How to gargle with salt water Dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water warm water helps salt dissolve.

Gargle with the solution, then spit it out do not swallow it. Repeat as often as you like. Video: how to treat a sore throat This video shows you how to treat a sore throat. Media last reviewed: 1 June Media review due: 1 June