Symptoms of Strep Throat Infection Other symptoms include sore throat, fever, headache, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting. Cough, hoarseness, red eyes, and runny nose are not seen with Strep throat. These symptoms point more to a viral cause.
Strep throats are usually not associated with a cough or runny nose. Doctors most commonly treat group A strep with antibiotics. If you have cold symptoms such as coughing, sneezing or a runny or stuffy nose, you probably have a viral infection, not strep throat.
Other common symptoms are fever, enlarged and tender lymph nodes in the neck, headache, and stomach ache. Typically, runny nose, nasal congestion, and cough are not part of the strep throat infection but can sometimes be present if there is a concurrent viral upper respiratory infection.
You don't typically cough with strep, and you don't usually have a sore throat with bronchitis.
How long does strep throat last untreated? Strep throat goes away on its own within 10 days in over 85% of cases. However, antibiotic treatment is recommended to prevent a serious complication called rheumatic fever, or spread of the infection, and may help symptoms go away about one day more quickly.
Strep throat symptoms improve between the third and fourth day. Consult your physician if your symptoms worsen after three days or if they do not improve after 7–10 days. Antibiotic treatment for strep throat usually lasts for ten days. People are fully recovered and no longer exhibit symptoms after ten days.
While strep throat is a bacterial infection that may lead to unpleasant throat pain and difficulty swallowing, bronchitis is an inflammation that settles in your chest and is accompanied by coughing and mucus.
A viral sore throat is typically accompanied by other cold-like symptoms, such as cough, sneeze, runny nose and a hoarse or raspy voice. “A strep infection can make it feel very painful to swallow, and often comes with fever of 101-degrees or higher,” said Schairer.
Strep throat, which is an infection due to streptococcus bacteria, is another cause of sore throats and tonsillitis. With strep throat, the sore throat is often more severe and persists. Tonsillitis is a painful inflammation or infection of the tonsils, the tissue masses located at the back of the throat.
If you or your child has a sore throat but tests negative for strep, your healthcare provider will consider other conditions resembling strep, like the common cold or flu, to make a diagnosis. Noninfectious causes of sore throats, like allergies or acid reflux, will also be considered.
Sometimes viral illnesses cause a sore throat that may be mistaken for strep throat. These include common cold viruses, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), influenza (the "flu"), croup, mononucleosis (“mono”), measles, and chickenpox.
Caused by the group A streptococcus bacteria, strep throat is an infection that requires prompt treatment, particularly in children over the age of 3. Left untreated, strep throat can lead to kidney inflammation or rheumatic fever, a serious illness that can cause stroke and permanent damage to the heart.
“Therefore, best practice is to prescribe antibiotics to prevent future problems and stop the spread of the infection. “While there are times when strep could go away without antibiotics, the problem is that some of those cases could have negative outcomes, especially for very young or elderly patients,” says Moore.
While, in many cases, strep throat will heal on its own, these bacteria can cause other, more serious illnesses in rare cases. Rheumatic fever is a potential complication, and it can damage the valves of the heart.
The same germ that causes strep throat may also cause symptoms of a sinus infection or an ear infection.
A simple test gives fast results. Your doctor may swab your throat to test for bacteria. A doctor will determine what type of illness you have by asking about symptoms and doing a physical exam. If they think you might have strep throat, they will swab your throat to test for strep throat.
Another symptom of a bacterial throat infection is distinct white spots, splotches, or streaks on the tonsils, along with a red sore throat. If a patient notices this, it's best to be seen by a clinician to get tested for strep.
Typically, doctors will recommend a test for most children but only test adults if they meet two or more strep criteria, such as having white patches on the tonsils (tonsillar exudates), swollen and tender lymph nodes, fever, or an absence of cough.
What does a pneumonia cough sound like? This will depend on the type of pneumonia you have and be either a dry or chesty cough. Bacterial pneumonia is more serious and often results in a gurgling sound when breathing and mucus or phlegm when coughing.
A bronchitis cough sounds like a rattle with a wheezing or whistling sound. As your condition progresses, you will first have a dry cough that can then progress towards coughing up white mucus.
What is invasive group A streptococcal disease? Invasive GAS disease is a severe and sometimes life-threatening infection in which the bacteria have invaded parts of the body, such as the blood, deep muscle and fat tissue or the lungs.
Return to work/school — If you have been diagnosed with strep throat, stay home from work or school until you have completed 24 hours of antibiotics. Within 24 hours of beginning antibiotic treatment, you will feel better and will be less contagious [1].
Does Strep Throat Cause Cough? Cough is generally not a symptom of strep throat. Cough, hoarseness, runny nose, reddened eyes and other symptoms may point to a viral respiratory infection.