Coughing and runny nose remain absent and they won't develop pink eye because of the strep bacteria. If your child has allergies, their sore throat could be accompanied by red, itchy eyes and nasal congestion, symptoms that would be absent with strep throat.
Viral sore throat will go away on its own, while strep requires antibiotics. If your sore throat causes trouble swallowing, last longer than 48 hours and/or comes with a fever or rash, see your doctor.
White spots on back of throat, tonsils, or tongue. Swollen, tender neck glands. Bright red tongue. Trouble swallowing.
Signs that suggest your child might have Strep throat are:
Fever within the last 24 hours. White spots at the back of their throat (pus on their tonsils) Very large or red tonsils. Sore (tender) lumps under their chin.
Your doctor may perform a rapid antigen test on a swab sample from your throat. This test can detect strep bacteria in minutes by looking for substances (antigens) in the throat. If the test is negative but your doctor still suspects strep, he or she might do a throat culture.
If the rapid testing is positive, your doctor will order antibiotics. So the take home message is this, if your child has a sore throat, give him or her some pain reliever for 1-2 days. If it persists without any cold symptoms, especially if there is a fever, go see your doctor for a strep test.
Although strep throat usually gets better without treatment, some children can get complications if they are not treated. Children get better faster when treated with an antibiotic. Your doctor will decide if an antibiotic is needed.
A common misconception is that if a child has tested positive for strep, household members should also be tested. Medically, only patients who have symptoms should be tested unless other circumstances arise. Testing and treatment is not recommended for family members or close contacts unless they are ill.
Your child can spread strep throat to others until 24 hours after he or she starts taking antibiotics. Keep your child out of school or daycare until 1 full day after he or she starts taking antibiotics. Follow-up care is a key part of your child's treatment and safety.
At-home tests for strep throat are available online or in pharmacies and are generally accurate when done correctly. However, they may give false-positive or false-negative results.
Strep throat typically goes away in three to seven days with or without antibiotic treatment. However, if you don't take antibiotics, you can remain contagious for two to three weeks and are at a higher risk for complications, such as rheumatic fever.
The main symptom of strep throat, a sore throat can also develop for other reasons, such as the flu or another viral illness. In fact, most sore throats are due to viruses. If you have a sore throat, it won't turn into strep throat.
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.
Yes. Strep throat is contagious. You can pass the strep infection to other people until you have been treated appropriately with an antibiotic. Children who have strep throat should not go back to school or daycare until their fever has gone away and they have taken an antibiotic for at least 24 hours.
Strep throat typically resolves in three to five days if untreated. Despite the short duration, antibiotic treatment is recommended to reduce the risk of complications. Symptoms typically resolve within one to three days following the start of antibiotics.
Is Strep Throat Contagious? Strep throat is very contagious. Anybody can get it, but most cases are in school-age kids and teens ages 5 to 15. Infections are common during the school year, with peaks in winter and early spring, when big groups of kids and teens are in close contact.
If your child is diagnosed with strep throat, he will be prescribed antibiotics, such as penicillin or amoxicillin. An antibiotic will help reduce the duration of symptoms caused by strep throat, as well as decreasing the risk of rare but serious complications of the bacterial infection, such as acute rheumatic fever.
Penicillin or amoxicillin is the antibiotic of choice to treat group A strep pharyngitis. There has never been a report of a clinical isolate of group A strep that is resistant to penicillin.
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.
New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham suggests that Fusobacterium necrophorum more often causes severe sore throats in young adults than streptococcus — the cause of the much better known strep throat.
Strep throat can be contagious for about 2-3 weeks in individuals who are not taking antibiotics. However, individuals who do take antibiotics for strep throat usually are no longer contagious about 24- 48 hours after initiating antibiotic therapy.
Take a Good Look
You might see white dots or patches in the back of your throat. Your tonsils -- the bumps on either side at the back of your throat -- might be red and swollen, too. These could be signs of bacterial infection like strep throat or oral thrush, or a viral infection like oral herpes or mononucleosis.