Doctors most often prescribe penicillin or amoxicillin (Amoxil) to treat strep throat. They are the top choices because they're safer, inexpensive, and they work well on strep bacteria.
Penicillin or amoxicillin is the antibiotic of choice to treat group A strep pharyngitis.
If you have a sore throat, there are a number of ways you can help yourself. Paracetamol can help with the pain, and gargling with warm, salty water may help shorten the infection (but this isn't recommended for children). In most cases, you only need to see your GP if your sore throat doesn't improve after a week.
The sore throat should clear up in 5 to 7 days. In the meantime, you can ease the symptoms by taking pain relief medication. Adults and children older than 1 month can take paracetamol, and adults and children older than 3 months can take ibuprofen. Do not give aspirin to children under 16.
When your throat is particularly painful, you can try a pain medicine like Panadol for sore throat. The medicine in Panadol has been shown to provide effective temporary relief from the pain of a sore throatviii.
Knowing whether your sore throat is viral or bacterial is usually determined by symptoms. Viral sore throats usually consist of a cough, swelling in the throat, and runny nose whereas bacterial sore throats are typically accompanied with nausea and vomiting, stomach ache, and there is no cough.
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.
Antibiotics. You do not normally need antibiotics for a sore throat because they will not usually relieve your symptoms or speed up your recovery. They'll only be prescribed if a GP thinks you could have a bacterial infection.
If you have a sore throat, you can treat the pain with acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or naproxen. If the soreness in your throat is still there after two days, call your doctor.
Because COVID-19 is an illness caused by a virus, a COVID-19 sore throat may look and feel like other viral sore throats. One clue that you have viral pharyngitis is that it is often accompanied by other common symptoms.
When not taking antibiotics, bacterial infections and the sore throats they cause may last anywhere from 7 to 10 days. In some cases, a sore throat from a bacterial infection may be due to a more serious illness. Be sure to follow up with your doctor if you have a sore throat lasting longer than 10 days.
If you have a sore throat that lasts for more than five to seven days, you should see your doctor. While increasing your liquid intake, gargling with warm salt water, or taking over-the-counter pain relievers may help, if appropriate, your doctor may write you a prescription for an antibiotic.
In most cases, your sore throat will improve with at-home treatment. However, it's time to see your doctor if a severe sore throat and a fever over 101 degrees lasts longer than one to two days; you have difficulty sleeping because your throat is blocked by swollen tonsils or adenoids; or a red rash appears.
Most sore throats caused by a cold or flu-type virus go away in a week to 10 days. If your sore throat is caused by bacteria, your doctor will prescribe an antibiotic. You will feel better in a few days.
Nurofen Cold & Flu contains ibuprofen to temporarily reduce inflammation (the source of cold & flu symptoms such as sinus pain, sore throat, headache and body aches), plus a decongestant to help relieve a blocked nose.
Cold, Flu, or Sinus Infection
A sore throat that causes painful swallowing often signals that you're getting one of these common illnesses. It can start a day before other symptoms like a runny nose and cough. If it's a cold, you'll need to wait it out by sipping fluids and getting plenty of rest.
Pharyngitis and tonsillitis are throat infections that cause inflammation. Pharyngitis and tonsillitis can be caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, and cigarette smoking. Most infections are caused by viruses. Antibiotics don't cure a viral infection, and should not be used.
If untreated, strep throat can cause complications, such as kidney inflammation or rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever can lead to painful and inflamed joints, a specific type of rash, or heart valve damage.
Throat infections are usually caused by a virus but may be caused by bacteria such as streptococcal bacteria. Symptoms include severe pain with swallowing and swollen, red tonsils. The diagnosis is based on an examination of the throat.
The majority of sore throats do not need antibiotics and medicated lozenges may only help to reduce pain by a small amount, NICE says.