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Strep throat is a bacterial infection that can make your throat feel sore and scratchy. Strep throat accounts for only a small portion of sore throats. If untreated, strep throat can cause complications, such as kidney inflammation or rheumatic fever.
In most cases, antibiotics will quickly wipe out the bacteria causing the infection. In the meantime, try these tips to relieve symptoms of strep throat: Get plenty of rest. Sleep helps your body fight infection. If you have strep throat, stay home from work if you can.
In many cases, doctors use a simple test to detect streptococcal bacteria, the cause of strep throat. The doctor rubs a sterile swab over the back of the throat to get a sample of secretions and sends the sample to a lab for testing.
A sore throat caused by a virus resolves on its own. Strep throat (streptococcal infection), a less common type of sore throat caused by bacteria, requires treatment with antibiotics to prevent complications. Other less common causes of sore throat might require more complex treatment.
Symptoms of strep throat include: Temperature of at least 101 F (38.3 C) in the mouth; Enlarged and tender lymph nodes in the neck; White spots on the tonsils; Strep throat is caused by bacteria. Many sore throats are caused by viruses that can't be treated with antibiotics or surgery.
Scarlet fever is caused by the same type of bacteria that causes strep throat — group A streptococcus (strep-toe-KOK-us), also called group A strep. In scarlet fever, the bacteria release a toxin that produces the rash and red tongue.
Strep throat and scarlet fever are caused by an infection with streptococcus (strep-toe-KOK-us) bacteria. Rheumatic fever most often affects children ages 5 to 15. But younger children and adults can get it too.
Many adults carry group B strep in their bodies — usually in the bowel, vagina, rectum, bladder or throat — and have no signs or symptoms. In some cases, however, group B strep can cause a urinary tract infection or other more-serious infections.
Throat cancer refers cancer that develops in your throat (pharynx) or voice box (larynx). Your throat is a muscular tube that begins behind your nose and ends in your neck. Throat cancer most often begins in the flat cells that line the inside of your throat.
Strep throat may be diagnosed with a rapid antigen test, a molecular test (PCR) or a throat culture. Treatment for strep throat is typically a course of antibiotics. Recurrent strep throat may be treated with a different antibiotic from the one prescribed originally.