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Suggest Treatment For Sore Throat, Fever And Difficulty Swallowing
Question: I have had a sore throat for 4 days. The first day I had a low fever (100), felt better the next day, but my throat is hurting, it is hard to swallow, dry, mucusy, and red.
Brief Answer:
With persistent bad throat pain, I'd advise a strep test.
Detailed Answer:
Sore throats are usually caused by a virus that causes an upper respiratory tract infection and pass in 7-10 days, but given that your's is severe enough to be making it hard to swallow, I would strongly advise going to your doctor's office or an urgent care. There they can take a throat swab and do 2 things with it:
A Rapid Strep Screen which they can do right away. If that is negative the specimen can be sent for a culture - which takes a couple of days but will show if there is strep for sure.
Mono can also give tonsils that are swollen enough to make swallowing difficult, but at your age you most likely have had it already. (Most people have mild cases of mono during adolescence or early adult years without knowing it - seems like a bad cold.) But if you go in to be seen, the doc can get a good look at your tonsils. As mono is caused by a virus, there are no antibiotics for it, but sometimes a short course of steroids helps to shrink the swollen tonsils.
Throats can be sore from drainage from above (from sinuses with post nasal drainage) or from reflux from the stomach below (but the latter does not cause a fever).
So most likely this is a common virus and will pass in a few more days, but just in case, do go in and get your throat swabbed.
Also, if you aren't already, you can try sucking on honey, cough drops, hot soup, hot tea, and there are some over the counter sprays that help numb the throat.
I hope you are feeling better soon! Please let me know if I can provide further information or clarification.
With persistent bad throat pain, I'd advise a strep test.
Detailed Answer:
Sore throats are usually caused by a virus that causes an upper respiratory tract infection and pass in 7-10 days, but given that your's is severe enough to be making it hard to swallow, I would strongly advise going to your doctor's office or an urgent care. There they can take a throat swab and do 2 things with it:
A Rapid Strep Screen which they can do right away. If that is negative the specimen can be sent for a culture - which takes a couple of days but will show if there is strep for sure.
Mono can also give tonsils that are swollen enough to make swallowing difficult, but at your age you most likely have had it already. (Most people have mild cases of mono during adolescence or early adult years without knowing it - seems like a bad cold.) But if you go in to be seen, the doc can get a good look at your tonsils. As mono is caused by a virus, there are no antibiotics for it, but sometimes a short course of steroids helps to shrink the swollen tonsils.
Throats can be sore from drainage from above (from sinuses with post nasal drainage) or from reflux from the stomach below (but the latter does not cause a fever).
So most likely this is a common virus and will pass in a few more days, but just in case, do go in and get your throat swabbed.
Also, if you aren't already, you can try sucking on honey, cough drops, hot soup, hot tea, and there are some over the counter sprays that help numb the throat.
I hope you are feeling better soon! Please let me know if I can provide further information or clarification.
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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