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Suggest Treatment For Symptoms Of Upper Respiratory Tract Infection

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Posted on Tue, 14 Jun 2016
Question: For about 3 days now i have had extremely painful swallowing. It feels like if one got a pretzel or a pill stuck in the throat while swallowing. It started out just when I swallowed, but now is constant mildly and exacerbated when swallowing. The last two nights I have been febrile and then chills in a cyclic fashion continuing through the day. I have had a headache as well, but I get migraines sometimes. I started Amoxicillin 500mg 2 days ago feeling the general malaise and fever and not knowing if it was viral or bacterial. I started prednisone yesterday. I take relpax 40mg for my migraines which I have taken in the last couple of days. I don't have any history, (family or personal) of acid reflux or GERD, esophatitis, hiatal hernia, etc...really anything with chest pain, heartburn, or reflux as a symptom.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Shoaib Khan (18 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Sounds like a URTI to me, but may be something other than amox?

Detailed Answer:
Hello sir and welcome.

Thank you for writing to us.

I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. It does sound to me like you could have an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) which may be viral or bacterial as you suspected. But in this case I would prefer the use of azithromycin (one 250 mg tablet twice daily) for 10 days or so.

Along with other approaches like:

+Luke warm sips of water every now and then
+Gargling with either TANTUM mouthwash of Betadine mouthwash three times daily
+Pain management medication (e.g. disprin-MD) which can be dissolved in half a glass of XXXXXXX warm water, gargled for about 10 seconds and spat out. This can be done thrice daily, and the pain killer is absorbed into the throat which causes a more comfortable situation for the patient
+Expectorant syrup (if cough and sputum are present)
+Anti-histamine medication (E.g. cetrizine, levocetrizine, loratadine, etc.)

I hope you find my response helpful and informative. Please feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications, I am always here to help.

Best wishes.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Shoaib Khan (4 minutes later)
Thank you so much. I almost started a Z-pack because of the spectrum it covers more specifically, but I am not a doctor...so I went broad spectrum. I am going to switch to the azithromycin. I really appreciate the specific device. I know you can never really make a diagnosis over the phone or internet, but I appreciate you pointing me in the right direction. Regardless of all my excuses, (time/money), if I do not notice any improvements in the next 48-72 hours or any significant worsening I will go visit a doctor. Thanks again.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Shoaib Khan (18 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
It was my pleasure to come across someone like you :)

Detailed Answer:
Hi.

Really proud of your mental approach to things, if the world had more people like you, doctors around the world would not be misunderstood. Do tell your parents I am proud of their upbringing.

And nonetheless, I am here to guide you and inform you on what is right or wrong medically, so do not hesitate to write to me if you need my assistance ever, I would be more than happy to help.

Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery.

Best wishes.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Shoaib Khan

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2009

Answered : 9409 Questions

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Suggest Treatment For Symptoms Of Upper Respiratory Tract Infection

Brief Answer: Sounds like a URTI to me, but may be something other than amox? Detailed Answer: Hello sir and welcome. Thank you for writing to us. I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. It does sound to me like you could have an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) which may be viral or bacterial as you suspected. But in this case I would prefer the use of azithromycin (one 250 mg tablet twice daily) for 10 days or so. Along with other approaches like: +Luke warm sips of water every now and then +Gargling with either TANTUM mouthwash of Betadine mouthwash three times daily +Pain management medication (e.g. disprin-MD) which can be dissolved in half a glass of XXXXXXX warm water, gargled for about 10 seconds and spat out. This can be done thrice daily, and the pain killer is absorbed into the throat which causes a more comfortable situation for the patient +Expectorant syrup (if cough and sputum are present) +Anti-histamine medication (E.g. cetrizine, levocetrizine, loratadine, etc.) I hope you find my response helpful and informative. Please feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications, I am always here to help. Best wishes.