** Thanks for contacting with your health concern. 1. As you have taken consultation with a local doctor, but still symptoms are worsening, thus next symptom wise approach which you should follow is: i. An ordinary cough with throat pain [a sore throat] is the commonest symptom seen in general practice, however, you should consult an ENT specialist who will inspect the throat with a good torch and tongue depressor to exclude any other pathology. [pharyngitis, laryngitis, and bronchitis] ii. The choice of antibiotic will vary from doctor to doctor and from locality to locality and as a sore throat has worsened, make sure to adopt certain guidelines till you get an appointment: - maintain good oral hygiene, rinse your mouth after every meal, avoid smoking, tobacco chewing. - Take mainly soft diet - rice, chapati, or phulka, with nonspicy vegetables. - Avoid fried foods like wada, samosa, dosa, pakodas, papad,namkeen and potato chips, avoid hotel food. . Do not take any cold drinks, cold water, ice cream, chilled food from the refrigerator. . Avoid sour fruits like citrus fruits, grapes, take sweet fruits- bananas, papaya . Steam Inhalation and warm salt water gargles. . Cover the mouth while coughing (using hand or handkerchief) to prevent the spread of infection to other family members. iii. If a cough worsens or duration increases consult a chest specialist for an immediate chest x-ray and other blood investigations like: - Hb%, WBC for eosinophilia - X-ray chest for TB, Pneumonia