Strep Throat Treatments and Medications

One of the common causes of a sore throat is strep throat. It causes an inflamed, sore throat and tonsils often accompanied by fever and painful swallowing. It is quite contagious and is spread by sharing food and drinks, sneezing, coughing, and touching infected surfaces. Children are more likely to get strep throat than adults, but anyone can become infected with strep throat. Let’s take a look at treatment, medications, and natural remedies to manage strep throat.

What is strep throat?

Strep throat is a bacterial infection caused by group A Streptococcus or Streptococcus pyogenes. The main symptom of strep throat is a sore throat, also known as pharyngitis. Sore throats are also common in viral infections, such as a cold. However, the sore throat from viral infections usually goes away within two days and other viral symptoms like runny nose, sneezing and coughing begin. Strep throat often does not have these symptoms. Common symptoms of strep throat include:

• Sudden onset of throat pain

• Fever of 101 F or higher

• Red, enlarged tonsils and white patches on the back of the throat

• Small red spots on the soft and hard palate

• Painful swallowing

• Headache

• Stomach pain

• Loss of appetite

• Lethargy

• Chills

• Tender, swollen lymph nodes

• Body aches

• Nausea, vomiting

According to the CDC, about 1 in 10 adults with sore throats have strep throat and 3 to 10 children with sore throats typically have strep. Strep throat is most common in the winter and spring. The most common treatment for strep throat is antibiotics. There are medications and home remedies that can help alleviate the symptoms, such as taking ibuprofen to relieve fever and gargling with warm salt water to help ease the pain of the sore throat. There is currently research for a potential vaccine for strep throat, but one is not available at this time.

How is strep throat diagnosed?

If you have a sore throat accompanied by fever for more than two days, you should visit a doctor. At your doctor’s visit, you may be asked questions such as:

• How long have you had your symptoms?

• Have you recently been exposed to strep throat?

• Does anything relieve your symptoms?

• Do you have any other medical conditions?

During the appointment, your doctor will likely examine you by taking your temperature, feeling your neck for swollen lymph nodes, and visually inspecting your throat. Based on this examination, your doctor may run one of two tests to check for sore throat:

• A rapid antigen test or rapid strep test may be administered if strep throat is suspected. During this test, your doctor will swab the back of your throat for a sample. The antigen test can detect strep bacteria within a few minutes, but it is an imperfect test. If the test comes back negative, but your doctor suspects strep, he or she may perform a throat culture.

• Throat cultures are done by taking a swab of the back of the throat and then sending it for culture in a laboratory. This test can take up to two days, whereas the rapid antigen test only takes minutes.

Based on the results of the strep test your doctor may write you a prescription for antibiotics. During this appointment, you should ask any questions you may have, including:

• What is causing my sore throat?

• What tests will be performed today?

• What is the treatment? Are there any side effects of this treatment?

• How long will the treatment take?

• How long before my sore throat is improved?

• How long will I be contagious?

• How can I prevent strep throat in the future?

Strep throat treatment options

If your strep test comes back positive, your healthcare provider will most likely prescribe an antibiotic treatment. Once treatment starts, you should feel improvement within a day or two. It is very important to finish your antibiotics even if you feel better since strep throat can cause serious complications, such as rheumatic fever or glomerulonephritis (kidney inflammation), or into other serious infections within the streptococcal infection group, such as scarlet fever or impetigo. To manage the symptoms of strep throat there are over the counter medications, such as acetaminophen to reduce fever and pain, and at-home remedies like drinking plenty of water.

Strep throat medications

Antibiotics are usually prescribed to treat the strep throat bacteria to help you feel better faster and to decrease the chances of you getting serious complications. The most commonly prescribed antibiotics are penicillin and amoxicillin. These drugs are safe, typically inexpensive, and are good at killing streptococcal infections in the throat, so they are the first choice for those with strep throat. For those allergic to penicillin—azithromycin, cefixime, clarithromycin, or clindamycin may be prescribed instead. Side effects of antibiotics often include upset stomach, yeast infections, or oral thrush (yeast overgrowth).

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