Distinguish a Sore Throat From Strep Throat Slideshow Natural Cold and Flu Remedies Slideshow Pictures The Common Cold Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Steven Doerr, MD

Steven Doerr, MD

Steven Doerr, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Doerr received his undergraduate degree in Spanish from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He graduated with his Medical Degree from the University Of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, Colorado in 1998 and completed his residency training in Emergency Medicine from Denver Health Medical Center in Denver, Colorado in 2002, where he also served as Chief Resident.

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Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Strep Throat Follow-up

If the rapid strep test is negative after an initial visit to a health care practitioner, a throat culture is generally sent to a lab for further testing. The health care practitioner should contact the patient if the throat culture results are positive for strep throat. In this case, a course of antibiotics usually will be prescribed.

It is important to report any side effects while taking antibiotics. Any rash, swelling of the lips and tongue, or difficulty breathing may indicate an allergic reaction to the particular antibiotic prescribed. If any of these symptoms develop, discontinue the antibiotic and consult a health care practitioner immediately.

The symptoms of strep throat should generally begin to improve after 3 to 4 days. If symptoms are not improving, or if symptoms worsen, the patient should contact a health care practitioner.

A very small number of cases of strep throat (less than 5%) may be caused by bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotic that you were prescribed. If this is the case, symptoms may not improve and a health care practitioner should prescribe a different type of antibiotic.