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Medical Author:

Joseph Lauro, MD

Coauthor:

Erik D Barton, MD, MS

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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Tonsillitis Follow-up

• Make sure the patient follows up on all the tests the doctor performs and take all the medications the doctor prescribes.
• Patients should finish the entire course of antibiotics prescribed by the doctor, even if the person is feeling fine and symptoms go away.
• Children and adults are not contagious 24 hours after starting antibiotic treatment for strep throat caused by bacteria. The child or adult can return to school (day care) or work after this period of time while the person is taking antibiotics.
• If symptoms remain or get worse, the patient should contact their doctor.
• If social contacts develop symptoms tonsillitis, they may need to be evaluated.