Strep Throat

What is strep throat?

Strep throat is a bacterial infection that develops when group A Streptococcus bacteria settle into the tissue at the back of your throat. This type of infection is contagious, and you can get sick if an infected person sneezes and you breathe in infected droplets.

You can also get strep throat if you share a drinking glass with an infected person or touch infected objects and then touch your mouth or nose.

If left untreated, strep throat can cause complications like abscesses in your tonsils, ear infections, and sinus infections. 

What are the symptoms of strep throat?

A hallmark symptom of strep throat is a sore throat that comes on suddenly. You may also notice white patches at the back of your throat.

Other common symptoms of strep throat include:

• Fever
• Difficulty swallowing
• Red spots on the roof of the mouth
• Swollen lymph nodes in the front of the neck

You can also experience a headache, nausea, vomiting, or stomach pain as a side effect of strep throat. In some cases, a rash known as scarlet fever can occur with strep throat.

If you have a runny nose or cough, your sore throat is likely due to a virus and not a strep infection.

How is strep throat diagnosed?

Cali Quick Urgent Care offers on-site testing for strep throat infections. The team uses a rapid test that involves swabbing the back of your throat to collect a sample of cells.

If your test is positive, the team customizes a treatment plan that you should begin immediately. If the test is negative but the team suspects you have strep throat, you may need a throat culture. Throat culture results take a few days to come back.

How is strep throat treated?

Your treatment plan for strep throat includes a course of antibiotics to clear the infection. It’s important that you take all of the medication to prevent the infection from returning.

Because strep throat is contagious, you need to stay home from work or school and isolate yourself from other people to prevent the spread of infection. After seven days of starting your treatment with antibiotics, you should no longer be contagious.

The team at Cali Quick Urgent Care can recommend when it’s safe to be around other people. They can also recommend home care to ease your sore throat until the antibiotics start working. This can include drinking warm liquids, eating icy treats like Popsicles®, and using throat lozenges.

You should also get plenty of rest while your body fights the infection.

To schedule strep throat testing, call Cali Quick Urgent Care or book a consultation online today.