# Is this strep throat?



## Faine (Jun 20, 2012)

For the past few days my throat has been on fire and I'm missing work 
I don't have health insurance at the moment but I think I should make a dr appointment after I looked at my throat this morning


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## Stealthdjentstic (Jun 20, 2012)

Yup, looks like tonsoliths too


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## Faine (Jun 20, 2012)

Ehh  "Ear pain. Tonsil stones can develop anywhere in the tonsil. Because of shared nerve pathways, they may cause a person to feel referred pain in the ear, even though the stone itself is not touching the ear." 


That's funny cuz I noticed whenever I swallowed anything lately my right ear hurt


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## TankJon666 (Jun 20, 2012)

I had a case of strep throat when I came back from a Holiday to Cuba.

I was off work for over week. I couldnt eat and could barely swallow liquid. I was weak as fuck and struggled to even get out of bed to make the 4 metre walk to the toilet. I sweated so much I had to sleep on towels and I would wake up at night having difficulty breathing because my throat was so swollen. I've never been so ill in my life!

If thats what you are getting then yes its strep throat 

Having said that ..I suppose you could get varying degrees of severity. Maybe Cuban strep is worse than others


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## BrainArt (Jun 20, 2012)

Yeah, that's definitely strep. I'm very susceptible to strep throat and sore throats, in general (colds always hit my throat, first), so don't breathe on me!


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## Faine (Jun 20, 2012)

Haha it sucks man cuz it's 93 out right now and 100% humid. I'm layin here with a fever most likely and I'm SO hot. I just moved my bed room so my air conditioner is in my old room build into the wall. If worst comes to worst I'll turn the central air on up stairs and I'll lay on the couch in the living room


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## yellowv (Jun 20, 2012)

Well it's infected for sure. Go to the Dr. it's not gonna get better on it's own.


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## BrainArt (Jun 20, 2012)

Yeah, definitely go to the doctor to get an anti-biotic for it.


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## Faine (Jun 20, 2012)

Ehhhh


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## SpaceDock (Jun 20, 2012)

That is not normal at all man. You should get professional help.


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## Faine (Jun 21, 2012)

Haha I will. Goin to the dr tomorrow morning


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## flint757 (Jun 21, 2012)

Gross 

Infect it is whether it is bacterial or a virus is another story. it isn't necessarily strep, definitely for the best that you are going to the doc.


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## highlordmugfug (Jun 21, 2012)

I fucking love that your pics of it are so big. 

Get to the doctor, boyo.


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## Faine (Jun 21, 2012)

^ haha Yeah, I dont know why. I take them when my iphone4. maybe that has something to do with it? 


PS: I have an incredible urge to want to clean off my tonsils and its BUGGIN ME OUT that I cant.

EDIT: I called my Dr. I have an appointment for 10:15am, wish me luck!


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## Faine (Jun 21, 2012)

Surprisingly it wasn't strep, but the dr gave me antibiotics anyway.


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## flint757 (Jun 21, 2012)

Strep is a virus so them giving you antibiotics means it is bacterial infection. You just have to manage symptoms and wait it out when you get a virus so it is definitely for the better.


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## Evil Weasel (Jun 21, 2012)

flint757 said:


> Strep is a virus so them giving you antibiotics means it is bacterial infection. You just have to manage symptoms and wait it out when you get a virus so it is definitely for the better.


No, as someone about a year away from qualifying as a doctor and holder of a medical science degree I can 100% tell you that all forms of Strep are bacteria. You are correct that viruses do not respond to antibiotics though. As a cynical British person, I suspect he gave antiobiotics because of the way healthcare works in the USA and for commercial benefit as opposed to him actually needing them.

In the UK you would simply NOT get antibiotics for tonsillitis (which looks like the main problem) unless it was persistent for at least a week as it usually resolves itself in that time. Even then some people would probably be reluctant without a +ve throat swab. It is shocking how irresponsibly antibiotics are prescribed throughout the world. People wonder why we are seeing so much drug resistance amongst bacteria....

Incidentally to the OP hope you get better soon. Tonsillitis sucks. Been there myself and could hardly eat anything other than soup without being in agony.


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## Faine (Jun 21, 2012)

Thanks. Yeah she wanted to treat it like strep but she said it was an acute pharyngitis ?


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## Evil Weasel (Jun 21, 2012)

Faine said:


> Thanks. Yeah she wanted to treat it like strep but she said it was an acute pharyngitis ?


Having done a full week in an ENT ward and seen a few cases of tonsillitis in a GP placement I am no expert but although your oropharynx is a bit inflammed, it does seem the worst bit is right beside that big angry looking tonsil! Ultimately it doesn't matter how much is inflammed, treatment is the same. Just like tonsillitis, most pharyngitis is caused by viruses. If it is a virus then antibiotics are a total waste of time and it should just be left for your immune system to clear it up. Most bacterial infections will clear up fine too, but there is always a chance of complications which is why people probably err on the side of caution. The only way you can really know is by taking a throat swab and getting it cultured though! 

Assuming you have just been given amoxicillin it shouldn't do you any harm to take the antibiotics and it it is a strep infection should help to clear it a bit quicker so go ahead and take them. If they have given you a cephaloporin I'd probably be going nuts at them though! Only really jumped in this thread because the misinformation alarm in my brain started ringing


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## flint757 (Jun 22, 2012)

Believe it or not US doctors usually don't give out antibiotics because most uninformed Americans want them for everything so you are slightly misinformed. Believe me I've had plenty of bacterial infections and it takes practically a week and a couple visits before they will give you antibiotics.

I was however mistaken about strep,for whatever reason I kept thinking streptococcus virus which I'm now aware is wrong.  But bravo on bragging and insulting the US medical system all in one sentence.


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## Bigredjm15 (Jul 19, 2012)

Yes strep is bacteria, Streptococcus. Acute pharyngitis is commonly diagnosed as a 'catch all'. Since it can be extremely expensive to run labs all day on a culture of your throat (which mind you, will be horribly contaminated just by the nature of the anatomy), they will give an antibiotic which targets the majority of bacteria that manifest in that area. Amox is standard treatment. lol Evil Weasel couldnt say it better, misinformation bell just rang!


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## Faine (Jul 19, 2012)

Its weird because I think it's starting to come back. The pain is there again.


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## Bigredjm15 (Jul 19, 2012)

Few questions.. feel free to PM if you don't want to answer in here.

Do you smoke?
Did you complete the full course of antibiotics or did you stop once you felt better?
Are you taking and Ibuprofen or tylenol?


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## Stealthdjentstic (Jul 19, 2012)

Yea man i used to get strep throat a lot. Just remove your tonsils and it goes away


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## Faine (Jul 19, 2012)

Bigredjm15 said:


> Few questions.. feel free to PM if you don't want to answer in here.
> 
> Do you smoke?
> Did you complete the full course of antibiotics or did you stop once you felt better?
> Are you taking and Ibuprofen or tylenol?



I don't smoke, I completed the full course of antibiotics, and yea when the pain is too much I take 2 Ibuprofen.


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## Bigredjm15 (Jul 19, 2012)

It very well could be viral, in which you would just have to let it run its course. Make sure you drink ample amount of water. Throat lozenges will become one of your best friends along with your IBU. If it's still inflammed and unbearable in about 3-5 more days, I'd call your doc again and see if they can start ruling out other bugs and issues. Wish I could help out more but as a pharmacist I know treatment/medications more than diagnosis. 
PS: Don't be alarmed if they start you on Amox again, or on a combo product called Augmentin (amox/clav). Sounds like they are following guidelines properly.


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