Bacteria cause strep throat infection, leading to a sore throat, fever, and headaches.
A group of bacteria called group A Streptococcus, also known as Streptococcus pyogenes causes strep throat. It’s a common infection that mostly affects your throat and tonsils. Although strep throat is common in children, it also affects adults.
How long it lasts depends on the treatment you receive. Because it’s a bacterial infection, doctors prescribe antibiotics to treat it. Following their treatment will shorten the length of the infection and prevent complications.
If you don’t have symptoms of strep but you test positive for it, you are unlikely to need antibiotics as you may be a carrier of the bacteria without any negative effects on your health.
How long does it last?
The duration of strep throat depends on several factors, such as the presence or absence of symptoms, overall health, and how soon you get the treatment.
Strep throat without antibiotics
Some people can test positive for strep throat without showing any symptoms. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people who don’t experience any symptoms (asymptomatic) usually don’t need antibiotics. The bacteria aren’t harming their health, so taking antibiotics in this case may be harmful.
You don’t technically have strep throat if you’re asymptomatic. It doesn’t last for any amount of time. But you are likely to always test positive for strep, so you may be a lifelong carrier of the bacteria.
If you receive a positive test result for strep throat and are having symptoms, you will require treatment with antibiotics. You should not consider waiting for it to go away on its own because this can lead to serious complications, especially in young children.
Some people with the infection may not take a strep test. They don’t know they have it, so they won’t seek treatment. Other people having the infection might decide not to take antibiotics against medical advice. Strep throat can get better on its own without treatment in these cases, but doctors do not recommend this.
If you have strep throat and you don’t take antibiotics, it can lead to serious complications such as rheumatic fever. These complications prolong your illness and require medical treatment.
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Strep throat with antibiotics
Strep throat is a bacterial infection. Prescription medications known as antibiotics can help treat this illness. The most common antibiotics that doctors prescribe to treat strep throat are amoxicillin and penicillin. There are other options for people who are allergic to these antibiotics.
If you take antibiotics to treat your strep throat, you’ll start feeling better after a day or two. However, keep in mind that even if you start feeling better, you should complete the full course of treatment. The course lasts for about 10 days, ensuring effectiveness and lowering the risk of reinfection and complications.
If you take antibiotics after getting a positive test and do not feel better, you may be an asymptomatic carrier (which causes the positive test result). The symptoms you’re having may be because of a viral infection instead.
Symptoms
The most common symptoms of strep throat include:
- sore throat
- sudden fever
- headache
- swollen glands in the neck
- swollen tonsils
- nausea
- vomiting
- rashes
It’s important to note that strep throat doesn’t cause coughing or a runny nose — if you experience these, it’s more likely that the cause is a virus.
Seeking medical attention
If you have strep throat, it’s important to seek medical attention. This can help reduce the symptoms and the duration of the infection. It can also prevent you from developing complications of strep throat, which are rare but can still happen.
Some complications include swollen lymph nodes, abscesses in your tonsils, ear infections, rheumatic fever, and kidney inflammation.
Getting treatment is also important to prevent passing on the bacteria to others.
If you test positive for strep throat, a healthcare professional will most likely prescribe you antibiotics. You should start feeling better within a couple of days. However, if your symptoms persist 48 hours after starting your antibiotic treatment, talk with a doctor who will decide further treatment options.
Treatments
The main treatment for strep throat is antibiotics. Typically, a course of antibiotics to treat strep throat lasts about 10 days. Antibiotics kill bacteria that cause infection. They can help shorten the duration of the infection and prevent complications.
Antibiotics that help treat strep throat include:
- amoxicillin
- azithromycin (Zithromax)
- cephalexin (Keflex)
- clindamycin (Cleocin)
- clarithromycin (Biaxin)
You take most of these antibiotics in their oral form.
You can try pain medications like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) to reduce uncomfortable symptoms like pain and fever.
You can try the following remedies to help relieve your symptoms, such as:
- drinking plenty of warm and cold fluids to soothe your sore throat
- getting quality rest
- gargling with salt water
- having natural home remedies such as honey and chamomile tea
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