Content

• Steps
• Warning

A sore throat is a painful sore throat, but that sore throat doesn't always mean you have strep throat. In fact, most sore throats are caused by viruses and go away on their own. In contrast, strep throat is an infection caused by Group A Streptococci bacteria. This disease is quite serious and requires treatment with antibiotics. However, if you treat it properly, the disease goes away very quickly.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Treatment of strep throat

1. 

   Identify the symptoms of strep throat. There are many possible causes of a sore throat, which are usually viral (eg the common cold virus). Your immune system can cope with the infection on its own in a few days or a week without you having to see a doctor. In addition to a sore throat, strep throat also causes the following symptoms:
   • Fever 38.3 ° C or higher
   • Lymph nodes in the neck are swollen
   • Tired
   • Rash
   • Headache
   • Nausea or vomiting
   • Amidan is red swollen with white patches

2. 

   
   
   Seek medical attention. Strep throat is easy to treat, but you will need to take medication prescribed by your doctor. Based on the above criteria, if you believe you have strep throat, you need to make an appointment with your doctor. Ignoring the disease can lead to complications from the spread of the infection, including:
   • Red heat sperm sauce
   • Kidney disease
   • Rheumatic fever affects the heart, joints, and nervous system

3. 

   
   
   Check and diagnose the disease. During the examination the doctor will look into the throat and feel the lymph nodes on the neck. They also require that you perform a more accurate test to confirm the diagnosis.
   • The fastest method is a rapid antigen test, which involves taking a sample of the bacteria from the throat with a cotton swab. Although this test gives results within a few minutes, it is not the most reliable method. If the results are negative for strep throat, your doctor may order another test.
   • The throat culture method also uses a cotton swab to sample the bacteria in the throat, but they send the cotton swab to the lab for a day or two for culture, with the aim of developing more streptococci. for accurate test results.

4. 

   
   
   Start an antibiotic treatment. Once your diagnosis has confirmed that you have strep throat, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics to kill the bacteria. The length of time to take the medication depends on the type of antibiotic, but is usually ten days. Common antibiotics to treat strep throat are penicillin and amoxicillin.
   • If your illness causes you to constantly vomit, your doctor may give you an antibiotic. They then give you an antiemetic along with a regular antibiotic.
   • If you are allergic to these antibiotics, your doctor will prescribe another medication such as cephalexin (Keflex), clarithromycin (Biaxin), azithromycin (Zithromax), or clindamycin.

5. 

   Take a full course of antibiotics. Your symptoms will begin to improve after a day or two after you have taken the antibiotic, but be sure to take the course of the antibiotic to completely heal. If you do not finish the course of treatment, the disease is at risk of recurrence with new strains of streptococci that are resistant to antibiotics.
   • Therefore, you must follow all other instructions that come with the antibiotic, such as whether to take it on an empty stomach, abstain from alcohol and the minimum time between doses.
   • While taking antibiotics and after you have started taking them for 24 hours, you can still go to school or work without worrying about spreading the disease to others.
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Part 2 of 3: Soothing the Pain of strep throat

1. 

   Take an over-the-counter pain reliever. While you are waiting for the laboratory to grow the bacteria for the test (or while waiting for the antibiotic to work), there are steps you can take to help relieve your throat pain. An over-the-counter pain reliever helps to ease the discomfort of the throat, while also reducing the fever caused by the sore throat. Commonly recommended medications are ibuprofen (Advil) and acetaminophen (Panadol).
   • Avoid giving aspirin to children under 18 years of age because of the risk of Reye's syndrome - a syndrome that's dangerous for the patient's life, epilepsy, coma or brain damage.

2. 

   Prick your throat with warm salt water. Add 1 teaspoon of pure table salt to about 250 ml of boiled water to cool and stir. Spit the salt water mixture in the deep of your throat for a minute and then spit it out. This will help relieve a sore throat and can be done as many times per day as needed.
   • Pouring brine is also safe for children, but you should only do this for children old enough and know how to cough properly without choking or swallowing the salt water.

3. 

   Get enough sleep. Sleep is a time for the immune system to focus its resources against the bacteria, with the help of antibiotics. You should get four to five additional hours of sleep during the day, in addition to eight hours of sleep at night. Cover your head with a blanket and don't let the wind or fan blow your head, as this will cause the fluid behind your nose to run down your throat and make your throat more sore.

4. 

   Drink plenty of fluids. In addition to preventing dehydration, drinking plenty of water also helps to keep throat moist, thereby reducing sore throat when swallowing.
   • The recommended amount of water for men and women varies.On average, men should drink about 13 cups (three liters) per day, while women should drink 9 cups (2.2 liters) per day.
   • Some people find warm water to have a better calming effect, while others prefer cold water. If you like warm water, you can warm up the broth or green tea with a little honey. Conversely, if you like cold, even ice cream is an option for temporary pain relief.

5. 

   Eat soft foods. Toast or hard, sharp foods only irritates the throat more. During periods of severe sore throat symptoms, it's best to eat only relatively soft foods so that your throat doesn't upset your throat. Yogurt, eggs, soup, etc. don't give the throat much of a kick.
   • In addition to avoiding dry, hard foods, don't eat spicy or acidic foods like orange juice.
   • Yogurt contains beneficial microorganisms that are good for this time period. Since antibiotics not only kill streptococci but also target beneficial bacteria in the digestive system, this yogurt can restore the necessary bacteria in the body.

6. 

   Consider using a humidifier. Along with drinking lots of water, a humidifier is also a way to keep your throat moist to prevent pain when swallowing. This is especially good at nighttime naps and daytime naps, so you won't have a sore throat when you wake up.
   • Remember to clean the machine every day because moisture creates a favorable environment for bacteria to multiply in the machine. Follow the manufacturer's instructions when cleaning the machine.
   • If you don't have a humidifier, you can place multiple dishes of water around the room, as the water in the dish will evaporate and moisten the air.

7. 

   Suck on herbal cough candy. Medicated cough candy also helps relieve sore throats. If you have a young child with strep throat, be sure to consider giving them candy because they must be old enough to not choke.
   • Throat sprays are also available today that contain a medicinal ingredient like cough candy.

8. 

   Reduce your exposure to throat irritants. Air pollutants and cigarette smoke can cause sore throats and pain in the throat. If you smoke, you should quit while you recover (it's best to quit forever). In addition, avoiding passive smoking will also help keep your throat free from pain. advertisement

Part 3 of 3: Prevention of Streptococcus Spread

1. 

   Wash your hands often with soap and hot water. Since strep throat is a bacterial infection, there is not only the risk of you spreading the infection to others around you, but also re-infecting yourself after you heal, simply because you spread the bacteria to your objects. in the home. The most important thing is to wash your hands often with warm soapy water, rub your hands in soap for at least 20 seconds.
   • In situations where you cannot wash your hands, it is advisable to bring an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, with a minimum alcohol content of 60%.
   • After touching your mouth, such as when flossing your teeth, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before and after handling them.

2. 

   Replace the toothbrush. After you have started taking antibiotics for at least 24 hours, you should change your toothbrush as it has come into contact with streptococci in your mouth. If not, you may re-infect yourself once you are better.

3. 

   Wash items in hot soapy water. Kitchen utensils, cups and other items that have come into contact with your mouth should be rinsed in hot soapy water to be sure to kill off bacteria on them.
   • Pillows and sheets are also items that will come into close contact with the mouth during an illness. Rinse them with detergent using the washing machine's hot wash mode.

4. 

   Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. If your sore throat is causing your cough, be sure to cover your mouth with your hands, sleeve, or a tissue to avoid spreading germs to those around you. Then remember to wash your hands. Make sure you wash your hands after as well.

5. 

   Do not share utensils. Along with the clean hygiene of utensils, you should avoid sharing things like glasses of water during an illness. advertisement

Warning

• This article provides information about strep throat, but you should not consider it as advice. Always consult a doctor if you believe you have strep throat.
• This disease is especially contagious, so stay away from school or work until you have taken antibiotics for at least 24 hours.
• Do not cook for others or come into contact with their food.