strep throat

In today’s time, strep throat can be called a throat infection or throat irritation. It is usually caused by a bacteria known as Streptococcus. This is a contagious disease, meaning it can spread from one person to another.

If your body’s immunity is strong, then these bacteria cannot harm you easily. We can also say that if your body’s immune system is strong, you can fight off any infectious disease effectively.

This bacteria specifically attacks a person’s throat and tonsils. Today, we will understand in detail how to protect ourselves and our family from this harmful disease.

Sudden sore throat

You suddenly start feeling pain in your throat. If you drink too much cold water or if your throat hurts because of cold weather, then it is not a serious issue. But if there is no reason and your throat suddenly starts hurting, and you find it difficult to drink water or swallow, then you may have a strep throat infection.

Painful swallowing

As mentioned earlier, drinking water becomes painful in this condition. Swallowing food also becomes very painful. You feel a lot of pain while swallowing food. This infection attacks very quickly — not slowly — and causes a lot of discomfort immediately.

Fever

After this infection occurs, a person first starts feeling feverish when it attacks. After that, you will develop a fever. Because of the fever, you experience a lot of discomfort and weakness.

Red, swollen tonsils (sometimes with white patches or streaks of pus)

If you look at your tonsils, they will appear red and swollen. Because of this, it becomes very difficult to swallow anything — whether it is water or food

Swollen lymph nodes in the neck

In this infection, your throat becomes swollen, and your neck also feels sore.

Headache

Any kind of infection immediately affects the head, and you get a severe headache. You start feeling weak. First, you already have difficulty eating, and when you don’t eat properly, you feel even weaker. Along with this, you also experience headaches.

Loss of appetite

This is very common — when you have a headache, you naturally don’t feel hungry. You won’t feel like eating anything. Because swallowing food is so painful, even if you are hungry, you still won’t feel like eating. Generally, you lose your appetite.

It is important to stay protected from this infection. If someone in the family has it, they should be kept in isolation for a few days. Their food and utensils should be kept completely separate. This prevents the infection from spreading to others. Generally, this infection spreads and increases because of these three things, and it easily passes from one person to another.

• Coughing and sneezing
• Sharing food/drinks
• Touching contaminated surfaces and then your face

If you experience any of the symptoms mentioned above, do not delay — consult a doctor immediately. By consulting a doctor on time, you can quickly get this infection under control.

A doctor confirms strep throat through:

• A rapid strep test
• A throat culture

Doctors usually treat it with antibiotics (commonly penicillin or amoxicillin).
This helps:

• Reduce symptoms
• Prevent complications
• Stop the infection from spreading

At home, you should follow the methods given below, which will help you control this infection more easily.

• Drink warm liquids (soup, tea)
• Gargle warm salt water
• Rest well
• Use throat lozenges
• Stay hydrated

• Symptoms are severe
• Fever lasts more than 2–3 days
• Trouble swallowing or breathing
• Symptoms don’t improve within 48 hours of starting treatment