Throat infections are common this time of year. The question is, is it strep throat, or just a viral sore throat?

Here are 5 signs that you might have strep throat

* Fever
*White spots at the back of the throat
*Fatigue
*Body aches
*Swollen glands

In short, you will often feel as though you have the flu, rundown, achy and feverish. Not every strep infection will include these symptoms but the majority usually does.

At AFC Urgent Care Stamford we can also test for strep with a “rapid strep test”. The rapid strep test only a few minutes for results; if the results are positive, the diagnosis is confirmed. Occasionally, however, a negative test won’t rule out strep throat since the rapid test may miss some strep throat infections. In these cases the doctor would make a judgement call based on the other strep symptoms and either treat for strep, or take a throat culture to send to the lab for absolute confirmation.

With a viral sore throat the treatment is supportive- Advil or Motrin, throat lozenges, taking it easy and drinking a lot of fluids. Strep throat, however, is bacterial and can be treated with antibiotics. Therefore, if you’re uncertain as to whether it might be strep, it pays to come in and get tested.

Warning! Both a bacterial and a viral throat infection are contagious. Once a strep patient has been on antibiotics for 24 hours they are no longer contagious. With a viral sore throat however, they will remain contagious for as long as the symptoms last. Here at AFC Urgent Care Stamford, if you are suffering from any sort of throat infection, we urge you to take precautions to avoid spreading the infection to others.
If you are suffering from the 5 signs of strep, and think that you might have strep throat, come in and be tested and treated.