Symptoms of a common cold vary from person to person but usually include:. Although many types of viruses can cause a common cold, rhinoviruses are the most common. There are different strains of the flu virus every year. The flu causes fever, body aches, a headache, dry cough, and a sore or dry throat. You will probably feel tired and less hungry than usual. The symptoms usually are the worst for the first three to four days, but it can take up to two weeks to finally feel like yourself again.
Most people get better without problems. But sometimes the flu can lead to ear infections, sinus infections, or bronchitis. Less often, the flu may cause a more serious problem, such as pneumonia. Certain people are at higher risk of complications from the flu.
They include young children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with long-term illnesses or with impaired immune systems. The flu of was especially fierce, knocking even younger healthy people off their feet for weeks at a time. Strep throat is caused by the group A Streptococcus bacterium and, unlike the common cold or the flu, is treatable with antibiotics.
If you don't have a tissue handy, make sure you cough or sneeze into your elbow — not your hands! Wash your hands often, especially after wiping or blowing your nose. Drink lots of cool liquids, such as water or ginger ale, especially if you have a fever, since you'll feel worse if you become dehydrated.
Stay away from orange juice, lemonade, and other acidic drinks because they can sting your throat. Frozen foods such as ice cream or popsicles can help to numb throat soreness. Warm liquids like soups, tea with honey, or hot chocolate also can be soothing. Ask your doctor before using throat drops or over-the-counter throat sprays because these might make a strep infection feel worse.
Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. What Is Strep Throat? Strep throat is different. Signs that you may have strep throat include: red and white patches in the throat trouble swallowing tender, swollen glands lymph nodes on the sides of your neck red, big tonsils headache stomach pain fever feeling weak or sick loss of appetite and nausea rash If you have any of these symptoms, it's definitely time to see your doctor.
Is Strep Throat Contagious? How Is Strep Throat Treated? Can Strep Throat Be Prevented? In general, strep throat is a mild infection, but it can be very painful. The most common symptoms of strep throat include:. Other symptoms may include a headache, stomach pain, nausea, or vomiting — especially in children. Someone with strep throat may also have a rash known as scarlet fever also called scarlatina.
A sore throat that starts quickly, pain with swallowing, and fever are some of the common signs and symptoms of strep throat. Anyone can get strep throat, but there are some factors that can increase the risk of getting this common infection.
Strep throat is more common in children than adults. It is most common in children 5 through 15 years old. It is rare in children younger than 3 years old. Adults who are at increased risk for strep throat include:.
Close contact with another person with strep throat is the most common risk factor for illness. For example, if someone has strep throat, it often spreads to other people in their household. Infectious illnesses tend to spread wherever large groups of people gather together. Crowded conditions can increase the risk of getting a group A strep infection.
These settings include:. Only a rapid strep test or throat culture can determine if group A strep is the cause. A doctor cannot tell if someone has strep throat just by looking at his or her throat.
A rapid strep test involves swabbing the throat and running a test on the swab. The test quickly shows if group A strep is causing the illness. If the test is positive, doctors can prescribe antibiotics. If the test is negative, but a doctor still suspects strep throat, then the doctor can take a throat culture swab.
A throat culture takes time to see if group A strep bacteria grow from the swab. While it takes more time, a throat culture sometimes finds infections that the rapid strep test misses. Culture is important to use in children and teens since they can get rheumatic fever from an untreated strep throat infection.
For adults, it is usually not necessary to do a throat culture following a negative rapid strep test. Adults are generally not at risk of getting rheumatic fever following a strep throat infection.
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