Everything you need to know about winter diseases (Walla! NEWS system)
A sore, sore throat is a fairly regular thing in winter, but not all sore throats are alike.
Unlike a viral sore throat that goes away in a few days with over-the-counter medications and a little patience, there is also a bacterial sore throat, usually of the streptococcal type, which hits much harder, is more painful and is usually accompanied by fever.
Such inflammation, unlike just a winter virus, already requires real medical treatment.
Recently, many people have been reporting a severe sore throat, so we asked Dr. Shirley Shapira Ben David, an expert in family medicine and infectious diseases and director of the infectious diseases department at Maccabi Health Services, how to identify streptococcus, how serious it is and what the recommended treatment is. Here are her answers.
How do you differentiate between a viral sore throat and an inflammation caused by strep?
Sore throat is mainly characterized by sore throat and can be accompanied by fever.
The causes of strep throat are diverse and include various viral infections as well as bacteria, headed by streptococcus A (or Strep A for short).
There is a lot of overlap between the symptoms of viral and bacterial strep throat, but there are also some differences.
The presence of symptoms such as a runny nose, cough, conjunctivitis, hoarseness, diarrhea, or mouth sores will usually indicate a viral illness.
Sore throat caused by Strep A is common mainly in the age group 5-15 years, in the winter and spring months.
The clinical manifestation is a sore throat, pain in swallowing.
In addition, there may be high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
A woman with a sore throat (Photo: ShutterStock)
How is strep A diagnosed?
The bacteria can be diagnosed in the throat surface.
There are 2 types of throat swabs: a culture that is sent to the laboratory, and it takes a day or two to get an answer, and a rapid antigen swab, similar to a home test for corona, which allows an answer in a few minutes.
A child makes a throat pad (Photo: ShutterStock)
How are you treated?
If a positive result is obtained for Streptococcus A on the surface of the throat, antibiotic treatment is necessary.
If the result is negative, it is not a bacterial infection and there is no need for antibiotic treatment, but patience.
Antibiotic treatment against strep throat caused by Strep A has been shown to be effective in shortening the symptoms of fever and sore throat, shortening the risk of infection, and preventing complications.
It is important to perform a test to identify the bacteria in order to avoid unnecessary antibiotic treatment.
The recommended antibiotic treatment is usually (if there is no allergy) from the penicillin family.
It is important to note that unjustified and incorrect treatment with antibiotics harms health, causes side effects and the development of resistant bacteria that will not respond to antibiotic treatment.
Therefore, it is important to take medicine only with a doctor's approval, and to follow the correct dosage and the recommended duration of taking it.
Can such a sore throat get complicated?
The complications of strep throat caused by strep A include: ear infection, sinusitis and even a throat abscess.
There are also complications that may appear several weeks after the infection and include rheumatic fever and inflammation of the kidneys.
As mentioned, antibiotic treatment lowers the risk of complications.
When can we go back to normal?
In the case of strep throat as a result of strep A, after a day of appropriate antibiotic treatment and in the absence of fever, you can return to work or school.
In this context, it is important to note that last month parents across the UK were asked to pay attention to the symptoms of Streptococcus type A infection in their children, following an alarming increase in the number of cases, which led to the death of 190 people, of which 30 were children and teenagers under the age of 18. The British Health Agency asked parents to contact For medical help as soon as possible if they recognize the signs of the disease in children, in order to prevent the infection from becoming serious.
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