Differences between Strep Throat and Sore Throat

In our daily life, sometimes we get awful pain in our throat area. In this time, we find difficulty in talking and in swallowing. Sick and irritable feelings are some other common symptoms we experience during throat related illness. In this time, some of us tend to identify this as strep throat and others think it sore throat. These terms are often used interchangeably, though they are not same indeed. Let us find out difference between them.

1. Causes: Strep throat is an infectious condition that occurs due to Streptococcus bacteria. When an individual gets this problem, the tonsil of the body becomes inflamed. This inflammation may spread and affect the nearby parts of the throat. The term ‘Tonsillitis’ means inflamed condition of tonsil organ.

An individual can get sore throat for several reasons. Bacterial infection can be one of the reasons of this problem. Mostly, viral infection is common cause of this ailment, which may cause only inflammation in the throat around the tonsil instead of tonsil itself. In brief, everyone get strep throat may experience sore throat, but not every person with a sore throat has strep infection.

 
2. Symptoms: Cold and mild fever are some common symptoms of sore throat those are not serious indeed, and the individual is not considered as very sick. Infants, toddlers and preschoolers tend to get this viral infection frequently. However, Coxsackie is a type of virus that often appears in summer and fall season, and this may cause higher fever, difficulty in swallowing and overall sick feeling along with other sore throat symptoms.

The symptoms of strep throat depend on age of an individual. Infants will suffer from low fever along with thick or bloody nasal discharge. These symptoms also may appear in toddler (age bellow three). Cranky, no appetite and swollen glands in the neck are common symptoms that often found in children. Even toddlers’ may experience stomach pain instead of sore throat. Children over 3 years old becomes ill due to severe pain in throat, over 102 degree Fahrenheit fever, pus on the tonsils and swollen glands.

3. Treatment: To get rid of sore throat, an individual do not need to take any medicines as this disappears within seven to ten days. Popsicles and gargling with salt water can give you relax from this type of pain. One the other hand, strep infections is treated with antibiotics or antibacterial like penicillin or Amoxicillin. 

4. Contagiousness: Strep throat is contagious than sore throat. It spreads among people quickly because of its airborne characteristics.

It is important to understand difference between these two problems. This clear idea will help you identifying your problem properly and get right solution as well.

1 comment:

  1. People sometimes confuse strep throat and sore throat because the way they feel is similar whether they are suffering from a strep infection or a sore throat caused by other facts.

    Overuse of the vocals cords and smoking can both cause sore throat. This is one reason why some people who used to smoke cigarettes have switched to ecigs. Electronic cigarettes do not have any smoke associated with them, so there is no smoke to irritate your throat.

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