In case of a sore throat and some flu signs take some medicines and that will improve your state.
You should drink a lot and make the air in your bedroom humid with a steamer, take throat tablets several times a day. Acetaminophen as well as ibuprofen is effective in such cases for alleviating pain.
But sometimes a sore throat can be much more serious and can long for about 5-7 days. It is necessary to revolt to the doctor in such situations. The symptoms you have a severe throat infection include difficult swallowing, breathing, blood in saliva and phlegm, earache, as well as rash, fever, lump in neck, hoarseness that lasts more than 2 weeks.
A viral and a bacterial infection are different things. Antibiotics kill bacteria, and they are generally prescribed for those with streptococcal or any other bacteria causing infection.
A viral infection cannot be treated with antibiotics because they are useless against viruses, they are only effective in curing bacterial infections.
Viruses riduce the power of the immune system to bacterial infections and this increases the risk of mixed infection. And if a combined infection strikes a person, then antibiotics are prescribed.
Antibiotics are to be used during the whole period prescribed by the doctor – generally the therapy lasts for about ten days. If you stop taking antibiotics the bacteria might cause a new infection besides the body might develop resistance to the antibiotic used in the treatment.
To know that this is a streptococcal infection, the doctor will do a special test. If the result is negative you will be prescribed a treatment depending on the symptoms and the throat state.
If the test is positive you need an antibiotic therapy. Sometimes doctors recommend that all family members should use antibiotics for some time as streptococcal infections are extremely contagious.
Here are some precaution measures:
- First of all avoid contact with ill people, do not share towels and different utensils with people already suffering from the infection.
- Secondly, wash your hands as often as possible. Bacterial infections are extremely contagious. Only by preserving good sanitary state in your house will decrease the risk of catching an infection.