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Know the Symptoms of Strep Throat

September 22, 2021

Strep throat is not an uncommon infection here in the United States. More than three million cases crop up per year. Strep throat (“strep” is short for “group A streptococcus,” the type of bacteria that causes it) is most common in preschoolers to early teenagers. Only a doctor can diagnose it accurately.

Your child’s health is our top priority. Our pediatricians and support staff at Carnegie Hill Pediatrics are experts at delivering skilled and compassionate care to children of all ages. Our cutting-edge knowledge about youngsters’ healthcare topics and concerns makes us leaders in our field. 

Parents, teachers and other adults who are frequently around children have a higher chance of catching it. Strep, as it’s frequently shorted to, is an infection of the throat and sometimes tonsils. Typical symptoms are fever, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, a sore throat that comes on quickly. Other indications can include red spots on the roof of your mouth and inflamed tonsils that occasionally have white patches or streaks of pus. A cough, runny nose, pinkeye and a hoarse throat are not congruous with strep. 

Strep bacteria is highly contagious via a sick person’s mucus or sores. You can get it by breathing in tiny droplets emitted from a person’s sneeze or cough, having the person’s droplets on your hand and then touching your nose or mouth, and using the person’s plate, cutlery or drinking glass during a meal. 

Strep is established when a doctor swabs the back of your throat for mucus and a technician tries to grow bacteria from that swab sample. Results can take up to two days, though some doctors’ “rapid strep tests” can identify it in 15 minutes. 

A 10-day regime of antibiotics is the next usual course of action. The patient will become much less contagious and less feverish in about 24 hours. The remaining indicators should fade in two to three days. 

Carnegie Hill Pediatrics’s professional team is made up of personable, highly trained specialists who are eager to help your child feel comfortable and relaxed while receiving the very best in medical care. We will scrupulously evaluate your child’s health and patiently answer any questions you and she/he have. For more information about our practice and how we can help your child, please don’t hesitate to call us to schedule an appointment!