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8 Warning Signs of Strep Throat

By: Angela Ayles on Friday, July 26th, 2013 @ 1:06 pm

Strep throat accounts for approximately 15-percent of all sore, chaffed throats that hit doctors’ offices and drop in clinics in North America. This widespread bacterial infection mostly afflicts school aged children, but adults aren’t exempt from the red, swollen, painful throat condition.

Strep throat is caused by an overgrowth of group A streptococcus bacteria, which is where it takes its name.

If you’re feeling under the weather, you may have strep throat if you’re experiencing these eight warning signs…

1. Sore Throat
The painful, sore, red, and inflamed throat tissues that come with strep are due to an intense viral infection that requires special medical care before it turns into a serious issue, such as sinusitis or tonsillitis.

2. Swollen Glands
Feel for swollen lymph nodes in the sides of the neck if you think you may have strep throat. Inflamed tonsils also commonly cause pain swallowing.

3. Fever & Chills
A mild to high fever of 100-degree Fahrenheit, accompanied by chills and night sweating, which rapidly decrease essential body fluids is typical with strep throat as you fight the infection. Fever can increase fluid requirements, so be sure you are drinking enough fluids to replenish those lost.

4. Skin Rash
Sometimes, strep throat, particularly in small children or elderly patients with weak immune systems, can cause a skin  rash . This rash results from an allergic reaction to the strep bacteria in your body.

5. Difficulty Swallowing

Strep throat will often result in painful swallowing, making it hard to drink and take in adequate fluids to fight off the infection.  Try gentle fluids, such as warm soup broth and herbal teas with honey, which contain salt and sugar, to help the body with fluid replenishment.

6. Headache
Headache often results from dehydration in strep throat patients, but it can be a flu-like symptom, along with fever, that is often shrugged off as nothing consequential.

7. Muscle Pain
Achy muscles and general flu-like, pain and stiffness of the joints, is also very common in those fighting off a bacterial strep infection.

8. White Patchy Throat
In severe cases of strep throat, you may notice that the back of the throat appears swollen and red with white patches and visible pus spots along the tonsils.

http://www.activebeat.co/your-health/children/8-warning-signs-of-strep-throat/8/