Strep Throat Testing and Treatment at Statcare
Sore throat is a common medical condition. There are many reasons why your throat feels sore or painful. One is that it could be caused by a Streptococcal infection. Read on to learn more about strep throat, its symptoms
What is strep throat?
Strep throat is a common problem that we see at Statcare Urgent Care. Unlike your pediatrician or your primary care physician, Statcare’s emergency care specialists see and treat far more cases of strep throat with positive strep tests than regular medical practices.
We see streptococcal sore throat not just in the pediatric age group, but also in adults and the elderly (especially after all those holiday hugs from grandkids!). We pick up a lot of cases in adults who mistakenly believed they couldn’t possibly get strep throat because they had their tonsils removed in childhood.
Sore throat vs strep throat
Not all sore throats are caused by streptococci or get diagnosed by a rapid strep test or need antibiotics. Many sore throats and throat infections are caused by other bacteria and viruses that do not need antibiotic treatment or will not respond to treatment with antibiotics.
For more helpful information about throat infections, read “Sore Throat? Find Out If It’s Viral or Strep”
What causes strep throat?
Strep infection of the throat is a contagious disease in children and adults. The bacteria that cause strep throat (group A streptococcus) in children tend to reside in the nose and throat. A normal activity like sneezing, coughing, or shaking hands will easily spread this infection from one child to another.
Poor hand washing is one of the reasons why children tend to get strep throat infections more commonly than adults.
Strep throat symptoms
Strep throat is common and is a mild infection but it can be very painful and uncomfortable. Symptoms may differ from person to person but symptoms common in children and adults include:
- Quick and sudden sore throat
- Painful swallowing
- Fever
- Swollen tonsils, throat pain, and sometimes white patches of pus
- Small red spots (petechiae) on the roof of the mouth
- Lymph nodes on the neck (front) are swollen
- Headache, stomach ache, nausea, and vomiting in young children
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
Strep throat test and treatment
When you walk in, our staff will triage you. Let them know you are or if your child is experiencing sore throat symptoms. A strep test or throat culture will be done using a cotton swab. It only takes 3 minutes for us to diagnose pediatric strep throat in our urgent care clinic.
If the strep test is positive, both adults and children will need treatment and our doctors will prescribe antibiotics. The most common antibiotics prescribed by most doctors is penicillin or amoxicillin because they are safer and work well against the strep bacteria. Throat lozenges can help relieve pain and discomfort while you are on medication.
With proper antibiotics and plenty of rest and fluids, a child can return to school or play within a few days of the diagnosis of strep throat.
After taking antibiotic treatment for about 24 hours to 48 hours, you or your child won’t be contagious and by the second or third day after taking treatment with antibiotics, other symptoms should start to subside.
However, you still need to complete a full course of antibiotic treatment or else the strep infection will relapse or lead to complications. The most common complications after a strep infection is rheumatic fever, guttate psoriasis, or scarlet fever.
Strep throat prevention
It is possible for people to get strep throat repeatedly. People don’t gain immunity from getting infected once. There is no vaccine for preventing strep throat but there are preventive measures to help protect you and others.
How to prevent getting strep throat
- Wash your hands as often as possible, especially before preparing food, before eating, and after eating
- If water and soap are not available, disinfect your hands with an alcohol-based sanitizer
- Use tissue to cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.
- If tissue is not available, cough or sneeze into your elbow or upper sleeve. If you coughed or sneezed on your hands, make sure to wash them immediately
- Throw used tissues in the trash
How to prevent spreading the infection to others:
- Stay at home until you no longer have strep throat symptoms
- Take antibiotics for 12 hours minimum, making sure you follow the doctor’s prescription
- If kids with strep throat start to feel better, continue giving them their medicine until the doctor says it’s okay to discontinue it
- Keep your eating utensils, dishes, and glasses separate. Wash them in hot soapy water after every use
- Do not allow sharing of food, drinks, or towels with other family members
Get tested and treated for strep throat at Statcare
Our urgent care clinic is open at odd hours and on weekends and holidays. We do more strep tests on school children than most regular medical practices. We get to see patients with positive strep tests with all kinds of variations:
- patients who were partially treated with antibiotics
- patients who are incompletely treated with antibiotics
- patients who are now complicated with tonsillitis (antibiotic resistance
- patients who have a threatened airway
We can diagnose your streptococcal throat infection by a rapid strep test, which takes about 3 minutes to yield a result. Our skilled health professionals will prescribe treatment that is most suitable for your quick recovery.
We are open 365 days a year at all of our locations in Hicksville, Long Island; Astoria, Queens; Brooklyn, NYC; the Bronx at Bartow Avenue (Co-op City); the Bronx at E. 174th Street; Jackson Heights, Queens; Midtown Manhattan in Manhattan, and Jamaica, Queens.
You do not need an appointment. For faster service, make an appointment online and get seen by a health care provider on time.
Statcare serves the Long Island residents of Nassau County, Suffolk County, Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as the Bronx in NYC. If you have any questions about any conditions we treat or services we offer, call (917) 310-3371 today.
Strep Throat FAQs
- Fever
- Swollen glands and sore throat in adults
- Throat pain and red, swollen tonsils in pediatric age groups
- Headache
- Painful swallowing, throat “hurts,” and a stomach ache, especially in children
- General tiredness and a loss of appetite
When you walk in, our staff will triage you. Let them know you or your child is here for a sore throat / strep throat. It only takes 3 minutes for us to diagnose pediatric strep throat in our urgent care clinic. It’s that fast!
If the strep test is positive, both adults and children will need treatment with antibiotics. With proper antibiotics and plenty of rest and fluids, a child can return to school or play within a few days of the diagnosis of strep throat.
Strep infection of the throat is a contagious disease in children and adults. The bacteria that cause strep throat (group A streptococcus) in children tend to reside in the nose and throat, so a normal activity like sneezing, coughing, or shaking hands will easily spread this infection from one child to another.
Poor hand washing is one of the reasons why children tend to get strep throat infections more commonly than adults. To prevent the spread of strep throat to others, keep the child’s eating utensils, dishes, and glasses separate. Wash them in hot, soapy water and do not allow sharing of food, drinks or towels with other family members.
Don’t forget to change the toothbrush! Make sure your child covers his or her mouth and nose while sneezing or coughing to prevent others from getting the infection via droplets.
After taking antibiotic treatment for about 24 hours, you or your child won’t be contagious and by the second or third day after taking treatment with antibiotics, other symptoms should start to subside.
However, you still need to complete a full course of antibiotic treatment or else the strep infection will relapse or lead to complications.
Not all sore throats are caused by streptococci or get diagnosed by a rapid strep test or need antibiotics. Many sore throats and throat infections are caused by other bacteria and viruses that do not need antibiotic treatment or will not respond to treatment with antibiotics.
Glossary
Strep or streptococcal infection: Infections caused by streptococci; bacteria that belong to the streptococcus family
Rapid strep test: An accurate and reliable 3 minute in-office test used to diagnose streptococcal throat infections