Best way to beat strep throat: avoid it

Acorn Staff Writer


 

 

Strep throat is a disease caused by tiny egg-shaped bacteria called Group A streptococci, which cause 10 percent of all sore throats. Cases of strep throat have recently been popping up all over Southern California, but there are specific ways to treat and prevent it.


Strep throat isn’t a virus, but rather bacteria. Some of the symptoms are significant fevers or feeling sicker than with a usual cold.


It’s possible to carry streptococci in your throat even if you’re not sick. But if you do get strep throat, doctors recommend immediate attention because otherwise you risk more serious problems, possibly rheumatic fever or worse.


Strep throat is spread when healthy people come in contact with people infected. The illness can travel through kisses, sneezes, shared eating utensils or straws, and other contact.


When you get strep throat, you usually won’t feel sick until after about five days of the initial contact, experts said. A doctor will examine your throat and most likely find it red with swollen tonsils and sometimes covered with white or yellow spots. Small red spots on the roof of the mouth are also proof of strep throat.


Other tests conducted, sources said, will determine within an hour whether you do in fact have strep throat or not. If you do have it, your physician will usually prescribe an antibiotic (usually a form of penicillin) to kill the bacteria. These drugs do not help the flu or colds which are viral.


You might take Tylenol or another analgesic to reduce pain or fever that might accompany strep throat. Some doctors recommend that children and teenagers not take aspirin, as it has been associated with a rare but serious brain and liver disorder called Reye’s syndrome.


It’s always good to drink tea with honey. Those with strep throat shouldn’t eat spicy foods or drink orange juice, experts said, because these could make the throat pain worse.


Other remedies include gargling with weak, warm salt water (1/4 teaspoon of salt to 4 ounces of warm water), drinking cold liquids or eating Popsicles. Avoid citrus products like orange juice, which may add to your discomfort. In more severe cases of strep throat, use anesthetic spray or take lozenges containing benzocaine.


Preventing strep throat is easier said than done. But the best advice from doctors is to avoid people who have it. If someone in your family has strep throat, make sure they cover their mouth and nose when they sneeze or cough. And everyone in the household should wash their hands often. Make sure to wash dishes thoroughly, too.


For more information, call or visit your physician.




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