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 11 warning signs…
1. Sore Throat
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), strep throat is a prevalent type of sore throat that strikes children. However, it’s less common in adults. The painful, sore, red, and inflamed throat tissues that come with strep are due to an severe viral infection. Cause of strep is various, or it can be a combination of health (i.e., allergies, or viral, fungal and bacterial factors) and environmental irritants (i.e., pollution, cigarette smoke) things can cause that uncomfortable, scratchy, and raw feeling associated with step throat.
Luckily, if your doctor suspects strep throat, a quick throat swab can determine if group A Streptococcus bacteria (or “group A strep”) is present. If it is, your physician may prescribe antibiotics to ease the pain of red, inflamed throat tissues and help encourage healing of the intense viral infection before it transforms into a more severe condition, like tonsillitis or sinusitis.