Strep Throat: Symptoms and Treatment.

Pedro_P

Photomicrograph of Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria.
Credit: CDC
▼ Strep throat (also known as pharyngitis or streptococcal pharyngitis) is an infection caused byStreptococcus pyogenes, or Group AStreptococcus(GAS).
Streptococcal pharyngitis is highly contagious and can spread by nasal secretions and saliva. Strep throat most often afflicts children younger than 16, and is most common in the United States in the winter and spring, according to the Mayo Clinicand the Centers for Disease Control and  Prevention (CDC).
Causes and complications
You can catch strep throat when exposed to infected droplets of spit — i.e. from the coughs and sneezes of those infected. Strep throat itself is not particularly dangerous, but the infection can worsen, especially if it goes untreated. If strep throat does not improve within two days of beginning treatment, it could indicate the presence of another infection, the spread of the strep bacteria to other areas outside the throat or an inflammatory reaction. GAS may infect the tonsils and sinuses if left untreated. Also, the middle ear, skin and blood can become infected.
Symptoms
Symptoms of strep throat typically appear several days after exposure to the bacteria. The most common symptom is a sore throat. Individuals may also have trouble swallowing, and the tonsils and lymph nodes may feel swollen. Some individuals may experience fever, stomach ache or vomiting, fatigue or headache. A white rash may develop on the tonsils, or the throat may have stringy puss, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Diagnosis & tests
To diagnose strep throat, a physician will perform a physical exam and a throat swab.undefined
During the physical, a doctor examines the throat and mouth for signs of infection including redness and swelling. Also, the doctor will check for a fever and feel the lymph nodes, which will be enlarged in the presence of infection.
Many types of bacteria and, more frequently, viruses can cause a sore throat, so to determine the culprit, doctors will perform a throat swab, rubbing a swab over the back of the throat and tonsils. The sample can then be run through what's called the rapid  antigen test, which takes just minutes and can reveal whether molecules called antigens related to the GAS bacteria show up; doctors can also culture the bacteria in the lab to see if the bacteria pop up — a test that can take up to two days, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Although physicians often suspect that strep bacteria are the cause of a sore throat, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that another bacterium,Fusobacterium necrophorum, should also be on doctors' short lists. In a study published in the December 2009 issue of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, the researchers noted that the bacteria might be the culprit of up to 10 percent of sore throat cases in adolescents and early 20-somethings.
Treatment & medication (▪ ▪ ▪)

► Please, read the full note here: Source