Every year, about 600 million people from all across the world get a strep throat diagnosis. Children tend to be diagnosed with it more than adults, but those of any age can get strep throat.

Fortunately, there is strep throat medicine that can help people overcome a strep throat diagnosis in a relatively short period of time. But it’s important for those with it to start strep throat treatment ASAP.

If strep throat is left untreated, it can lead to health complications. In some cases, it can even result in a person developing acute rheumatic fever, which could eventually cause heart disease.

So, what is strep throat? What are the symptoms of it? And which strep throat medicine should you take to get rid of it?

Keep reading to find out.

What Is Strep Throat?

Before we start talking about which strep throat medicine you should take following a strep throat diagnosis, you need to know what strep throat is.

So, what is strep throat? Well, it’s an infection of both the throat and tonsils that is caused by group A streptococcus. Also known as Streptococcus pyogenes, it’s a type of bacteria that often lives in a person’s throat and/or nose and causes them to experience a sore throat among other symptoms.

Strep throat is contagious, so it’s typically passed from one person to the next. If someone who has strep throat coughs or sneezes in your area, it could lead to droplets containing group A streptococcus flying through the air and entering your system.

You can, however, also get strep throat in other ways. For example, you might come down with a case of strep throat if you touch something like a doorknob that has group A streptococcus on it.

What Are Strep Throat Symptoms?

If group A streptococcus enters your system and infects you with strep throat, you might not notice it right away. It tends to take anywhere from two to five days for strep throat symptoms to show up.

But once you get strep throat, it won’t be too difficult to tell. Here are some of the most common strep throat symptoms:

• Sore throat
• Swollen tonsils
• High fever
• Tender lymph nodes
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea

If you ever suspect you might have strep throat, you’ll need to see a doctor right away. They’ll be able to perform either a rapid strep test or a throat culture to see if you have strep throat. If you do, you’ll need to start taking strep throat medicine right away to get it under control.

What Is the Best Strep Throat Medicine?

If tests reveal that you do, in fact, have strep throat, it’s going to be important to get the right strep throat treatment right away. As we alluded to earlier, strep throat is very contagious, so you aren’t going to want to expose others to it.

Thankfully, there are antibiotics you can take to stop strep throat in its tracks. You’ll normally need to take these antibiotics for up to ten days to ensure that they get strep throat out of your system.

Once you begin taking antibiotics for strep throat, you shouldn’t be contagious anymore after just 24 hours. You also shouldn’t have to deal with any of the strep throat symptoms we just touched on.

But you will want to be sure you finish off all your strep throat medicine. It’ll ensure that you don’t put yourself in a position where you have to deal with any strep throat complications.

If you’re concerned about how much strep throat medicine might cost you, you can find affordable RX prices here.

What Are the Potential Strep Throat Complications?

The good news for those who get a strep throat diagnosis is that you shouldn’t have to worry about any complications as long as you take your strep throat medicine. But if you don’t take this medicine for whatever reason, it could come back to bite you.

Here are several of the possible complications that can come along with leaving strep throat untreated:

• Your infection could spread to other areas, including your sinuses, your middle ear, and potentially even your blood
• You could develop a peritonsillar abscess, which is a collection of pus that forms around the tonsils
• You may put yourself at risk for scarlet fever
• You might be diagnosed with serious health conditions like rheumatic fever, kidney disease, or post-streptococcal reactive arthritis

All of these things should motivate you to take and finish off your strep throat medicine. It’ll be the only surefire way to stop these complications from setting in.

What Should You Do If You Have Strep Throat?

Do you think you might have strep throat? If so, you should make an appointment with your primary doctor right away.

You should also:

• Stay away from other people for the time being to prevent spreading bacteria to them
• Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze to limit the number of bacteria that spread throughout your house
• Get your hands on strep throat medicine as soon as you can

Modern medicine has made it possible to stop strep throat from taking too much of a toll on you. But you’ll need to take action right away to prevent it from turning into a big problem.

Never Allow Strep Throat to Go Left Untreated

The worst thing you can do if you suspect you have strep throat is nothing. Even if you’re able to get your strep throat symptoms under control, you might still be infected with it, and you could be contagious for up to a month.

Rather than ignoring the issue, you should see your doctor and arrange to start taking strep throat medicine. It’ll make you feel better quickly and limit the chances of you spreading strep throat to others.

Find more health and wellness tips by reading through more of the articles posted on our blog.