Streptococcal pharyngitis: what it is, symptoms, causes and treatment

Streptococcal pharyngitis, also called bacterial pharyngitis, is an infection of the pharynx caused by bacteria of the genus Streptococcusmainly Streptococcus pyogeneswhich are easily transmissible.

This type of infection generally causes symptoms such as severe sore throat, white patches at the back of the mouth, difficulty swallowing, decreased appetite and fever.

It is important that streptococcal pharyngitis is identified and treated quickly, not only because the symptoms are quite uncomfortable, but also because of the chance of complications arising, such as inflammation of the kidney or rheumatic fever, for example, which means that the bacteria have managed to proliferate and reach other organs, making the infection more difficult to control.

Main symptoms

The main symptoms of streptococcal pharyngitis are:

• Intense sore throat, which appears quickly;
• Red throat with the presence of pus, which is noticed through the appearance of white plaques at the back of the throat;
• Difficulty and pain swallowing;
• Red and swollen tonsils;
• Fever between 38.5º and 39.5ºC;
• Headache;
• Nausea and vomiting;
• Pain in the belly and the rest of the body;
• Loss of appetite;
• Rash;
• Swollen and tender tongues on the neck.

Typically, people with strep throat do not have a cough or runny nose, which helps distinguish symptoms from the common flu.

How the diagnosis is made

Streptococcal pharyngitis is diagnosed by a doctor by evaluating the signs and symptoms that the person presents, in addition to carrying out a physical and throat assessment.

In addition, the doctor may request a throat secretion analysis to confirm the cause of the symptoms and thus initiate the most appropriate treatment.

Make an appointment with your nearest doctor using the following tool to investigate the possibility of pharyngitis:

Transmission of streptococcal pharyngitis

Streptococcal pharyngitis is easily transmitted through droplets of saliva. For this reason, it is possible to get the infection by:

• Breathing infected dropletsespecially after someone who is sick coughs or sneezes;
• Drink from the same glass or eating from the same plate as a sick person;
• Touching infected surfaces and then touch your face.

Symptoms generally appear suddenly and intensely, approximately 2 to 5 days after contact with the infectious microorganism, and may disappear after 1 week, when the infection is treated correctly.

How the treatment is carried out

Treatment for streptococcal pharyngitis should be carried out as recommended by your general practitioner or infectious disease specialist, and may be recommended:

1. Use of antibiotics

In general, the main antibiotics that are indicated are penicillin or amoxicillin, which should be used according to the doctor’s instructions, even if the symptoms have disappeared before the end of treatment.

In more serious cases, where the doctor identifies other sources of infection, treatment with antibiotics directly into the vein may be recommended.

2. Use of analgesics, anti-inflammatories and antipyretics

Anti-inflammatory, analgesic and/or antipyretic medications, such as ibuprofen or paracetamol, for example, help reduce inflammation in the throat, relieve pain and reduce fever, and may be recommended by your doctor to relieve symptoms.

3. Soft food

Due to the fact that it is normally difficult to eat due to loss of appetite and pain when swallowing, it is important that the person eats food, preferably with soft foods, as this avoids malnutrition and favors the fight against microorganisms, since that foods help strengthen the immune system.

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