Generally sore throat is treated with antibiotics if it is produced by bacteria. Then we are talking about a strep throat condition. From the numerous antibiotic drugs which exist nowadays, oral penicillin V is the most used antibiotic for treating strep throat. This type of antibiotic has been used since 50 years ago for treating strep throat caused by streptococcus A and is still effective as resistance to this drug did not install yet.
Doctors prescribe generally oral penicillin which has to be taken two to three times a day for 10 days. Other doctors prefer to prescribe ampicillin or amoxicillin instead of penicillin V as it has been proven that they are more effective than penicillin V and do not request such a long period of treatment. The disadvantage is that they can give some unpleasant side effects like: antibiotic-related rash or diarrhea.
Some patients are allergic to penicillin and need a different treatment. For them erythromycins (macrolides) are most suitable. Nowadays new drugs have been invented from the class of macrolides and they can be used successfully in treating strep throat. The disadvantage is that the newer they are the more expensive they get.
The treatment is recommended to be followed for ten days but studies have proven that a shorter period of treatment can kill the streptococci from the throat too. The disadvantage is that not all the A group of streptococci respond to a shorter course of therapy, and until the doctor receives the results of the throat analyze, he can not be certain that a short course of therapy will be effective 100%.
In treating the children who have strep throat doctors prefer to use a single shot of long-acting penicillin as children usually refuse to follow all the ten days treatment. The problem with this shot is that is gives pain for about 24 hours and scientists did not find any solution to this. The god thing is that this one shot assures a complete treatment of the strep throat. Some children might be allergic to penicillin and this is why the doctor will insist to monitorize the child after the shot for a certain period of time.
So, in treating the strep throat the doctor will prescribe penicillin or any other new antibiotic which is effective on streptococcus group A. There are two antibiotics which must never be used in attempting to treat strep throat as they are not effective on streptococcus group A: tetracyclines and sulfonamides.
After the treatment has been instituted the patient will feel better in about 48 to 72 hours. The children will be able to go to school in about 48 hours but with the condition that their fever is not present any more.
The first symptoms that appear when strep throat occurs are sore throat, followed by fever. In some cases a stomach ache or a headache also appears. The throat hurts when you swallow something and you also feel a general discomfort if you have strep throat. If the infection with the streptococcus bacteria is not treated in time it may cause some complications such as rashes or irritated joints.
Very young children, less than one year old, can become infected with the streptococcus or other virus and get strep throat. If this happens, a greenish liquid will start leaking from their nose, they will have fever and they will lose their appetite. Older children will have very high fever and their lymph nodes (a pair of glands that can be found under the jaws) will swallow noticeably.
Fortunately, strep throat can easily be treated with antibiotics, because the streptococcus is vulnerable to them. But the streptococcus bacteria is not the cause of all the strep throat cases, (in fact a large number of the strep throat cases are cause by other viruses, but they are similar with streptococcus), so don't take antibiotics unless your doctor has consulted you and he has prescribed them. The doctors do some tests in order to determine what the cause of strep throat is. They use a long cotton swab to take a sample from the throat's inside, and then this sample is thoroughly analyzed. Depending on the results you will receive the proper medication.
Be careful because strep throat is contagious. The bacteria guilty for this illness are spread into the air whenever someone with strep throat coughs, sneezes or talks. Fortunately antibiotics stop the bacteria from spreading too.
So if you see that your child is presenting some of the strep throat symptoms, take him to the doctor soon, before things get worse. In order to prevent the infection with the bacteria have your kid wash his hands often, especially before meals, and wash his teeth after them.
Finally, don't send a child with strep throat to school or don't let him play with other children, until he is completely cured of the infection, because he can quickly spread it to the other kids. Strep throat is not a severe condition, and if it's treated early it doesn't cause any problems at all.
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