Prescribing the most appropriate strep throat treatment is a very difficult task for doctors. Although laboratory tests reveal the presence of group A streptococcus bacteria in most throat infections, these bacteria aren’t always the only ones responsible for causing strep throat. Apart from group A streptococcus bacteria, there are many other germs and viruses that contribute to throat infections, and an efficient strep throat treatment must be able to fight them all. All strep throat treatments consist of antibiotics and occasionally anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics.
The antibiotics that are commonly used in strep throat treatments are penicillin and amoxicillin. Although these antibiotics were successfully used to fight bacteria in the past, today they seem to be less effective and need to be prescribed in higher doses. This is due to improper medication that causes the bacteria to develop high resistance to this sort of antibiotics. An inappropriate strep throat treatment can actually strengthen the bacteria, therefore causing more harm than good.
An efficient strep throat treatment should be administered in appropriate doses and shouldn’t be prematurely interrupted. For instance, even if the symptoms of strep throat may disappear in the first few days of medication, the duration of a strep throat treatment with common antibiotics should be around 10 days. If the treatment is interrupted sooner, the infection will quickly reoccur and the bacteria will be more difficult to overcome.
Although antibiotics like penicillin or amoxicillin are still a part of strep throat treatments these days, other types of antibiotics may soon completely replace them. New antibiotics, known as cephalosporins, have proved to be a lot more powerful in fighting bacterial infections. Furthermore, strep throat treatments with cephalosporins can fully overcome infections in less time than penicillin and amoxicillin. When cephalosporins are used to cure strep throat, they are able to overcome the bacteria in only 4-5 days of treatment.
Strep throat treatments, just like any other treatments with antibiotics, have a lot of side-effects on the body when they are administered for long periods of time. By replacing penicillin and amoxicillin with cephalosporins, the duration of strep throat treatments is considerably reduced and therefore the body is less exposed to side-effects. Also, when cephalosporins are used in strep throat treatments, the infection is less likely to recidivate. Statistics indicate that around 25 percent of children that receive strep throat treatment with penicillin return to the doctor’s office. Also, around 15 percent of children that are given strep throat treatment with amoxicillin don’t get well at the end of the treatment. These statistics clearly indicate that the strep throat treatments prescribed in the past are now obsolete.
New generation cephalosporins are cefpodoxime and cefdinir. These antibiotics have proved to be superior to others and they are also a lot safer. Strep throat treatments based on cephalosporins seem to be the best means of dealing with bacterial infections in present.
The most common causes of the sore throat are the bacteria. The streptococcus is mostly responsible for producing infections in the throat and this is why the sore throat produced by this kind of bacterium is known as strep throat. The most affected ones by streptococcus are the children but adults can also develop strep throat. In order to treat strep throat doctors prescribe oral antibiotics.
People who have strep throat also have sore throat, fever, sometimes headaches, stomachaches, body rash and swollen glands.
In order to see whether the sore throat is caused by a bacterium or a virus the doctor will swab the back of the throat and send the sample for tests. The results of the analyze will also guide the doctor in establishing a proper treatment.
Strep throat must be treated properly because it can affect other organs if streptococcus survives: it can give rheumatic fever, heart problems and renal destructions. The mostly used antibiotics in the case of the strep throat are: Penicillins, Macrolides, and Cephalosporins. If the infection continues to appear several times a year the tonsils need to be removed as they can shed the streptococcus and that is why recurrences can not be stopped.
Strep throat is a contagious disease especially among children and that is why a sick child must be kept away from other children until his fever disappears of until 24 hours since the antibiotic treatment begun. The bacterium can spread towards others by coughing, sneezing, shouting or using the same objects and then not washing the hands.
In order to relive the pain caused by such an infection acetaminophen and ibuprofen can be associated to the antibiotic treatment.
Many people do not feel the presence of the bacterium as others do (fever, sore throat and swollen neck glands). This means that they are only carriers, that they shed the bacterium in their throats.
In order to prevent strep throat parents must wash their hands before eating and preparing food, after blowing the nose, sneezing or coughing, after shaking hands with other sick people, must cover their mouth if they sneeze or cough, and must go to the doctor if they feel they have a problem with the throat.
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. 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.
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