Preventive Measures

Maintaining good hygiene can help protect you from infections. Make sure to wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Wash dishes and laundry with warm, soapy water. It is important to wash your hands before eating and after coughing and sneezing to prevent the spread of the streptococcus bacteria.

When coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth with a tissue and dispose of the tissue immediately. If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hands. Furthermore, do not share food, drinks, cups, utensils, towels, sheets, or pillowcases with anyone who has a strep throat infection as this can spread the bacteria. It is also recommended to replace a toothbrush after recovering from a strep throat infection.

Treatment

Strep throat is a bacterial infection. Therefore, a doctor will typically prescribe antibiotic medications to treat it. Antibiotics are available in shots, pills, or liquid forms. They help reduce the severity and duration of strep throat symptoms and reduce the risk of transmitting the illness to others. Antibiotics also help prevent complications such as kidney inflammation and rheumatic fever, a disease that can cause permanent damage to your heart.

Common antibiotic medications used to treat a strep infection include penicillin, amoxicillin, cephalexin, cefadroxil, clindamycin, and azithromycin. Based on the symptoms of strep throat, a doctor may recommend additional treatments such as pain relievers (for example, acetaminophen, ibuprofen), throat lozenges or sprays, rest, hydration, and gargling with saltwater to soothe the throat.

Remember to carefully follow the dosage instructions and complete the entire course of antibiotics to fully overcome the infection. While it may be tempting to stop taking the medication when symptoms improve, doing so can cause a relapse of the infection.  Again, not completing the full course of treatment for strep throat can lead to antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria develop the ability to withstand the effects of antibiotics, which can make them less effective or completely ineffective in treating infections.

A strep throat should clear up within 7 to 10 days of treatment. If your symptoms get worse or don't improve within a day or two of starting antibiotics, you should see your healthcare provider. Also, let your doctor know about any unusual symptoms such as earache, cough, shortness of breath, dark urine, chest pain, or painful joints, as they may be signs of other health issues.

REFERENCE

Information from https://www.healthline.com/health/strep-throat#vs-sore-throat, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4602-strep-throat and https://www.cdc.gov/group-a-strep/about/strep-throat.html, https://www.healthline.com/health/strep-throat#vs-sore-throat was used in this story