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Do you have to have a horribly sore throat to have strep?


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I've had strep throat before, years ago. I was miserable....nothing felt good going down. I could only eat soft things and I had a fairly high fever. I laid around all day long.

 

Well, yesterday I woke up with a horribly sore throat. It got better after I ate and drank something and it was just scratchy all day and did not bother me much. I developed a very very slight fever later in the day. I had some body aches and felt tired so I tried not to over exert myself.

 

Today I have no fever, I'm not as tired or achy, but my throat hurts worse than it normally would with a cold. It is not horrible, as I remember from when I had strep throat years ago. I can eat anything just fine. With a cold, my throat will usually hurt in the morning and then be pretty good throughout the day. This one is hurting more than with a cold and I'm kind of hoarse but not too much. I'm still kind of stuffy as well.

 

Does this sound like strep? Should I just wait it out or call the doctor?

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We were all over the place with symptoms here. I ran a high fever and had the worst sore throat I've ever had. My ds had hives. Nothing else. My dd had a high fever, mild sore throat. My mom had it with no symptoms. It's the craziest sickness I've ever dealt with. :001_smile:

 

For me, I waited 5 days to go to the doctor. I was sure it would go away. But, I'm inclined to do that with any illness. So, if you're asking for my opinion, I'd wait....unless you have awesome health insurance. ;)

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Well, I have a dd that the only sign when she has strep is a tiny sore on her mouth. (She just gives it to the rest of us)

 

Does your breath smell bad? Like unusual smell bad? Do you have white spots on your throat or tonsils? Been sick to your stomach? If no to all those, I'd just wait it out (Unless you spiked a fever again and it didn't go away)

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I do think step is different for each person.

 

For me, I've learned two things:

 

1) if I swallow and feel knives in the back of my throat; it is step

The 'knives' are a very different feeling than just a sore throat.

 

2) Step does not effect my vocal chords, so if I lose my voice it's not strep, but if my throat hurts and I can not only talk but sing....it's strep.

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There is a couple of viruses going around Portland/Vancouver right now.

 

One is a bad headache and extreme fatigue, with no other symptoms.

 

The other is a cold with a sore throat. Nothing remarkable, just a bad cold. It seems to be taking about a week to really get over it. I know several people who have gotten strep tests, and they have all came back negative.

 

I am sure strep is out there...it always is, but for right now, I would just suspect the typical cold virus that hits every year when the kids go back to school.

 

 

PS I have been paying particular attention to the current trend because ds15 is sick with ..... a sore throat.

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If you know of anyone with strep, I'd get it tested.

 

I have tested positive for strep with the mildest of symptoms (I only got tested because I had 3 dc with strep) and others times feeling sick as a dog. Strep can turn into scarlet fever or rheumatic heart disease if untreated, it doesn't always just go away.

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You do not have to have a sore throat to have strep.

 

Most sore throats, even extremely painful ones, are not strep, just viruses that settled in the throat.

 

If you know anyone who has recently had strep, it's a lot more probable that it is strep.

 

If it lasts, get a throat culture.

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I do think step is different for each person.

 

For me, I've learned two things:

 

1) if I swallow and feel knives in the back of my throat; it is step

The 'knives' are a very different feeling than just a sore throat.

 

2) Step does not effect my vocal chords, so if I lose my voice it's not strep, but if my throat hurts and I can not only talk but sing....it's strep.

 

My doctor confirmed this. He said if your voice changes, it's not strep.

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I've had strep throat before, years ago. I was miserable....nothing felt good going down. I could only eat soft things and I had a fairly high fever. I laid around all day long.

 

Well, yesterday I woke up with a horribly sore throat. It got better after I ate and drank something and it was just scratchy all day and did not bother me much. I developed a very very slight fever later in the day. I had some body aches and felt tired so I tried not to over exert myself.

 

Today I have no fever, I'm not as tired or achy, but my throat hurts worse than it normally would with a cold. It is not horrible, as I remember from when I had strep throat years ago. I can eat anything just fine. With a cold, my throat will usually hurt in the morning and then be pretty good throughout the day. This one is hurting more than with a cold and I'm kind of hoarse but not too much. I'm still kind of stuffy as well.

 

Does this sound like strep? Should I just wait it out or call the doctor?

 

Half of my family just had strep without a horrible sore throat. Not really much of a fever either. One of my dd had a sore throat and the strange taste in her mouth and recognized it. She was going to visit the gandbaby so she went in. Then when she turn up positive my hubby went in because he had a mild sore throat and the taste and he was working in a hospital that week. So then the rest of us went because we knew it was in the family. We ended up with one more positive. None of us were bad enough that we would have went in due to the pain alone.

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Well, I have a dd that the only sign when she has strep is a tiny sore on her mouth. (She just gives it to the rest of us)

 

Does your breath smell bad? Like unusual smell bad? Do you have white spots on your throat or tonsils? Been sick to your stomach? If no to all those, I'd just wait it out (Unless you spiked a fever again and it didn't go away)

 

Yes, strep has a distinctive smell and taste. Of course, you would only recognize that if you were familiar with it.

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Didn't read the other posts but take a flashlight and look at the back of your throat. If you see lots of little white dots you have strep.

I used to get strep all the time. Seriously. I used to say that if someone in Instanbul had it, I'd get it. I always had a sore throat but in varying degrees of severity. My brother was a carrier and had no symptoms at all. He got to have his tonsils out. I just kept getting it. :(

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hmmm, sounds like what we had.... and i'm pretty sure it was swine flu.

 

:grouphug:

 

From the CDC http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm

 

What are the signs and symptoms of this virus in people?

The symptoms of 2009 H1N1 flu virus in people include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with this virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting. Severe illnesses and death has occurred as a result of illness associated with this virus.

Edited by TraceyS/FL
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