LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Strep Throat: Sore Throats
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Strep throat usually appears suddenly with a severe sore throat. The throat is so sore that many people find it painful to talk or even swallow. In severe cases, breathing may be impaired. A fever may be present, though some people may only have a low-grade fever.
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The first symptoms of strep throat appear one to five days after a person is infected. The symptoms are no different from any other kind of sore throat (see sore throat entry). They include fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, nausea, a feeling of tiredness, and swollen lymph glands. (Lymph nodes are small round or oval bodies that are part of the body's immune system.) The patient's tonsils will be swollen and have bright red with white or yellow patches on them. A person with strep throat often has bad breath. Strep throat can often spread and cause an infection to the tonsils (see tonsillitis entry).
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There are two types of tests to determine if a person has strep throat. A rapid strep test can only determine the presence of streptococcal bacteria but will not tell if the sore throat is caused by another kind of bacteria. To perform a rapid strep test or a throat culture, a nurse will use a sterile swab to reach down into the throat and obtain a sample of material from the sore area. The procedure takes only a few seconds but may cause gagging. The results are available in about 20 minutes. The advantage of this test is the speed with which a diagnosis can be made.
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A strep throat infection can be transmitted by kissing, coughing or sneezing. Symptoms usually appear within five days of exposure to the bacteria and include a sore throat, fever, swollen neck glands and inflamed tonsils. Symptoms tend to begin suddenly and are usually more severe than those experienced with viral infections. Coughing and a runny nose are not signs of strep throat.
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Some people with the disease may have few or no symptoms of strep throat. Many young children may get a headache or stomachache, but show no signs of having a sore throat. Other patients develop a high fever along with a sunburn-like rash on the face and upper body, and their tongues may become right red. This form of the infection is known as scarlet fever (see scarlet fever entry). Scarlet fever is no more dangerous than strep throat and both illnesses are treated the same way.
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The symptoms of strep throat vary from person to person. The most common findings include a swollen bright red throat, with dark red spots on the back of the throat, a very sore throat, fever [101° F (38.3° C) to 104° - 105° F (40° C)], and tender swollen lymph nodes under the jaw. Usually the tonsils are red and enlarged. You may ... have white pus on your tonsils or your tonsils may be covered with a gray or white coating. It is not uncommon to have a headache, generalized aches and pains, and nausea. The nasal congestion and runny nose associated with the common cold do not usually occur with a strep throat.
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Sore Throats