Doctors Express Medical Minute: Strep Throat or Sore Throat? 

We see many people walking into DoctorsExpressD... Urgent Care Center with strep throat symptoms. It can be difficult to differentiate between strep, or "Streptococcal pharyngitis", a bacterial throat infectionand a sore throat, often a virus, which cannot be treated with the use of antibiotics. A bacterial sore throat can, so it is important to have a rapid strep test as a first step towards treatment. Strep throat is most common in children between ages 5 and 15, although anyone can get it.
Strep throat is contagious and spreads by person-to-person contact with fluids from the nose or saliva. It commonly spreads among family or household members and for school children it is especially contagious within the school environment. Symptoms can include fever, lethargy, severe sore throat, loss of appetite and nausea.