Monday, November 13

How long will Strep Throat Last Without Using Antibiotics?

A sore throat is an infected respiratory disease. patients may find it difficult swallowing due to fever, discomfort, and pain or even worse. A doctor might prescribe you some antibiotics when you are diagnosed with strep throat to avoid infection spreading and your situation will be better soon. However, for some reasons, you might not want to take antibiotics due to its side effects, you might have a question in your mind that is: How long will strep throat last without using antibiotics?

What is strep throat?

Strep throat is an infected respiratory disease that can be caught by a virus named Streptococcus. If you have a sore throat, you will encounter itchy throat and may have a sore throat that varies from mild to extreme.

Strep throat can be encountered by any people regardless of genders or age. However, it seems to be more common to occur in children and elderly as they have a weaker immune system. As it is considered one of the most common diseases, people might not pay full attention to the treatment of strep throat. That also explains why it will be extremely severe if any complicated case occurs.

Reasons for having strep throat

Since it is a respiratory disease, it can be spread via air by those who are suffering from a strep throat. Moreover, you can catch a sore throat by bacteria in the air, sneezes, coughs or be consuming food and drinks together with patients.
Additionally, if the patients do not wash their hands frequently, the infection can be spread into the furniture in your room and go into your mouth or your nose.

Symptoms of strep throat

The symptoms of strep throat may vary from person to person but we can conclude that you have strep throat if you encounter 2 or more of these below symptoms:

  • Pain in your throat
  • Difficulty or pain when swallowing
  • Fever
  • Red and swelling tonsils
  • A headache
  • Nausea and vomit
  • Anxiety

When to see a doctor

If your symptoms become worse or encounter these below symptoms, you have to see a doctor as soon as possible:

  • High fever (38.3oC or higher)
  • Tender and swelling lymph glands
  • Severe difficulty with swallowing and breathing

How long will strep throat last without using antibiotics?

In many cases, strep throat actually can go away by itself. However, how long does that process take?

It might take about 3 to 5 days after the first contact with the agent or bacteria from an infected person.

Strep throat can last after a week without taking any antibiotics, but the exact results are different from person to person. Thus, the answer to this question merely depends on how strong your immune system is.

With a stronger immune system, healthy diet, a sufficient supplement and suitable rest, your strep throat will go away after 3 – 5 days. On the contrary, strep throat can stay in your body for up to half of the year if you do not have any effective treatment or any antibiotic to use.

How to cure strep throat without using antibiotics?

In case, you want to use natural home remedies for strep throat, you may apply these below ways. Even though you may use antibiotics, you can use these methods as well.

  • Using an over-the-counter painkiller to reduce pain: ibuprofen or acetaminophen will be able to relieve the pain and improve your condition. However, when using these painkillers, you need to read the instructions carefully, especially aspirin for children. The side effects are not common however, you still need to be careful.
  • Honey: Mix some honey with warm water and consume or you can consume 1 tablespoon of honey directly. Honey can improve wound healing process and reduce a cough.
  • Gargling your mouth: you can mix some salt and warm water (with the ratio of ¼ teaspoon of salt and one cup of water) and use this solution to gargle your mouth every morning after waking up. Or you can purchase normal saline at a drugstore to rinse your mouth frequently too.
  • Bicarbonate drink: Saltwater seems to be a more common solution for gargling your mouth but do you know that baking soda can provide us the same benefits? Mix a cup of warm water with ¼ teaspoon of baking soda with 1/8 teaspoon of salt to create a solution. Use this solution to gargle every day.
  • Drink: Consume fluid such as fruit juice especially orange juice to provide vitamin C to your immune system. Fluid such as warm water is important since it is needed to reduce dehydration. Do not consume caffeine drinks or alcoholic drinks.
  • Chamomile: Chamomile steam has been proven to reduce symptoms of cold or flu such as fever and sore throat. Thus, you can consume 1 – 2 cups of chamomile tea on a daily basis to reduce a sore throat.
  • Rest: It is very important that you can have a sufficient and effective rest during your day. Do not overwork and try to take rest as much as you can for the body to fight back the infection.
  • Soft food: As your strep is tender and swollen, you might need to consume soft food such as congee or soup. You can also consume yogurt which might top up your good bacteria to fight back the infection.

Strep throat is one of the most common diseases nowadays. Even though taking antibiotic is the most effective to treat this infection, it might lead to some side effects thus, you need to be very careful when using antibiotics. It is highly recommended to use home remedies to improve your well – being. We hope that this article will be helpful for your knowledge.

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