{"id":67778,"date":"2023-01-11T10:10:48","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T17:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=67778"},"modified":"2024-07-18T14:33:32","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T20:33:32","slug":"difference-between-sore-throat-and-strep-throat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/difference-between-sore-throat-and-strep-throat\/","title":{"rendered":"Strep throat cases are on the rise. Learn to look for the warning signs."},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><figure id=\"attachment_67784\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67784\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-67784 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11095542\/strepthroat-1024x683.webp\" alt=\"A man holds his neck, trying to decided the difference between a sore throat and strep throat, and which one he might have..\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11095542\/strepthroat-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11095542\/strepthroat-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11095542\/strepthroat-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11095542\/strepthroat-1536x1025.webp 1536w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11095542\/strepthroat-2048x1366.webp 2048w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11095542\/strepthroat-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11095542\/strepthroat-200x133.webp 200w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11095542\/strepthroat-scaled.webp 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-67784\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Understanding the difference between sore throat and strep throat is important because each requires a different treatment. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sore throats are a common \u2013 and unwelcome \u2013 feature of the winter months in the United States, including Colorado. Most of these are viral infections that pass quickly, having caused short-term discomfort. However, <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/group-a-strep\/php\/surveillance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">some 5 million people each year contract strep throat<\/a>, which is caused by a bacterial infection. While strep throat is effectively treated with antibiotics, it can, in relatively rare cases, advance from the throat to other parts of the body and cause serious illness. The number of these invasive strep cases among children appears to be on the rise in Colorado and elsewhere, prompting investigation by the <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/group-a-strep\/about\/strep-throat.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about strep infections and better understand the difference between a sore throat and strep throat, UCHealth Today spoke with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/benjamin-usatch-md\/\">Dr. Ben Usatch<\/a>, medical director for the emergency department at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-highlands-ranch-hospital\/\">UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>If I have a sore throat, does that mean I have strep throat?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Not necessarily. \u201cSore throats come in a couple of flavors: viral and bacterial,\u201d Usatch said. Viral infections that cause discomfort for a few days and other similar symptoms, like a runny nose, are <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC2231494\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">by far the more common of the two<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s what most people get.\u201d In contrast, strep throat is usually caused by the bacteria Group A Streptococcus.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Do we treat sore throats and strep throats the same?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>No. \u201cBecause strep throat is a bacterial infection, we [generally] treat it with antibiotics,\u201d Usatch said. Antibiotics will not help with sore throat symptoms caused by a viral infection.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What antibiotics are used to treat strep throat?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cWe usually start with penicillin for 10 days,\u201d Usatch said. \u201cFor those with allergies to penicillin, we have other medications.\u201d These include doxycycline, clindamycin and others, he said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67782\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67782\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-67782 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11094935\/Strep-Throat-Q-and-A-Ben-Usatch-Ben-Usatcheee-300x222.webp\" alt=\"Dr. Ben Usatch is medical director of the emergency department at UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital. Photo courtesy of Ben Usatch\" width=\"300\" height=\"222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11094935\/Strep-Throat-Q-and-A-Ben-Usatch-Ben-Usatcheee-300x222.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11094935\/Strep-Throat-Q-and-A-Ben-Usatch-Ben-Usatcheee-768x567.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11094935\/Strep-Throat-Q-and-A-Ben-Usatch-Ben-Usatcheee-150x111.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11094935\/Strep-Throat-Q-and-A-Ben-Usatch-Ben-Usatcheee-200x148.webp 200w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/01\/11094935\/Strep-Throat-Q-and-A-Ben-Usatch-Ben-Usatcheee.webp 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-67782\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Ben Usatch is medical director of the emergency department at UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital. Photo courtesy of Ben Usatch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Can I just ride out a strep throat like I would a &#8216;normal&#8217; sore throat?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>That is not recommended, Usatch said. \u201cA lot of bacterial infections will go away on their own, but strep is one we want to treat with antibiotics as soon as possible.\u201d There are three main reasons for that, he added:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To make you feel better and shorten the course of the infection<\/li>\n<li>To prevent the spread of infection. \u201cPeople are usually no longer infectious 24 hours after they start their antibiotic treatment,\u201d Usatch said.<\/li>\n<li>To avoid complications that can occur from a strep throat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What complications occur from strep throat?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>If a strep infection progresses, the bacteria may leave the throat and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/diseases-conditions\/upper-respiratory-infections\/\">upper respiratory<\/a> tract and invade other parts of the body, Usatch said. The rare, but serious, complications from invasive Group A Streptococcus infections include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/group-a-strep\/about\/rheumatic-fever.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rheumatic fever<\/a> is an autoimmune disease, which causes the body to attack the tissue in the heart and other organs.<\/li>\n<li><a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/group-a-strep\/about\/post-streptococcal-glomerulonephritis.html?CDC_AAref_Val=https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/groupastrep\/diseases-public\/post-streptococcal.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Glomerulonephritis<\/a> inflames and damages the kidneys.<\/li>\n<li><a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/group-a-strep\/about\/necrotizing-fasciitis.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Necrotizing fasciitis<\/a> is a skin infection more commonly known as \u201cflesh-eating bacteria,\u201d which attacks and destroys tissue.<\/li>\n<li><a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/group-a-strep\/about\/streptococcal-toxic-shock-syndrome.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Toxic shock syndrome<\/a>\u00a0occurs when certain bacteria, including Group A Streptococcus, produce toxins and enter the bloodstream.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Any of these can require hospitalization and\/or IV antibiotics to control the infection, Usatch said.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>I know I shouldn\u2019t ignore a strep infection, but how do I know if I have strep throat?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>One early sign is a sore throat without other cold symptoms, like a cough or runny nose, Usatch said. Fever is a symptom of strep throat, he added, as are swollen lymph nodes, particularly on one side of the neck, and exudate (fluid from blood vessels) or white spots on the tonsils.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you have these criteria, it\u2019s not a bad idea to get tested,\u201d Usatch said. \u201cUrgent care can test for strep, and we want to treat it, rather than let it progress.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How will I be tested for strep throat?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>You\u2019ll get a swab of your tonsils, Usatch said. A rapid strep test will return a result in 20 minutes or so. In some cases, a throat culture swab is sent to the lab, which can take more time to process.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How do I get strep in the first place?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s spread through direct contact with respiratory droplets, which people may breathe in, touch or ingest, such as by drinking from a cup someone else has used. That means there are a lot of opportunities for infection. \u201cThe big issue with strep infections is preventing them from spreading,\u201d Usatch said.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What are the best ways to do that?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cThe best ways are aggressive handwashing, cleaning surfaces, and coughing into your elbow or forearm,\u201d Usatch said. \u201cIn those ways, you keep the droplets contained.\u201d He added that if you do have a strep infection, don\u2019t go into work. \u201cAll you\u2019re going to do is spread it around.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Are some people at higher risk for a strep infection?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Yes. Usatch said younger people \u2013 ages 5 to 15 \u2013 are more vulnerable, an issue that has come to the forefront this year in Colorado, where the number of children hospitalized with invasive Group A Streptococcus infections <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.colorado.gov\/press-release\/monitoring-increase-in-invasive-group-a-strep-cases-other-bacterial-infections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">increased sharply late last year<\/a> and led to two deaths. The rise created capacity pressure at Children\u2019s Hospital Colorado South Campus that nearby UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital\u2019s emergency department helped to ease by seeing pediatric patients that normally would have been evaluated at Children\u2019s Colorado, Usatch said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHopefully we\u2019ve freed up some of our colleagues across the street,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, people who are immunocompromised from infections like HIV or by cancer are at higher risk, Usatch said, as are those whose immune systems are suppressed, notably by medications to treat disease or to prevent organ rejection after a transplant.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Does a strep infection increase the risk of contracting the flu, COVID-19, or RSV (<a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/how-long-is-rsv-contagious-get-facts-about-this-virus\/\">respiratory syncytial virus<\/a><\/strong><strong>)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Not directly, Usatch said. However, any infection weakens the immune system, leaving one more vulnerable to another, he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you are fighting off any kind of infection, your resistance is lower,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a result, it is not uncommon to have co-infections going on. They definitely can traverse one another.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Do we know why we are seeing an increase in strep infections this year?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The short answer is no, Usatch said. That applies not only to strep but also to RSV and flu, both of which have shown <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/rsv-is-bad-this-year\/\">notable increases in the number of cases and hospitalizations in Colorado<\/a> this winter. Usatch pointed to the possibility that more \u201caggressive\u201d species of bacteria and viruses have caused the number of infections to rise.<\/p>\n<p>Usatch also said it is \u201cplausible\u201d that the societal shutdowns and increased attention to slowing the spread of COVID-19 with masks, social distancing and other protective measures may have weakened our body\u2019s defenses and \u201cimpaired\u201d our infection-fighting antibodies. He called it \u201ctelling\u201d that in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, the number of flu cases plunged but has rebounded this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is an argument that our immunity could be down,\u201d Usatch said. \u201cWe spent a couple of years walking around in masks to protect ourselves from COVID. Certainly [because of that] we may have less immunity than in years past. That\u2019s something to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>If our immune systems are weaker, what should we do to protect ourselves from strep throat?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Usatch stressed that the idea of weakened immune systems is \u201ctheoretical\u201d and again urged people to follow the basic hygiene measures he outlined earlier to ward off strep infections in themselves and others and prevent it from spreading through their communities. A greater number of cases places pressure on hospitals and clinics dealing with more cases of the viral \u201cbig three,\u201d all of which \u201care still prevalent in the heart of winter. We expect to have a very busy respiratory season,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to take care of each other,\u201d Usatch concluded. \u201cAt this time, more than any other, we need to watch each other\u2019s back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sore throats are a common \u2013 and unwelcome \u2013 feature of the winter months in the United States, including Colorado. Most of these are viral infections that pass quickly, having caused short-term discomfort. However, some 5 million people each year contract strep throat, which is caused by a bacterial infection. While strep throat is effectively [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2143,"featured_media":67784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[162,9187,4797,2918],"class_list":["post-67778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-living","tag-infectious-diseases","tag-readysetco","tag-seasonal-flu-treatment-and-flu-shots","tag-uchealth-highlands-ranch-hospital"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The difference between sore throat and strep throat - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Strep throat is a bacterial infection with symptoms and treatment that differ from a \u201cnormal\u201d sore throat. Get the answers you need.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/difference-between-sore-throat-and-strep-throat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Strep throat cases are on the rise. Learn to look for the warning signs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Strep throat is a bacterial infection with symptoms and treatment that differ from a \u201cnormal\u201d sore throat. 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