Virus or Bacteria?
Strep throat is normally treated with antibiotics. However, if a sore throat was caused by a virus, antibiotics won’t help and can do even more harm. That’s why it is very important to know the exact cause of the condition.
The most important signs indicating the presence of a virus are cold symptoms, such as cough, runny nose, hoarseness and conjunctivitis. [3]
With strep throat, the pain in the throat usually appears suddenly, along with painful swallowing, fever (often highest on the second day), red and swollen tonsils (sometimes with white patches), tiny red spots on the roof of the mouth, and swollen lymph nodes in the front of the neck. [7] Sometimes it might be difficult to tell the difference between strep throat symptoms and symptoms of mononucleosis, caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) or cytomegalovirus (CMV). The latter also manifests through a sore throat, fever, swollen lymph nodes, rash and body aches, but it is a viral infection which is not to be treated with antibiotics. [8]
