What is strep? What are the signs and symptoms of strep?

What is strep?

 

While many people use interchangeably the terms of sore throats and streptococcal tonsillitis, there are significant clinical differences between these conditions. Understand that differences can give a better idea of how and when to worry and when to get the advice of a physician to patients.

Strep is just one of the many possible causes of infection of the throat and sore throat. While the strep throat is most common in children and adolescents, it can affect people of all ages.

What causes sore throat?

Sore throat has many causes. The most frequent causes of sore throats are infections of the throat and surrounding structures. Any inflammation or infection of the tonsils, pharynx, esophagus (food tube) or larynx (the part of opening of the upper trachea) can cause sore throat.

What are tonsils and strep?

The tonsils are red bumps, of shape oval of tissue located at the back and the sides of the throat. This location allows intercept tonsils germs as they enter the body through the nose and throat. They contain cells and antibodies (proteins in the body to fight infection) that stop the spread of germs in the body to fight infection.

Tonsillitis refers to the conditions in which the tonsils become red, painful, and swollen by inflammation. It is not a specific term, because there are many causes of inflammation of the tonsils. Tonsillitis is a common cause of sore throats.

 

What are the pharynx and throat?

The pharynx is the back of the throat, mouth and nasal cavity, behind the mouth. Infection or inflammation of the pharynx is called pharyngitis. Infectious causes are similar to those that cause tonsillitis, which concern mainly the virus and less commonly a bacterial infection.

Because it is difficult to always exactly distinguish pharyngitis and tonsillitis, throat infections are commonly called pharyngitis, which means an infection of the tonsils, pharynx or both.

Symptoms of strep

What are the signs and symptoms of strep?

Infection strep bacteria is contagious and can cause a variety of symptoms associated with inflammation of the throat and its surrounding structures. Symptoms usually begin within a few days (1-4 days) after infection (incubation period).

The typical signs of streptococcal infection are:

fever;

swollen, tender glands on the sides of the neck;

white spots on tonsils and throat.

Some other more specific signs and symptoms of strep throat, which can also be seen in other causes strep throat are:

Sudden onset of sore throat,

headache,

odynophagia (painful swallowing)

nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain,

soft palate of red, swollen (uvula), or

skin rash (irregular diffuse red rash).

Viral causes of throat infection

Viruses are the most common cause of infection of the throat in children and adults. Many types of viruses are known to cause a throat infection and its symptoms can be difficult to distinguish a bacterial infection.

Throat infections caused by three viruses usually occur during the winter months aren't.

Bacterial causes of throat infection

Bacterial causes of infections of the throat (pharyngitis) require more attention from people (and their parents or guardians) if the patient is a child and doctors.

Strep or tonsillitis, are the most common bacterial cause of sore throat.

Known strep is due to a single member of the family of the Streptococcus bacteria. This some streptococci (Streptococcus pyogenes) belong to the bacterium Streptococcus (abbreviated gas) group. This group of bacteria that cause other that streptococcal infections such as skin infections, soft tissue infections and pneumonia (lung infection) is also known.

There are several other bacteria that can cause infections of the throat. Group A Streptococcus is the most common cause in children and adolescents. Mycoplasma, Neisseria, Corynebacterium, Yersinia and bacteria - the group a streptococci is not other bacterial causes of throat infection.

Bacterial throat infections usually occur during the winter months.