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Strept or Staph Infection
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Cowboys56 posted:
Went to the dr today bc of a sore throat that I have had a few days. Have white spots on the right side. I was on an antibiotics but the dr put me on a different antibiotic because the first one wasn't working. Strept test came out negative but she thinks it is because I was on antibiotics. Today she took another culture to send to the lab. She thinks it might be a staph infection. She sending the culture to a lab for results. Will take a week. If it doesn't go away I have to go to a ENT specialist. She told me that if I get short of breath to call her immediately. I am really concerned about this. Why would I get short of breath and why would I have to see a ENT specialits
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Rod Moser, PA, PhD responded:
First, a clinician cannot conclusively determine what pathogen is causing a sore throat just by appearance, although Strep does have a characteristic, classic appearance -- red dots called petechiae on the soft palate. Once you have been on antibiotics, this may interfere with a culture, which takes two days incidentally, NOT a week.

White spots are not characteristic of anything....they can be exudate from mono, a viral infection, or even food particles trapped in the holes/crypts of the tonsils. White sports are NOT a definite sign of Strep or Staph.

When a potential tonsillar infection is one ONE side, this can be an early sign of a peritonsillar abscess - a medical emergency. Peritonsillar abscesses are very painful, usually Strep, and may cause airway compromise. It requires immediate emergency intervention.
 
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Cowboys56 replied to Rod Moser, PA, PhD's response:
Ok thank you


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