Who Needs a Hearing Screening?
Hearing screenings are quick tests that identify potential hearing loss. The screenings are suitable for patients of any age, and only those who fail one require a full hearing evaluation with a qualified audiologist.
Are Strep Throat and Tonsillitis Connected?
As winter winds down and spring emerges, it’s also time for the last gasp for colds, flu, and other illnesses we tend to expect during the colder months. Strep throat and tonsillitis are two seasonal illnesses that sometimes hit in April and beyond.
Both of these illnesses can result in a sore throat, and though they’re medically related, they’re not interchangeable. When you or your child have a severe sore throat that isn’t responding to typical home care, visit us at Lawrence Otolaryngology Associates for diagnosis and treatment.
Understanding inflammation
The medical suffix of “itis” describes an illness that features tissue inflammation as a primary characteristic. Therefore, tonsillitis is a condition with inflamed tonsils.
Strep throat can cause inflammation of the tonsils, so that makes it a form of tonsillitis. However, the bacteria that cause strep throat are always group A streptococcus (GAS).
Tonsillitis is usually caused by viruses, such as rhinovirus (common cold), herpes simplex virus (which also causes cold sores), flu virus influenza A, or the Epstein-Barr virus.
Distinguishing strep throat from tonsillitis
It’s often easy to tell the difference between viral tonsillitis and strep throat. Perhaps the most obvious sign is the onset of each condition. Strep throat tends to come on quickly. You might be fine first thing in the morning, but you have pain and trouble swallowing by lunch time.
Viral tonsillitis starts slowly. You could feel as though something is off in your throat before pain and other symptoms develop. The heaviest symptoms may take a day or two to reach their peak, alongside other viral signs like coughing and runny nose, symptoms that are usually absent with strep throat.
Overall, strep throat is more severe than viral tonsillitis. Sore throat pain from strep is the primary symptom and often harder to cope with than its viral counterpart.
Complications of strep throat
Because strep throat is bacterial in origin, it may not pass as quickly as a viral illness usually does. The treatment for diagnosed strep throat is a course of antibiotics to suppress the growth of the GAS bacteria.
Sore throat pain typically subsides in 24-48 hours after starting medication, but it’s important to finish the prescription as directed to completely suppress the bacteria causing the infection.
Without treatment, group A streptococcus can also cause:
- Scarlet fever: Causing fever, rash, swollen glands, and a red tongue covered in bumps
- Kidney inflammation
- Spreading infections to the blood, inner ear, or skin
- Rheumatic fever
- Poststreptococcal reactive arthritis
Strep throat can, in rare cases, lead to serious conditions like these, making medical testing and follow-up important any time you have a severe sore throat that may be caused by GAS.
The physicians at Lawrence Otolaryngology Associates are tonsillitis specialists, so we can help you with any sore throat condition. Contact our nearest office in Lawrence or Ottawa to book an appointment online or by phone today.
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