Strep throat treatment

How is strep throat treated?

The most effective medicine for strep throat are antibiotics. Doctors usually prescribe penicillin, which in some cases may be given in the form of injections, but in most cases it is enough to take pills.

Among the prescribed antibiotics there may be:

• amoxicillin: Amoxil, Dispermox, Trimox; Macrolides,
• erythromycins: E-Mycin, Eryc, Ery-Tab, PCE, Pediazole, Ilosone,
• azithromycin: Zithromax,
• clarithromycin: Biaxin,
• clindamycin: Cleocin,

The medicine depends on the severity of infection and the age of the patient.

Along with the antibiotics doctors may suggest some additional medicine in order to decrease fever and relieve throat pain. However young children should avoid aspirin as taking it might lead to additional complications.

The above mentioned antibiotics not only reduce the symptoms of strep throat, but also the duration of the disease. Moreover, they minimize the risk of infecting other people. Children should feel noticeably better after 24 to 48 hours after starting the treatment with antibiotics. After another two or three days they should be able to return to school without the fear of spreading the infection. Despite the fact that usually a ten day antibiotic treatment is advised when children go back to school they often discontinue taking the antibiotics which may lead to recurrences of strep throat with additional serious complications, for example kidney inflammation, or rheumatic fever. Thus it is vitally important not to stop taking the medication.