Infectious Causes of Sore Throat

If you ask anybody what is a common pathogen that causes a bad sore throat, strep is probably the answer you will get the majority of the times. However, strep due to GABHS for which a rapid strep test is performed only accounts for about 10-15% of all sore throats overall due to a bacteria. When taking into consideration ALL pathogens, viruses cause the majority of all sore throats. Indeed, viruses cause 85% to 95% of throat infections in adults and children younger than 5 years of age; for th…

4/18/2021 0

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What is the Most Common Cause of Bacterial Sore Throat? (Hint... It is NOT Strep)

Viruses may cause the most sore throats, but when it comes to bacterial sources, strep seems to get a bad rap as THE germ that causes tonsillitis and pharyngitis. However, a 2015 study from University of Alabama suggests that group A strep which is detected by the commonly used rapid strep swab only accounts for about 10% of bacterial sore throats. The real culprit that causes most of the bad non-viral sore throats at least in young adults (15-30 years) is Fusobacterium necrophorum . Th…

5/08/2015 1

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At-Home Influenza (Flu) Testing

There are kits that can be purchased inexpensively over-the-counter to test for strep and mono . You can also add influenza (aka "the flu") to the do-it-yourself list, but unfortunately, this test kit is expensive at several hundred dollars on Amazon to perform 10-20 tests or about $20 per test. Taking about 15 minutes to perform, these flu test kits are designed to detect Influenza A (including H1N1 virus) as well as the Influenza B virus antigens in nasopharyngeal specimens …

1/24/2015 0

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At-Home Rapid Mono Testing

Rapid mono test kits  can be purchased by anybody to be done at home which may save parents/patients money in doctor visits as well as getting an answer right away. Indeed, should mono testing be positive, than you know that the patient is contagious... and that there's not much to do other than give it time to resolve. A doctor visit may still be worthwhile since there are other possible causes of a sore throat including strep throat, cancer ,  aphthous ulcer ,  sinus infection ,  reflux …

1/24/2015 1

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At-Home Rapid Strep Testing

Rapid strep test kits can be purchased by anybody to be done at home which may save parents/patients a lot of money in doctor visits for those prone to strep infections . Indeed, should a rapid strep test be positive, than you know that a doctor's visit is definitely worthwhile. (A doctor visit may still be worthwhile since a sore throat may be due to something else like cancer , aphthous ulcer , sinus infection , reflux , etc). Such home kits (which in fact are the same kits used in medi…

11/16/2013 0

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How Many Infections in a Child is "Normal" Per Year?

Kids get a lot of infections... but at what point should a parent be concerned on how often these infections occur, particularly upper respiratory infections? A German study went about to determine the answer to just that question... They prospectively followed 760 children born in 1990 and followed them for 12 years. Parents recorded the child’s illnesses in a diary and answered structured questions yearly up to age 12. This is what they found... The mean number of infections per year f…

3/21/2012 0

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