Can you get strep throat without tonsils?


Can you get strep throat without tonsils? In reality, there are many factors leading to strep throat. Quite a lot of people confuse tonsillitis with strep throat. As a result, they think that tonsillectomy can help them recover from strep throat. This article below will give you a reasonable answer.

What do you know about strep throat?

Statistics show that a large number of patients have a viral sore throat and there are about 200 strains of virus causing a sore throat. When having a viral sore throat, you do not need to be too worried. As usual, the disease disappears itself after a few days if you have a strong body resistance and receive a good care.

In contrast, there are very few bacteria that lead to sore throats. However, they have potential health risks together with a high probability of spread. In this case, you need the aid of antibiotics for treatment. One of the most common types of high-risk bacteria is Streptococcus pyogenes or Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection of GAS is called strep throat.

The people at all ages and sexes probably have a strep throat. However, children from 5 to 15 years old who have a poor immune system are at high risk for strep throat infection. The disease usually starts and develops rapidly from the late autumn till early spring and in large crowds.

How does strep throat spread?

As mentioned, strep throat is usually highly infectious, mainly through the following paths:

  • Inhalation: Because of inhaling water particles in the air when you cough or sneeze, you may have a strep throat.
  • Contact with bacteria: the spread of the disease may come from that fact that you have contact with objects or other surfaces with pathogenic bacteria without cleaning the hands before having a meal and after going to the toilet.
  • Shared meals: If you share food and drink or other items with the patient, their strep throat can attack you.

Do you know common symptoms of strep throat?

It is difficult to accurately identify whether sore throat is caused by bacteria or viruses because there are many common points between these two diseases. Besides, quite a few people mistake strep throat for other respiratory diseases. However, looking carefully, you can realize the typical symptoms of strep throat including:

  • Sore and burning throat that hinders you from swallowing food
  • High fever above 38 ° C
  • Feeling of pain: headache, stomach ache, muscle pain and tight muscles
  • Rash that usually appears on the neck and chest, then spread to other areas
  • Loss of appetite and nausea
  • Swollen tonsils together with white spots
  • Swollen and painful lymph nodes

In addition to common complications such as tonsillitis and sinusitis, the outer layer of group A hemolytic streptococcus is structurally similar to renal, pericardial and synovial membranes. Therefore, if the disease is not treated well, the bacteria will attack kidneys, heart and joints. Consequently, the patients suffer from arthritis, glomerulonephritis and rheumatic fever.

Different from viral sore throat, strep throat is usually treated with antibiotics. It is necessary to follow the doctor’s instructions on taking the dosage of antibiotics. For this reason, if you detect any signs of the disease, it is advisable to have a medical test so that the doctor will suggest you the most effective treatment method.

Can you get strep throat without tonsils?

Can you get strep throat without tonsils? The answer is that whether or not the tonsils are removed, strep throat can still occur.

There are quite a few causes for chronic strep throat and tonsillitis is only one of the reasons. In addition to sore throat due to tonsillitis, some other causes include gastroesophageal reflux disease; poor resistance that causes you to be easily affected by cold air; pollen and weather allergies. Tonsils located in the throat are collections of lymph organs whose function is to protect the throat from the invasion of bacteria and smog. In case chronic sore throat is due to other causes rather than chronic tonsillitis, the removal of tonsils does not bring any effects.

Tonsil surgery is only effective against the chronic infection of the tonsils that has unexpected effects on daily activities, respiratory system, drinking and eating. In some cases, tonsils are the residence of pathogenic factors. Depending on the state of the disease, treatment methods will be adopted. For example, you can use folk remedies, oral medications and vitamins instead of medical treatment.

For treatment of strep throat, it is not necessary for you to conduct a tonsil surgery. Instead, you should combine antibiotics with drugs to treat symptoms. For that reason, before cutting the tonsils, you should carefully consult the ear, nose and throat specialist to avoid spending unnecessary expenses on tonsil removal without bringing expected results.

How can you relieve strep throat?

Take care of your throat

When having a strep throat or a sore throat by colds, patients can take a lot of measures to relieve sore throat.

  • Over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen can help to reduce the symptoms of sore throats. Keep in mind that you avoid giving aspirin to babies and teenagers because it may cause Reye syndrome.
  • The most common way is to have a gargle with salt water. Particularly, you put one tablespoon of salt in a glass of water will help maintain the throat fluid and reduce the feeling of pain.
  • Taking a warm bath through the nose is a good way to maintain fluid in your throat and alleviate the pain. You should do that every 5-10 minutes and several times per day.
  • You also apply a special handkerchief or warm towel to the throat. This method is useful for swollen lymph nodes.
  • You should eat soft foods such as porridge, hot soup, warm milk and fruit jelly. For severe sore throats, you had better avoid spicy, hard and crunchy foods.
  • Because fever and swelling cause the body to dehydrate, the water supplementation will strengthen the ability to fight the disease. Besides, you should not take orange or tangerine because they can irritate the throat.

Medical test

If sore throat lasts more than a week or the condition becomes worse, you need to go for a medical examination and have a strep test.

Besides, the persistent sore throat may be a sign of gastroesophageal acid reflux or other diseases.

Despite not being a common phenomenon, the prolonged cough is also one of the sexually transmitted diseases.

Can you get strep throat without tonsils? Hope that you can get some useful information from the article. In fact, sometimes the removal of tonsils is not really necessary. For the best treatment for strep throat, it is best to see a doctor to take some advice.




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