What Is Strep Throat? Strep throat is an infection caused by a type of bacteria (group A streptococcus). Strep bacteria cause almost a third of all sore throats. Strep throat usually needs treatment with antibiotics. With the proper medical care — and plenty of rest and fluids — most kids get back to school and play within a few days. What Are the Signs & Symptoms of Strep Throat? Symptoms of strep throat include: sore throat fever red and swollen tonsils painful or swollen neck glands Not all sore throats are strep throats. Often, kids have a sore throat because of a virus , which will usually clear up without medical treatment. Kids who do have strep throat might get other symptoms within about 3 days, such as: red and white patches in the throat trouble swallowing a headache lower stomach pain general discomfort, uneasiness, or ill feeling loss of appetite nausea rash Is Strep Throat Contagious? Strep throat is very contagious. Anybody can get it, but most cases are in school-age kids and teens. Infections are common during the school year when big groups of kids and teens are in close quarters. How Do People Get Strep Throat? The bacteria that cause strep throat tend to hang out in the nose and throat. So normal activities like sneezing, coughing, or shaking hands can easily spread an infection from one person to another. Kids with untreated strep throat are more likely to spread the infection when their symptoms are most severe, but can still infect others for up to 3 weeks. That's why it's so important to teach kids the importance of hand washing. Good hygiene can lessen their chances of getting contagious diseases like strep throat. How Is Strep Throat Diagnosed? If your child has a sore throat and other strep throat symptoms, call your doctor. The doctor will likely do a rapid strep test in the office, using a cotton swab to take a sample of the fluids at the back of the throat. The test only takes about 5 minutes. If it's positive, your child has strep throat. If it's negative, the doctor will send a sample to a lab for a throat culture. The results are usually available within a few days. How Is Strep Throat Treated? Doctors usually prescribe about 10 days of antibiotic medicine to treat strep throat. Within about 24 hours after starting on antibiotics, your child probably won't have a fever and won't be contagious. By the second or third day, other symptoms should start to go away. Even when kids feel better, they should take the antibiotics as prescribed. This is the best way to kill the harmful bacteria. Otherwise, bacteria can remain in the throat and symptoms can return. Completing all the antibiotics also prevents other health problems that a strep infection can cause, such as rheumatic fever (which can cause heart damage), scarlet fever, blood infections, or kidney disease. To prevent spreading strep throat to others in your home: Keep your child's eating utensils, dishes, and drinking glasses separate and wash them in hot, soapy water after each use. Make sure your child doesn't share food, drinks, napkins, handkerchiefs, or towels with other family members. Teach your child to cover all sneezes or coughs. If a tissue isn't handy, kids should sneeze or cough into a shirtsleeve, not their hands. Remind everyone to wash their hands well and often. Give your child a new toothbrush after the antibiotic treatment starts and he or she is no longer contagious. How Can I Help My Child Feel Better? Home care can help your child feel better while battling strep throat. Give plenty of liquids to prevent dehydration, such as water or ginger ale, especially if he or she has had a fever. Avoid orange juice, grapefruit juice, lemonade, or other acidic beverages, which can irritate a sore throat. Warm liquids like soups, sweetened tea, or hot chocolate can be soothing. Talk to your doctor about when your child can return to normal activities. Most kids can go back to school when they've taken antibiotics for at least 24 hours and no longer have a fever. Back to Articles Related Articles First Aid: Sore Throat Sore throats are usually caused by viruses. Here's what to do if your child has a sore throat. Read More Tonsillitis Tonsillitis is an infection that makes tonsils swollen and red. It can cause a sore throat, fever, swollen glands, and trouble swallowing. Read More Strep Test: Rapid A rapid strep test is done to help quickly determine whether a sore throat is caused by a strep infection vs. other germs (usually viruses) that don't require antibiotic treatment. Read More Strep Test: Throat Culture Is your child having a strep test or a throat culture? Find out how these swab tests are performed. Read More Tonsillectomy A tonsillectomy is surgery to remove the tonsils. It's one of the most common surgeries kids and teens get. Find out more. Read More Sinusitis Sinus infections, or sinusitis, are common and easily treated. Read More Fevers Fevers happen when the body's internal "thermostat" raises the body temperature above normal. This is often the body's way of fighting infections. Read More Pneumonia Pneumonia is a lung infection that can be caused by different types of germs, most commonly viruses. Read about symptoms and treatment. Read More Word! Strep Screen If you've ever gone to the doctor with a really sore throat, you may have had a strep screen. Read More Having Your Tonsils Taken Out Sometimes tonsils need to be removed, but how is it done? Find out in this article for kids. Read More Tonsillectomy Everybody's heard of tonsils, but not everyone knows what tonsils do in the body or why they may need to be removed. Find out here. Read More Getting a Strep Test (Video) The test for strep throat doesn't hurt, but it might make you gag a little. Watch how it's done in this video for kids. Read More Strep Test (Video) This video shows what it's like to get a strep test. Read More Hand Washing: Why It's So Important Did you know that the most important thing you can do to keep from getting sick is to wash your hands? If you don't wash your hands frequently, you can pick up germs from other sources and then infect yourself. Read More Scarlet Fever Scarlet fever is an illness caused by a strep infection. It causes a red, bumpy rash that spreads over most of the body, and is treated with antibiotics. Read More Strep Throat Strep throat is a common infection that usually needs to be treated with antibiotics. Find out how to recognize the signs of strep throat and what to expect if you have it. Read More Tonsillitis If your tonsils get infected, it can make your throat feel very sore. Find out more in this article for kids. Read More Tonsillitis You wake up and your throat is swollen and you have a fever. Could it be tonsillitis? Find out what tonsillitis is, how to treat it, and how to prevent it. Read More Strep Throat Strep throat gives you a sore throat and makes it hard to swallow. Find out more in this article for kids. Read More What's a Fever? What are fevers? Why do kids get them? Get the facts on temperatures and fevers in this article for kids. Read More Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor. © 1995-2021 KidsHealth®. All rights reserved. Images provided by The Nemours Foundation, iStock, Getty Images, Veer, Shutterstock, and Clipart.com.