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for the presence of strep bacteria or other microorganisms. Your doctor may give you a so-called rapid strep test, which can usually produce results in about 10 to 30 minutes. However, the results are not as accurate as those from a throat culture, and the test can only detect one type of strep bacteria and no other microorganisms. If the results of the rapid strep test show a strep infection, no further testing is necessary. If the results are negative, your doctor will send a sample to a laboratory for a culture to verify the results.

Treatment

Strep throat is usually treated with an oral antibiotic. Although your symptoms may subside in a few days, you need to complete the full course of the antibiotic to be sure all the bacteria have been killed and to avoid creating a stronger strain of bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics.

To relieve the symptoms of strep throat, gargle with warm salted water every few hours to help soothe the throat pain and help eliminate pus from the infected area. Drink plenty of water. Take an over-the-counter pain reliever to ease pain and reduce your fever.

For people who have severe, frequent strep throat infections (more than twice a year for an adult and more than four times a year for a child), your doctor may recommend removing the tonsils (tonsillectomy; see below right).

Tonsillitis

Tonsillitis is acute inflammation of the tonsils, usually resulting from a bacterial or viral infection, including strep throat (see previous article). The tonsils are two masses of tissue at the back of the throat that are part of the lymphatic system, which plays an important role in the immune system. Normally, the tonsils are very small at birth, gradually increase in size until age 6 or 7, and then shrink (although they usually do not disappear entirely). In young children, the tonsils help control infections in the nose and throat and protect against upper respiratory tract infections. This function is taken over by other lymphatic tissues if the tonsils are removed or when the tonsils shrink normally with age. Tonsillitis occurs most often in children but can occur occasionally in adults.

Symptoms

If you have tonsillitis, your throat may be red and swollen and may hurt when you swallow. Your tonsils may have white patches of pus. You may also have ear pain, a headache, swollen lymph nodes, and fever with chills. A child with tonsillitis may also have stomach pain or seizures. A single episode of what seems to be tonsillitis could be mononucleosis (see page 935), especially if the symptoms last longer than 2 weeks.

Tonsillitis

Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils, usually caused by a bacterial or viral infection. The tonsils are two masses of tissue at the back of the throat, on either side of the uvula (the fleshy lobe of tissue that hangs down the middle of the back of the throat).

Diagnosis

If you have symptoms of tonsillitis, your doctor may take a sample of secretions from your throat to test it for the presence of bacteria or other microorganisms to rule out a strep throat infection. The sample (culture) is grown in a laboratory and examined under a microscope. Growing bacteria in a culture can take up to 2 days.

Treatment

If, after examination of a throat culture, your doctor determines that the tonsillitis is caused by a bacterial infection, he or she will prescribe an antibiotic. To relieve your sore throat, take an over-the-counter pain reliever. Gargle with warm salted water to help soothe your sore throat and remove pus from your tonsils if they are infected.

If you have recurring, severe throat infections that have caused significant problems such as excessive time off from school or work, your doctor might recommend a tonsillectomy (see below).

Tonsillectomy

Tonsillectomy is surgical removal of the tonsils. Before the widespread use of antibiotics, it was a common procedure in childhood. Tonsillectomies are performed in people who have frequent, recurring tonsillitis (more than four times a year for a child and more than twice a year for an adult).