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Two weeks ago I had a bad sore throat and as this is something that I get regular I asked the doctor to swab my throat.

I phoned him to day for results. Nothing showed up.

He told me the only thing they look for is strep throat.
So I don't have strep throat. What do I have?

My question is why do they only look for strep throat?

Why don't they look for everything and find out what it was?

Mike

I would guess it's because strep is caused by bacteria and is therefore treatable with antibiotics. They probably figure if it's not strep, it's a virus, and the only thing to do then is let it run its course. Not much point in testing for that which isn't treatable. Again, that's just a guess...

You think they would check anyway. Maybe it could be prevented if they knew what it was.

Thanks for the reply paradox.

...maybe cost of additional tests....if you have any idea that it might be more (clap?), you should tell the dr

Additional tests usually mean additional swabs... and multiple throat swabs can be a real pain to collect. Sometimes they may even be going to different labs for the various tests, or one lab may take different amounts of time to test a swab for one thing versus another (especially STD tests).

Knowing our health system I think you are right. It is all about money.

imaxim,

I hope you are not suggesting I have a STD?

:-)

lol, well I was looking at the post above (about the 'clap') when I wrote that. however, the only things I can ever recall needing throat swabs for were strep and clap (it was strep ;)

I agree with paradox answer.

If you suffer of sore throat regularly you shouldn't leave the dr off the hook....make him/her try to find out what's going on, I don't think having sore throats regularly is normal. Get involve in your treatment.

It was me that made him swab it. So what should I do now?

are you asking should you go back to be swabbed for throat clap?

I would go back and say...listen, I keep getting this sore throat, something has to be going on in there...are you going to try to find out what's going on...if he/she says no, go to another dr.

I'm a firm believer of second / third opinions....


my boyfriend suffers of sore throats and he has expirience the same thing you have....the last dr he say says he might have to have his tonsils taken out...

As a pure anecdote, I used to wake up with sore throats regularly. Two things which helped them go away:
Upping my water intake so I didn't dehydrate as much (though I began have the other issues of waking up with the need to go hit the bathroom quickly).
No longer living in the same house with a smoker.
As for why they only test for strep--most other throat infections in people with healthy immune systems will probably be viral (though as I'm not a medical doctor, I base this solely from my general microbiology knowledge). Strep throat can be treated with antibiotics; most viruses your treatment regime is basically treat the symptoms and hope the body clears the infection given enough time. But if this is happening regularly, I'd find a doctor who takes you seriously and looks beyond the throat itself to see if this is a symptom of something elsewhere; in your diet, perhaps, or something in your blood.

When I was a kid they though I would have to get my tonsils out, but I still have them.

Having a persistent sore throat is not normal. You should see a qualified eye ear nose and throat doc. If you don't tell them about your sexual activity they will never test for more than strep.

Hope all is well.

mike3

Quite a lot of bacteria show up on the throat swab culture. Most of them belong in your throat normally. What the lab tech has to do is pick out something that looks abnormal. Not very many organisms can actually be identified in this way. And a lot of it depends on the skill of the lab tech. Then the doctor has to figure out if that tentative identification matches your symptoms.
Of the organisms that usually cause throat infections, Streptococcus and Candida stand out in these cultures because they make a dramatic color change on the petri dish and/or they have a distinctive shape under the microscope.
The organisms that cause things like Gonorrhea, Diptheria and Whooping Cough will also show up, but to positively identify them takes further tests. If you aren't showing symptoms for those diseases, they probably won't do the test.

Anyway, the value is kind of iffy. When we do this test in class, about 5 to 10 percent of healthy students have a positive throat swab for hemolytic strep, so it's hard to say what the test even means. In the 90's the medical center that I went to would always hand out antibiotics without testing, so I started checking my own throat swab when I was sick. If I had a positive test, then I'd go get some antibiotics.
More recently, I had a weird case of thrush and the doctor had some smears done. A couple of days later, I received a phone call saying they'd lost my sample and could I come give another. Then another call saying, "never mind - it's negative." Suspicious, I went out to the lab and did my own damn smear. It was positive. I took color photos and took them to the doctor and got treated. The lab still billed my insurance $400 for ten minutes work that they didn't even do, then lied about.

When I say regular sore throat, I mean a bad one one or two times a year, that I have to see the doctor for, but I have some not so bad ones in between.

MikemikeMike, My doctor knows I am gay, so should I explain what gay guys do :)

Anyway, I used to get them before I ever had any kind of sex. Also the only guy I have ever been with is my partner, and I am the only guy he has ever been with. I don't think it is an STD.


mindgarden, Thanks for all that info. Very interesting.

Thanks everyone.

Mike

Yeah, once or twice a year is not a big deal Mike. Most sore throats are viral, of which there are literally thousands, and they keep changing, and not good treatment, so no point in testing for them.

Strep is bacterial and easy to treat plus there are few rare, but serious, problems that can develop from an untreated strep infection -- rheumatic fever and post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (problem with your kidneys) being that main ones. So there is good reason to treat a strep infection and therefore reason to test for it. There are of course multiple other bacteria that live in your throat and cause you no problems, and yes when they come up in a culture the question is what to do with them.

And of course other things like allergies can give you a sore throat as well -- particularly when you have a runny nose and it drains down the back of your throat as often happens.

A couple of things, not connected. First, you could have sleep apnia or just snore in your sleep. I get these from time to time, but what helped reduce them is Breath Right strips. I snore less at night and get better, more restful sleep.

Second, are you open with your Dr. about your sexual orientation? If not, you should be. I dated a guy once who gave me a sexually transmitted disease. He had been told by the guy he'd previously dated that he had contracted something and should get tested. The doctor, who had a primarily straight practice, didn't think to test my partner's throat. So, his test came up negative. I was out to my docotor, but he too had a straight and primarily older practice, and couldn't remember how to treat said sexually transmitted disease, and had to spend some time on the phone with the pharmacist to figure out what the treatment was. I quickly switched to a doctor with a primarily gay practice who was familiar with what was going around in the community.

I'm not saying you have a sexually transmitted disease, but if you are out to your doctor, that might be one place he might check for things other than strep throat.

If it's Viral then they can't treat it. If you think you got something from oral sex you need to let the doctor know that it's a possibility.

Go to a place that has indian spices (not most grocery stores) and buy Fenugreek seeds. Boil a tablespoon or so in 2-3 cups of water for a few minutes, let the water cool off until it is just warm, then gargle it and spit it out. It won't hurt you to swallow it but it tastes awful, kind of like earth and bark. Your throat will immediately stop being swollen and the soreness will be gone the next day.

I assume you've ruled out rigorous fallacio as the cause.

Actually strep throat will go away within 3 to 7 days with or without antibiotics, but can lead to other disorders. Besides just getting rheumatic fever, the disease can lead to mitral valve stenosis. This can result in heart complications down the road such as heart failure, stroke, blood clots, and various others. Just having a sore throat is a minor illness. Most sore throats are due to drainage from the sinuses. This mostly results from allergies and sinus infections. Acid Reflux and some viral infections are causes as well but they usually are accompanied with other symptoms. Also besides that, tonsillitis is usually the other agent that can result in throat irritation.

OH and ways to prevent such throat soreness by using a humidifier, throat lozenges, decongestants, allergy medicines, avoid smoke/smoking, and drink lots of fluids! :)

could just be a really bad cold thats been going around everywhere it seems lately. Last week like everyone here had the siffles of some sort. Allergies maybe that went out of control? that is usually what triggers my soar throats and the beginning of an infection of sorts. I had my tonsils taken out too so might be something to look at.

they test for strep because its HIGHLY contagious and want to nip it in the bud right away...strep can lead to a lot of other things if not treated...its prevalent in the education system and being a dad with kids....Im WELL versed on strep throat...UGH!!!!!

Be glad its not step.

If it gets worse though....Go back to your doctor...and hope to god its not MONO...that is the sickest Ive ever been in my life...and the sorest throat you will ever have!!!

I happen to be one of those pesky lab techs. Strep is something we can test for using "rapid assays" meaning your doc can send us a swab and we can say in a matter of 15 to 20 minutes if you have strep. If its not strep the Doc figures it will go away on its own and will not cause major problems.

We also do full on throat cultures where we just plate it all up and let it grow. But then it takes days at times and we have to pick out what is normal flora and what isn't supposed to be growing there.

So they usually only check for strep because its fast and so common.

iggy,

My Sister works in a lab also, and told me the same thing.

Also it was not strep and yet he gave me pills for it. I assume they were antibiotics.

mascjockatl,

What is MONO?

OHiker,

What is rigorous fallacio?

wrerick,

My nose does drain down the back of my throat when I get a bad sore throat. My nose also bleeds a bit.

stlonghorn,

"Besides just getting rheumatic fever, the disease can lead to mitral valve stenosis"

I have a leaky heart valve (Mitral valve with moderate regurgitation)

I have had this since I was about 7 years old. No problems with it yet.

Do you mind if I ask, are you a doctor?

Mike

Oh, BTW about that thrush mentioned above... I don't have HIV or anything. After months of worrying, I finally tracked down the problem: Poison Oak in my Honey!!

Mindgarden - OMG! That sounds awful.

MikePhil - 'rigorous fallacio' - I'm only explaining this because you didn't get the hose bit in the other thread - its a good hard deep-throating - sore throat is a complication resulting from a well endowed partner and little to no gag reflex on your part. It's accompanied by teary-eyedness and shortness of breath - if done properly. (Not saying I have personal experience with this - just something I've heard about. )

Yeah right OHhiker, no experience, we believe that one.

Glad you clarified that mindgarden was getting a little worried. Though why was the poison oak causing thrush? I mean I'm sure you would get a reaction to it, but thrush isn't the first that would come to mind.

Increasingly off-topic, but Candida is a minor part of the normal biota. It really only causes infections in an abnormal state... such as immune-suppression or constant irritation from a toxin. I once heard someone giving a keynote talk at the ASM (I don't remember who) who said, "Candida albicans is to humans as Saccharomyces cerevisiea is to grapes."

I didn't put two and two together until I heard my beekeeper bragging that he sells "special" honey as a homeopathic poison oak remedy, and he deliberately puts hives in poison oak patches. And yes, I did the experiment to determine that it was the honey. (He gives me a gallon for christmas every year.)

Umm... anyone want some honey?

OHhiker,

"MikePhil - 'rigorous fallacio' - I'm only explaining this because you didn't get the hose bit in the other thread"

OK make fun of me :-)

Anyway, thanks for the explanation.

Mike

sometimes having persistant sore throats is because your system needs to get rid of toxins, keeping your intestines clean will help to solve much of the problem.
I don't know how regular you are but constipation causes a lot problems such as sore throat, sinus, dehydration to name a few.

Umm, no constipation doesn't cause those things, but whatever.

Mike - I botched the spelling on that, argh - it's 'rigorous fellatio' - no wonder you didn't get it.

So, does that mean you are you ruling that out?

wrerick - hush! You've read too many of my posts.

OHhiker,

Ya, I am ruling that out

i feel your pain. a few months ago i went to the doctor cause i had a horrible sore throat. so they tested for strep, the results were negative. so she gave me a z pack and sent me on my way. a few days later i was still miserable. i drove home to see my family doctor, who i trust more than some random doctor. well turns out it was mono. fuckin a.

The same thing happened to me. It is more costly and time consuming to run anything other than a simple culture test. I was tested for strep when in fact, I had mono. They gave me a shot which did nothing and I became so sick that my mom had to come pick me up off the floor and take me to the hospital! Doctors don't listen anymore. All they want to do is make a quick diagnosis so they can get the next person in. The more people they see a day, the more money they make. This is what is truly SICK!

Sometimes I get severe sore throats. It is usually due to not getting enough sleep or more stress than usual. If I get about two good nights of sleep (more than 8 hours) my sore throat goes away quickly.

I get nasty sore throats due to allergies of all things. they're not horrible..

to answer your question, the other guys are pretty much right. its easier to test for strep since its a quick assay and they can you put you on antibiotics just in case. the test for mono usually takes a day or two to come back i think, and even then the remedy is basically rest, fluids and motrin. anything else thats viral pretty much has the same course of treatment.

a simple sore throat can be dehydration, being a mouth breather while you sleep, allergies etc... but a recurring sore throat in the presence of other symptoms might be something to look into. unfortunately you'll just have to stand up to your doc and say you want a full work up, or find one who won't brush you off.

here in the US docs are more than happy to just give you a prescription for an antiobiotic just to shut you up. makes for a faster office visit and on to the next patient.. . and people wonder why we have issues with drug resistance

HereNBoston said
here in the US docs are more than happy to just give you a prescription for an antiobiotic just to shut you up. makes for a faster office visit and on to the next patient.. . and people wonder why we have issues with drug resistance

Amen.

MikePhil saidTwo weeks ago I had a bad sore throat and as this is something that I get regular I asked the doctor to swab my throat.

I phoned him to day for results. Nothing showed up.

He told me the only thing they look for is strep throat.
So I don't have strep throat. What do I have?

My question is why do they only look for strep throat?

Why don't they look for everything and find out what it was?

Mike

If it's not strep, it's almost guaranteed to be viral. There's nothing they can do to treat a virus, so there's no reason to test for it. Knowing what it is doesn't help you either because there's no real way to prevent catching a virus beyond the normal washing things we do anyway.