No, they aren’t! While strep throat is a very common infection among children between the ages of 5 and 15, it can affect adults, too! In fact, according to the CDC, between 11,000 and 24,000 Americans get strep throat every year.

Our team at AFC Urgent Care Southcenter provides some further info on strep throat below, so keep reading.

What Exactly Is Strep Throat?

According to the CDC, strep throat is an infection in the throat and tonsils caused by a bacteria group called A Streptococcus, or group A strep.

Strep lives in the nose and throat and can be spread by coughing or sneezing. When you cough or sneeze, this spreads respiratory droplets into the air that contain strep bacteria. Strep throat is an easy infection to catch, and we’ve listed some common ways people get sick with it below.

Common Ways to Catch Strep Throat

• Breathing in respiratory droplets containing strep bacteria
• Touching something with droplets on it and then touch your mouth or nose
• Drinking from the same glass or eating from the same plate as a sick person
• Touching sores on the skin caused by group A strep

Is It Possible to Just Be Dealing With a Sore Throat?

Although a sore throat is the most obvious symptom of strep throat, it doesn’t always mean that you have the infection. The best ways to tell if you have strep throat or not is by having a fever and sore throat without a cough and by receiving a positive rapid strep test.

If you have a painful sore throat without a cough or experience any of the symptoms we’ve listed below, visit your doctor or our AFC center. If your doctor suspects strep throat, he or she will likely perform a strep test to confirm his or her diagnosis.

Common Strep Throat Symptoms

• A sudden fever, especially if it’s 101˚F or higher
• A sore, red throat with white patches
• A headache
• Chills
• A loss of appetite
• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck
• Trouble swallowing

Think you might have strep? Our AFC Urgent Care Southcenter team is here for you, so don’t hesitate to visit us today!