Brief Answer:
Dose, type of drug, resistance, clinical review, check for other causes

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thanks for the query,

I understand that this could be very disturbing. However, it is important explore other causes of painful glands.

It is true and understandable that the commonest cause of painful glands is generally infections. Failure for complete cure could arise from taking an inappropriate dose of the drug, taking the drug for shorter duration than required (premature termination f treatment once a mild clinical response is observed). Some germs causing the glands to swell might be resistant to the antibiotic you are taking and in this case might require the drug to be changes.

It is important for your doctor to carry out a complete blood count (check for raised white blood cells) and measure C reactive protein levels. This would be reassuring that what you are experiencing is actually of infectious origin. Blood samples can then be taken for germ cultures and antibiotic sensitivity tests in order to select the best antibiotic best suited for your case.

Elsewhere, systemic diseases and inflammatory diseases (systemic lupus, mixed connective tissue disease0 can also cause painful glands. It is important to check for these in case a formal exclusion of the possibility of an infectious origin is made.

The cause is generally infectious and not exclusively infectious. I Strongly suggest you get a proper clinical review from your doctor. A local exam in search of an infectious focus, at times a local abscess or pus collection site can entertain a chronic infection in neighboring areas, and would generally cause erroneous false responses and resistance to appropriate antibiotics.

I suggest a clinical review with your family doctor first.

Kind regards,

Dr Bain

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