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Suggest Treatment For Severe Fever Caused By Strep Throat
Question: My son is at college. He went to doctor this morning with a fever of 101+... they determined he has strep throat and provided antibiotics. 12 hours later he called and said he has a fever of 103. I told him to go lie down and will check on him in an hour. What should I tell him to do next?
Brief Answer:
just take the antibiotics and OTC for the fever
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
strep throat is a bacterial infection, which causes high fever, sore throat and fatigue. In most cases the infection gets better even by itself but the doctor always prescribes antibiotics to reduce the risk for local or other complications. The antibiotics reduce the duration of the disease only modestly and they require at least 48 hours to show any benefit.
Your son should try to drink enough fluids, because there are many losses due to the high fever and the loss of appetite that accompanies this disease. He can take paracetamol (acetaminophen) for the fever and the throat pain. If the pain is severe then ibuprofen or another NSAID will help more. Remind him to avoid using NSAID without his doctor's permission, particularly if he has a history of peptic ulcer, allergy to NSAID, hypertension, liver problems, etc.
He should take the antibiotics as prescribed. The expected course of the disease usually lasts for approximately 5 days. High fever is expected in the first 2-3 days and lower fever in the rest. Worrisome signs include a high fever that lasts for many days without signs of improvement, unilateral excessive swelling of the neck, breathing difficulty, severely altered voice (like having a hot potato in his mouth), etc. Any sign of worsening needs medical assessment to exclude complications.
So in conclusion, your son should take the prescribed treatment and symptomatic treatment, if his symptoms are severe. Follow-up visits to the doctor are not always necessary but should be done if he experiences any sign of worsening.
Best wishes for his health!
just take the antibiotics and OTC for the fever
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
strep throat is a bacterial infection, which causes high fever, sore throat and fatigue. In most cases the infection gets better even by itself but the doctor always prescribes antibiotics to reduce the risk for local or other complications. The antibiotics reduce the duration of the disease only modestly and they require at least 48 hours to show any benefit.
Your son should try to drink enough fluids, because there are many losses due to the high fever and the loss of appetite that accompanies this disease. He can take paracetamol (acetaminophen) for the fever and the throat pain. If the pain is severe then ibuprofen or another NSAID will help more. Remind him to avoid using NSAID without his doctor's permission, particularly if he has a history of peptic ulcer, allergy to NSAID, hypertension, liver problems, etc.
He should take the antibiotics as prescribed. The expected course of the disease usually lasts for approximately 5 days. High fever is expected in the first 2-3 days and lower fever in the rest. Worrisome signs include a high fever that lasts for many days without signs of improvement, unilateral excessive swelling of the neck, breathing difficulty, severely altered voice (like having a hot potato in his mouth), etc. Any sign of worsening needs medical assessment to exclude complications.
So in conclusion, your son should take the prescribed treatment and symptomatic treatment, if his symptoms are severe. Follow-up visits to the doctor are not always necessary but should be done if he experiences any sign of worsening.
Best wishes for his health!
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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