I ve had a bad sore throat for the past 3-4 days, with some head congestion as well. I had a cold a couple of weeks ago, but it seemed to go away quickly. I had 3-4 healthy days and then the sore throat started up again. I work with children so am exposed to all sorts of illnesses! I had a flu shot in November and I don t have a fever, so I m wondering if I might have strep throat and/or a nasal infection? My sore throat is bad enough to wake me up at night and when I breath deep I hear almost like a rattling in my head (not my chest). My ears feel weird too, which concerns me as I had Bells Palsy (on one side) 7-8 years ago and this was one of the symptoms. I rarely take antibiotics, but would like to be put on a course of them until I get any potential testing results. Any thoughts about my diagnosis and its remedy? Thanks! Allison