Sore Throats?

[Christine]

Viral sore throats can last for about 10 days. I had a horrible sore throat that went on forever. Like you, I had no fever and it just dragged on and on and was very painful.

As long as there is no fever, it probably isn't strep (although you can have strep without a fever). I do think that the older you get the less often you get strep (you build up immunity towards it), but anyone of any age can get it.

 

[swankybeth]

How long do they last? I went to the doctor for a chest cold and he said I don't have strep because I'm too old. I didn't know that. I don't have a fever either. I just have a really bad sore throat with a chest cold. It's been a week now and I still have it with no sign of it getting better. I have been gargling with salt water and have used the Chloraseptic tabs but nothing seems to work. Any advice?

I went to the doctor last week for what I thought was a sore throat/cold. Turned out I had bronchitis! It started with a terrible sore throat, then I got a bad hacking cough and a fever. The Dr prescribed Zithromax which helped and now I'm just congested, no cough or sore throat.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I looked up strep and it says that it hits mostly early teens up to about 30. It would be rare for someone who is 60 to get strep. It doesn't have any white stuff on it, just red.

Very untrue that there is an upper age limit to strep. I'd never had strep and neither had any of my kids. I got it for the first (and only so far) time when I was about 40-41 yo. I was as sick as a dog and felt like I'd been run over by a truck. Not fun and I was surprised that I got it since I'd never had it before.

 

[Planogirl]

I've had a nagging cough for the last few weeks and it's driving me nuts! I also have drainage and thought that the cough was due to that but now I'm starting to wonder. I wake up with a sore throat each day but I thought that it was due to the drainage too.

I talk to a lot of people who complain about having throat problems lately. I wonder if something is going around?