How to Tell Colds From Strep

Many times a common cold includes a sore throat, which makes it difficult to distinguish from strep throat. A cold is a virus, but strep is a bacterial infection that typically requires treatment with an antibiotic. By recognizing the distinguishing characteristics of each illness, you can make the necessary doctor appointment to treat strep or just try to reduce cold symptoms with over-the-counter medications.

Instructions

• 1

  Assess if you have a stuffy or runny nose, sneezing or cough. These are common cold symptoms that are not usually present with strep.

• 2

  Check your throat for bright red tonsils and white spots if you have a sore throat. Feel if you have swollen glands in the neck. These are symptoms of strep. Colds sometimes have a sore throat, but not the other throat symptoms.

• 3

  Take your temperature. Colds rarely have a temperature; however, it is a typical symptom with strep.

• 4

  Judge when the symptoms first began and how long they have persisted. The onset of a cold is usually gradual. The cold symptoms do not usually occur all at the same time, but some of them, such as coughing and sore throat, may have a longer duration than others. Strep normally has a more sudden onset.

• 5

  Make a doctor appointment if you suspect you have strep. Your doctor can take a throat culture to test for strep. The results of a rapid-strep test are ready in minutes. A doctor usually prescribes antibiotics to clear up strep.