Raise the top of your mattress to an incline Sleeping on an incline can help you breathe easier and help clear mucus, which drip down the back of your throat and cause irritation. Rather than propping yourself up by using pillows, raise the head of your bed.
Sleep With Your Head Elevated
Elevating the head while sleeping may help relieve congestion. View Source that contributes to throat pain from excess mucus drainage.
Strep throat can cause intense pain that persists throughout the day. However, the pain may worsen at night due to increased postnasal drip or pain-relieving medications wearing off during the night.
“Don't underestimate physically resting your body and voice,” Dr. Allan says. But beware: Lying flat can sometimes cause swelling due to an increase in pressure at the back of your throat. Instead, try elevating the bed or sitting propped up or in a chair to alleviate the pain and discomfort.
Here's what to do: First, when you're feeling nauseous, avoid lying down. When you lie flat on your back, gastric juices can rise and increase feelings of nausea and overall discomfort. Instead, when you're nauseous, try reclining with your upper body elevated and moving around as little as possible.
Ibuprofen, menthol lozenges, honey, and cold fluids can give you temporary pain relief. Make sure to stay hydrated by sipping cold fluids, and opt for soft foods that won't irritate your throat.
Avoid contact with anyone who has strep throat until they've been prescribed and on antibiotics for at least 24 hours. Don't share food, drinks, or eating utensils with others. Additionally, avoid sharing personal items, such as toothbrushes. If you have strep, be sure to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
A. Strep throat typically resolves in three to five days if untreated. Despite the short duration, antibiotic treatment is recommended to reduce the risk of complications. Symptoms typically resolve within one to three days following the start of antibiotics.
Keep your head above your chest
But at night, your cough is worse and you struggle to breathe through a blocked nose. Sleeping with your head higher than the rest of your body can help to clear mucus, in turn allowing you to breathe better. Adjust your pillows so that you're in a comfy position with your head elevated.
With strep throat, your tonsils become very inflamed. This inflammation typically affects the surrounding area of your throat as well, which causes a sore throat (pharyngitis).
If you find it easier to swallow, or that the soreness is less severe, your strep infection should be clearing effectively. Furthermore, a decreased fever is another sign that strep is improving. You may notice that you feel cooler, or are no longer experiencing hot sweats or chills.
That being said, you should avoid exercising if you are experiencing severe symptoms, such as diarrhea, vomiting or fever, or have been diagnosed with something like strep throat or influenza. When you are sick, your body is at its most vulnerable. Any unnecessary strain can worsen your condition and symptoms.
You may start to feel sick a few days after you come into contact with the bacteria that causes strep throat, but usually people will start feeling sick suddenly. You will probably have a fever very quickly, and your throat will be very sore.
If taken within 48 hours of the onset of the illness, antibiotics reduce the duration and severity of symptoms, as well as the risk of complications and the likelihood that infection will spread to others. With treatment, you or your child should start feeling better in a day or two.
But strep throat can also be passed on inanimate objects so that silverware and glassware, if it's not properly washed, can certainly pass it. And certainly the kissing can pass it. So it's not just mono that's a kissing disease, strep, too, can be a kissing disease.
When a cold causes your sore throat, it can be plenty painful, but it usually goes away after a couple of days. Bacterial infections, like strep throat, tend to cause more severe pain that doesn't get better. With strep, it may hurt so much that you can barely swallow.
Ibuprofen will reduce the pain, but strep infections often require prescription antibiotics. To diagnose strep throat, your doctor will take a swab of cells from the throat and test the sample for the presence of bacteria. They can prescribe an appropriate medicine to treat the infection.
Left untreated, strep throat can lead to kidney inflammation or rheumatic fever, a serious illness that can cause stroke and permanent damage to the heart. Fortunately, strep throat can be easily diagnosed with a simple throat culture, and promptly treated with a course of antibiotics.