Colds or flu are not prevented by or treated with antibiotics ... .
Strep throat is another infection that occurs in the winter and it is a bacterial infection.
It can be effectively treated with penicillin primarily and other antibiotics if a person is allergic to penicillin.
Strep throat’s most common in children. The main symptoms are ... severe sore throat, ‘severe’ meaning having trouble swallowing and having a lot of redness and mucous discharge in the back of the throat. Often in can be associated with fever and swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck.
Strep throat will usually resolve on its own, but it can improve more quickly by treating with penicillin, and by treating with penicillin you can also prevent a severe though uncommon consequence called ‘rheumatic fever’.
William Marshall M.D.
Mayo Clinic
Physician
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