Discussions

Ok. So found out I have strep throat after being sick all weekend. Now I'm wondering when the heck I can expect to feel better. My appetite is starting to come back but the problem is it's like swallowing shards of glass when I swallow! I can't eat anything acidic or salty as that makes the pain worse. When did you start feeling better and how did you manage the pain until you did. I'm alternating Advil and Tylenol and am on antibiotics but how many days did it take of doing that before you could swallow again? I don't even know how I got it. I work with kids but as far as I know none of them have it!! Ugh!

Most people start to feel better after 48hrs on antibiotics, but occasionally it takes longer. There are no Penicillin-resistant strains of Strep throat, so the antibiotics will work eventually. I had it a number of years ago, and it was day 6 before I started to feel better! Keep alternating max doses of Tylenol and Advil - I have heard of people crushing the Tylenol and gargling with it before swallowing it, for better pain relief.

I get tonsillitis on a regular basis and have had strep in the past. Besides gargling with warm salt water I use the chlorophyll spray for pain management. You can buy it anywhere. Make sure to follow the directions exactly though, accidently swallowing it isn't pleasant lol.

with warm salt water as often as you can? Helps me.

I have it this week, too, for the first time in my life. It does hurt to swallow!  
 
I got antibiotics Monday morning and late this morning is the first time that it doesn't hurt to swallow. Over the past 48 hours, it helped to take a warm shower where the steam relaxed my neck. It also helped to place a hot water bottle (in a pillowcase) on my throat at night or when I was resting. I made myself drink warm-hot tea, chicken broth, or soup, and that really helped ease the pain even though the first few swallows hurt. It seemed to irritate my throat and pain more to talk a bunch. I took Tylenol, too.  
 
Hope you feel better soon and get some rest!

Last year had a stint with mono...which they had originally thought to be strep but after blood test it came back as mono. Both just terrible to have.  
 
my advice is to sleep a lot, get your rest. start small with things like apple sauce and flat ginger ale....and yes the salt water too as someone mentioned previously....disgusting! but will do the trick.  
 
after a couple of days you will get you appetite back and id say start out with toast or something.  
 
hope you feel better