When To See A Doctor For That Sore Throat
A teen actress from the show Gossip Girl was hospitalized earlier this week with a “severe, potentially life-threatening throat infection.” Taylor Momsen, a 15-year-old actress from the popular show, thought she had a sore throat from a common cold, but was encouraged to see an ears, nose, and throat doctor before boarding a plane. Good thing she did because it wasn’t the common cold. It was a serious bacterial infection.
She has been put on aggressive antibiotics and is expected to make a full recovery. In fact she was expected to be back on the set for filming by today.
Taylor’s illness makes us more aware of the potential dangers of a sore throat. A sore throat can be something as minor as the common cold or something as serious as a “severe, life-threatening throat infection.” So how do you know which is which?
Take your teen to see a doctor if he/she has:
- white or red patches in the back of her throat (use a flashlight to look),
- red, enlarged tonsils,
- trouble swallowing while eating or drinking,
- trouble breathing or if she is wheezing,
- tender, swollen glands on the sides of his neck,
- a headache,
- a fever,
- a rash,
- abdominal pain
- fatigue, or
- sore muscles.
Any of those additional symptoms could be the sign of a more serious illness such as strep throat, laryngitis, tonsillitis, mono or more. Also see the doctor if symptoms get worse after three or so days and lasts more than a week. Don’t just blow it off as the common cold. To be on the safe side see the doctor.
Source: US Magazine and Kids Health.
I know what you mean. Sore throats can seem simple, but be pretty severe.
A couple of weeks ago I started feeling a bit sick, with a sore throat. Eventually, it progressed into tonsillitis. Turns out I had mono.
If you let strep go long enough, it can progress to Scarlet Fever. That can lead to future heart and kidney problems. So not worth it.
Here’s a fun list from the Mayo Clinic:
* Tonsillitis or a collection of pus around the tonsils caused by infection (peritonsillar abscess)
* Sinus infection (sinusitis)
* Ear infection
* Scarlet fever, an illness characterized by a rash
* Inflammation of the kidney (poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis)
* Rheumatic fever
Good post. With all the drug-resistent strains of bacteria out there, you never know what’s brewing inside. Better safe than sorry.
Good info, Christine. With all the bacterial resistence to medications these days, you can’t be too sure and take many chances. Be safe, not sorry.
Yikes, sorry about that double comment. I didn’t think my first take went through, so I doubled up. My bad.