ear, nose, and throat disorders
Throat Infection
Diagnosis of Throat Infection
A doctor's evaluation Sometimes tests to check for strep throat Doctors recognize a throat infection by viewing the throat. However, because viral infections and bacterial infections often cause the same appearance in the throat, it is difficult for doctors to know whether the cause is a viral or bacterial infection just by looking at the throat. However, people with a runny nose and cough are more likely to have a viral infection. Because it is often considered important to identify Streptococcal Infections (which is generally treated with antibiotics), doctors sometimes swab the person's throat and do tests to identify streptococcus bacteria. Typically, doctors test most children but test adults only if they meet certain criteria, such as having white patches on the tonsils (tonsillar exudates), swollen and tender lymph nodes in the neck, fever, and an absence of cough. However, not all experts agree on when testing should be done or even when antibiotics should be given. 