Worst sore throat I've ever had

[Cotswoldlife90]

A week ago woke up with a bit of a sore throat on my left side. No other symptoms. Gradually gotten worse over the course of the week. Today couldn't swallow breakfast so went to see the GP who took a swab for strep throat as he could potentially see a whiteish patch (won't get the results till Monday) and put me on a course of antibiotics. Well 10 hours later having taken 3 out of 4 of the daily dose the pain is excruciating. I can barely talk, can't eat and have to really concentrate to swallow as it hurts so much. Have just taken some paracetamol. Have never had strep throat so don't know how it could feel but this is horrendous !!! I've typically read online and scared myself reading about abcesses on tonsils. Can anyone give me hope that it will get better!?

I have a low immune system and have had a few bad throat infections. Antibiotics take a couple of days to really kick in. For now take painkillers and have warm salt rinses.

wish they hadn’t discontinued tyrozetes as they were great for this.

Take ibuprofen as well as Paracetomol.

Get yourself some diflam spray. Could the GP see anything else? Serious infections are usually quite obvious

Hi - it could be thrush. You may need nystatin.

If it hasn’t cleared in 2 weeks go back to the GP and ask for an ENT referral.

Soluble paracetamol is much more effective, Warm squash & diflam spray

Is your uvula still central, or has it moved to one side?

He said to contact him if it gets worse and if i get a fever and will extend the course of antibiotics to 10 days if the swab is positive for strep.

Very unlikely it’s thrush, this would have been easily diagnosed by GP and tends to be more white cottage cheese type stuff on tongue.

Have stocked up on paracetamol and ibuprofen. Know antibiotics need time to kick on but I'm shocked at how crap I feel all of a sudden !

Difflam as others have suggested is also good. Hope you feel better soon.

Ive got ultra chloraseptic throat spray , will that do till I can get the difflam spray ?

Best for sore throat is gargling on soluble aspirin.
Have you done a Covid test?
Worst sore throats I ever had were at the start of Covid each time

Look up symptoms for Quinsy - I would want that ruled out.

I’d think about going back to be seen at OOH or minor injuries if you have access to one. It’s probably just a bad tonsillitis, but if you really can’t swallow there is a small chance of either quinsy or epiglottitis so still worth having it checked again. Could also need a different antibiotic. Hope you feel better soon, OP.

I just came on to say the worst ever sore throat I’ve had was due to covid. I couldn’t even swallow water for about a week. Nothing helped till the test was negative.

Savoretti is absolutely right, unless you are pregnant, under 16 or have any bleeding disorders, GARGLE WITH ASPIRIN! NB, Don't take ibuprofen with the soluble aspirin, it's eithor/or, but you can take Paracetamol with it.
Gargle slowly so the granules deposit on your throat, then swallow. Obviously avoid drinking anything immediately after. It's magic for sore throats. Keep up with both for a couple of days. Just eat what you can tolerate.
I also agree with Orangemintcream, if any drooling, get a 2nd opinion for Quinsey.

Poor old you x

OP has only just started her antibiotics. Minor injuries would just send her home and tell her to keep taking them rather than trying another kind.

It will soothe and numb but Difflam has antiseptic properties.

A week is a long time for a sore throat. I had a bad one but after 2/3 days it changed to a head cold. I dosed up on vits C & D and took it easy.

I had the worst sore throat I’ve ever had at Christmas, I normally swear by difflam spray but didn’t touch my throat then! Soluable aspirin as others have said did give me some relief until the antibiotics kicked in. Can anyone go out and get you some tonight so you can try and sleep?
I hope you feel better soon x

I always keep Difflam in medicine cupboard!💯👍

Agree, unlikely to be thrush if you are otherwise well.

The worse sore throat i ever had turned out to be glandular fever, my tonsils were so swollen they were almost touching i was ill for weeks, although barely remember it as I slept around 18 hours a day and was having hallucinations too. Fun times

I find that gargling with Peroxyl mouthwash helps with a sore throat. I've had strep throat before and it was hellish, it took a good 3 or 4 days for the antibiotics to have any effect so keep taking them and hang in there.

They will however be able to look for visual signs of either quinsy or epiglottitis which, though rare, the OP can’t easily check for herself.

@Cotswoldlife90 This sounds like quinsy to me -suggest you ring for an out of hours appointment as it can become very serious very quickly. Have had it twice and the second time it took me three appointments to get it diagnosed. GP sent me straight to ENT to get it drained, spent two nights in hospital. One key sign is can you still open your mouth...as wide?