Could it be strep AGAIN? Tonsil and ear pain?

[overit4now]

I have swollen tonsils with white patches on them, swollen lymph nodes in my neck and left ear hurts when I swollow. I that kind of achy I'm sort of sick yuck feeling. Some sinus pressure but very little mucous. No fever. I just got over step about a month and half ago. The white patches have me worried could it really be this again. My 3 kids are getting over a nasty upper respitory infection with very high 104+ fevers and ear infections. They are all on antibiotics now. I have something going on and need to figure out how to best treat myself ASAP. How do I know if I just have a virus or strep? I have spent a FURTUNE in doctors bills this and the past few months and would love to avoid another trip to the doctor and don't want more antibiotics. I have had 3 rounds of antibiotics for bronchitis, and strep in the past 5 months.

I would totally ride this out and not worry so much but I have several medical tests/ procedures scheduled for out of town to diagnose some esophageal issues I have been experiencing. If I get a fever, I will need to reschedule and it has taken me MONTHS to get to this point. Between scheduling 5 tests and precedures over 3 days and figuring out childcare, it has been like coordinating a military operation. I want to see if I can quickly pull out of this before Monday so I won't have to cancel. In the meantime, I have been taking Zicam every 3 hrs for the past 36 hrs and now vitamin C 1000mg 2x day for the past 24 hrs, gargled with lime & salt water, going to put garlic oil in my ear, have been using warm compress and massage on ear to promote drainage. I am on a low acid/ liquid and pureed food diet so eating bunch of garlic won't work and OJ is out of the question. Any help of advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

It could most probably be tonsillitis and a throat infection. Throat pain, difficulty swallowing, fever, scratchiness in the throat, post nasal drip, malaise and loss of appetite are symptoms of tonsillitis. It can be caused by bacteria like streptococcus or it could be a viral infection. Bacterial infections need antibiotics. The antibiotic of choice for a streptococcal infection is penicillin. Also OTC anti-inflammatory medications may help reduce congestion.

White patches are common in many throat  infections. The sore throat and tonsillitis may have contributed to it. In response to the infection the body produces soft white debris which collects in the tiny indentations in the tonsils called crypts. Repeated salt water gargles will help.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.

[overit4now]

If any one is interested. Here's what happened. Garlic oil helped my ear a lot, but I think it was hurting from pressure from my left tonsil which was HUGE. Thursday evening both tonsils were swollen and had big white spots all over them the rest of my throat and mouth was red. The only time my throat ever looked this bad was when I had Mono. I kept up with the Vit C at 3 doses of 1000mg and kept with the Zicam every 4hrs or so for 3 days until I ran out. I found a ton of home remedies at earthclinic.com. I started with gargling Exra Virgin Coconut Oil (happened to have it on hand) and just letting it pool in my throat around my tonsil area as long as I could stand it (5-10min). This immediately soothed the pain. I did this a couple times this first night and first thing in the morning. The restult was less spots and considerable decrease in pain and inflammation. I have continued with this treatment 3x a day along with sipping about 1T of the Coconut Oil in Chammomile Tea with a bunch of honey and fresh sliced ginger 2x day. On day 2 I also felt a bit of sinus pressure developing so It hit it hard with Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) & garlic. I made green tea and added 3T of ACV and honey. For lunch I had chick stock to which I added 3T ACV, 1/2tsp cayanne, 1-2 cloves of sliced RAW garlic and 1/2 tsp tumeric. A little tough to drink down but cleared me up. Did similar for dinner. ACV &/ or cayanne did bother my reflux some but worth the bother since it's always a problem anyway. So I'm on day 4 my tonsils are still a bit inflamed but the reddness is decreased and almost no white patches. There is barely a hit of sinus pressure but no congestion. I never did get any cough or nasty fever like my kids. In summary, I am not sure if all of this worked but I feel like it has helped. While I could not stop the virus invasion I slowed it down and am beating it into submission. It could have been much worse. Now for the nasty tests. Good Times!