Strep throat : how long will it take to go away?

[Ksommerville]

My boyfriend went to the doctor two days ago on Friday when he felt like he had strep throat. A coworker of his went to work with strep throat and went untreated, and exposed all of his other co workers to it, and luckily for my boyfriend, he was the one who got it. Anyways he is mildly allergic to lactose and on Wednesday he had a big bowl or cereal in the morning. The following day, Thursday he felt congested and had felt his throat was swollen and sore. So we really didn't think much of it. Friday morning he wakes up with worsening symptoms and now unable to speak because of the immense pain. We take him to the doctor and he immediately diagnosed him with strep and prescribed amoxicillin, plenty of Gatorade mixed with water and water by itself. He has been taking the antibiotic for three days now, and his symptoms have barely gotten better. His swelling hasn't gone down one bit and he can barely even swallow his own saliva. What can we do to help him get better quicker?

He was taking ibuprofen and the antibiotic and still hasn't felt any different from Friday. How long does it take for him to get better? What can we do to help ease the pain and get him to recover quicker? He has already missed four days of work because of this.

Can you help us?

[Caryopteris]

Did they do a throat culture before giving the antibiotic?

I would call today if he still can't swallow his saliva this many days out.  Usually antibiotics turn symptoms of strep around much more quickly than this for me.  

[Ksommerville]

He only has two more days of antibiotic left, so I told him if he doesn't start feeling better by his last dose were going to go back to the doctor. Is that a wise choice? I don't want to do anything that's going to jeopardize his health.

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hi, it will take time for complete resolution of the infection, it may take about a week to ten days. He will have to continue his medications. In addition he can do warm salt water gargles and steam inhalations. However, if his symptoms are worsening with the antibiotic then the infecting organism may not be susceptible to the antibiotic. He will need to consult your doctor who may need to do a sputum culture and sensitivity to determine what antibiotic the organism is susceptible to. Regards.