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Swollen pus spotted tonsils..3rd time in 5 months..strep? mono? HPV?
I apologize if this is long and all over the place but I'm hoping someone might be able to help me out a bit.
Back in late August/early September I came down with some sort of throat "situation." It started as a slight discomfort when I swallowed on one tonsil and when I checked the mirror I saw a fairly large red blood spot/abscess? I was at work when I noticed it and over the span of an hour I started feeling worse and worse. By the time I got home I was freezing and had a bad headache (that ended up lasting over 24 hours) and a 101 fever. Went to First Med and they did a rapid strep test which was negative. The doctor wasn't sure what it was but she said due to the way my tonsils looked she put me on Augmentin without any further testing. Over the next couple of days the white spots appeared and although my throat did hurt, I've felt worse before. Just a couple days later my tonsils returned to their normal size, spots were gone and that was it.
Fast forward to last month right before Christmas it happened again only this time I got the white spots immediately and I never developed a fever and barely a sore throat. Just felt swollen more than anything. Took amoxcillin and again it cleared up in about a week. This past Friday (just one month later) here I am again with these disgusting swollen tonsils and pus spots. These are not tonsil stones, it's a soft film in spots covering certain areas of both tonsils. I've been this way since Friday and only last night I started feeling pain in my throat and under my tongue.
Went to my actual doctor today and she agreed my tonsils look pretty awful. She did a culture and sent it out to the lab to test for strep again and sent me for blood work to check for mono. She also prescribed me with Amox again for 10 days. I went today for my regular physical and she ordered other blood work (thyroid, lipid panel, full blood panel as well as epstein barr) I had eaten breakfast prior to going to the doctor so I couldnt have the blood work today since I need to fast for the lipid panel so I have to go tomorrow before work. Does anyone know if Amox would effect my blood work? Not sure if I should start it now or just wait until tomorrow morning after my blood work.
One thing I've been concerned with is exposure to an STD. I've been with my boyfriend for 2 years and he has been my only sexual partner. He was diagnosed with HPV (low risk..he had genital warts a couple years back) and because of that we still haven't had intercourse. I have been reading up on HPV ever since I found out he had it and I see so much conflicting information. It still confuses me as it seems there really are no solid answers. From what I can piece together it seems that although my boyfriend hasn't had an outbreak in about 2 years, he can still always pass the virus onto me. Also, the strain that causes genital warts is not the same strain that would cause oral warts as that one is very rare and saliva will not allow most strains of HPV that cause genital warts to thrive in the mouth/throat. We are in a long distance relationship so I don't get to see him regularly. I was always very hesitant to perform oral sex on him but almost 2 years later I did a little bit (not for any real length or duration) The first time was over the summer and about a week later is when I came down with my first bout of this tonsillitis type of infection. The next time I performed oral was last month, once again days later I had a new infection in my tonsils. This past time I performed oral on my boyfriend and once again a week later, here I am again. I told this to my doctor and she told me HPV wouldn't cause these type of symptoms especially since the antibiotics I took these last 2 times did seem to help clear up my infections quickly. She is thinking the reason it's still lingering is because I never completed the full 10 day round of antibiotics either time (bad I know..) My boyfriend told me he had every STD test run under the sun right before he and I got together and I've been his only partner since we started dating. The only thing he knew he had was HPV due to his outbreak. I will talk to him and ask him as a favor for me to just go for one more round of STD screening and I will be doing the same after this first round of blood work. To me, the infrequent performing oral sex and coming down with nasty tonsils a few days to a week later seems like a very strange coincidence, but maybe that's all it is. My doctor didnt seem to think anything of it and now all I can do is just wait to see if anything comes back as far as strep or mono. If both tests are negative then I'm not sure what else I should be looking for.
Thoughts?
Back in late August/early September I came down with some sort of throat "situation." It started as a slight discomfort when I swallowed on one tonsil and when I checked the mirror I saw a fairly large red blood spot/abscess? I was at work when I noticed it and over the span of an hour I started feeling worse and worse. By the time I got home I was freezing and had a bad headache (that ended up lasting over 24 hours) and a 101 fever. Went to First Med and they did a rapid strep test which was negative. The doctor wasn't sure what it was but she said due to the way my tonsils looked she put me on Augmentin without any further testing. Over the next couple of days the white spots appeared and although my throat did hurt, I've felt worse before. Just a couple days later my tonsils returned to their normal size, spots were gone and that was it.
Fast forward to last month right before Christmas it happened again only this time I got the white spots immediately and I never developed a fever and barely a sore throat. Just felt swollen more than anything. Took amoxcillin and again it cleared up in about a week. This past Friday (just one month later) here I am again with these disgusting swollen tonsils and pus spots. These are not tonsil stones, it's a soft film in spots covering certain areas of both tonsils. I've been this way since Friday and only last night I started feeling pain in my throat and under my tongue.
Went to my actual doctor today and she agreed my tonsils look pretty awful. She did a culture and sent it out to the lab to test for strep again and sent me for blood work to check for mono. She also prescribed me with Amox again for 10 days. I went today for my regular physical and she ordered other blood work (thyroid, lipid panel, full blood panel as well as epstein barr) I had eaten breakfast prior to going to the doctor so I couldnt have the blood work today since I need to fast for the lipid panel so I have to go tomorrow before work. Does anyone know if Amox would effect my blood work? Not sure if I should start it now or just wait until tomorrow morning after my blood work.
One thing I've been concerned with is exposure to an STD. I've been with my boyfriend for 2 years and he has been my only sexual partner. He was diagnosed with HPV (low risk..he had genital warts a couple years back) and because of that we still haven't had intercourse. I have been reading up on HPV ever since I found out he had it and I see so much conflicting information. It still confuses me as it seems there really are no solid answers. From what I can piece together it seems that although my boyfriend hasn't had an outbreak in about 2 years, he can still always pass the virus onto me. Also, the strain that causes genital warts is not the same strain that would cause oral warts as that one is very rare and saliva will not allow most strains of HPV that cause genital warts to thrive in the mouth/throat. We are in a long distance relationship so I don't get to see him regularly. I was always very hesitant to perform oral sex on him but almost 2 years later I did a little bit (not for any real length or duration) The first time was over the summer and about a week later is when I came down with my first bout of this tonsillitis type of infection. The next time I performed oral was last month, once again days later I had a new infection in my tonsils. This past time I performed oral on my boyfriend and once again a week later, here I am again. I told this to my doctor and she told me HPV wouldn't cause these type of symptoms especially since the antibiotics I took these last 2 times did seem to help clear up my infections quickly. She is thinking the reason it's still lingering is because I never completed the full 10 day round of antibiotics either time (bad I know..) My boyfriend told me he had every STD test run under the sun right before he and I got together and I've been his only partner since we started dating. The only thing he knew he had was HPV due to his outbreak. I will talk to him and ask him as a favor for me to just go for one more round of STD screening and I will be doing the same after this first round of blood work. To me, the infrequent performing oral sex and coming down with nasty tonsils a few days to a week later seems like a very strange coincidence, but maybe that's all it is. My doctor didnt seem to think anything of it and now all I can do is just wait to see if anything comes back as far as strep or mono. If both tests are negative then I'm not sure what else I should be looking for.
Thoughts?
Thank you very much for your response.
My strep test came back negative and my blood work was clear of mono/EBV. I just finished my last pill (I was prescribed 875 mg amox which I had to take twice a day for 10 days.) And here I am 2 weeks later still with pus spotted tonsils. I've been gargling with warm salt water in the mornings also which seems to help temporarily a little, but by the end of the day I see see a significant amount of pus on both tonsils. It's been 2 weeks and I haven't seen any type of improvement. My throat doesnt hurt anymore and I feel fine otherwise but the antibiotics didn't seem to clear it up at all this time. I'm not sure what else I could/should be tested for. My doctor didn't seem so sure either honestly. I would wish I could know if what I have is viral or baceterial. I doubt I would have built up a resistance to antibiotics this quickly? I'm not sure what else to do at this point. I don't have medical insurance and it's getting very costly to go back and forth to the doctor for tests.
My strep test came back negative and my blood work was clear of mono/EBV. I just finished my last pill (I was prescribed 875 mg amox which I had to take twice a day for 10 days.) And here I am 2 weeks later still with pus spotted tonsils. I've been gargling with warm salt water in the mornings also which seems to help temporarily a little, but by the end of the day I see see a significant amount of pus on both tonsils. It's been 2 weeks and I haven't seen any type of improvement. My throat doesnt hurt anymore and I feel fine otherwise but the antibiotics didn't seem to clear it up at all this time. I'm not sure what else I could/should be tested for. My doctor didn't seem so sure either honestly. I would wish I could know if what I have is viral or baceterial. I doubt I would have built up a resistance to antibiotics this quickly? I'm not sure what else to do at this point. I don't have medical insurance and it's getting very costly to go back and forth to the doctor for tests.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello,
I agree with your doctor that since the symptoms cleared up after use of antibiotics, it is more likely to be due to bacterial infection. However you can get it swabbed and biopsied to completely rule out any HPV infection.
It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.
I agree with your doctor that since the symptoms cleared up after use of antibiotics, it is more likely to be due to bacterial infection. However you can get it swabbed and biopsied to completely rule out any HPV infection.
It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.
You are reading content posted in the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Community
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STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
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