Strep? Tonsilitis?

[abrunk]

I've had a cough and sore throat for about 2 days now but all of a sudden the sore throat became so bad that I lost my voice, I'm having trouble swallowing, low fever (101.1), achy, chills, loss of appetite, runny nose, swollen tonsils, white spots of the tonsils, and grey-ish tongue (tried brushing my tongue for awhile and it doesn't change colors). I get strep often and I have antibiotics on hand but after I looked at my tonsils in the mirror with a flashlight it looks nothing like the strep I've had before. I just need to know if I need to go to urgent care (my insurance is only accepted at 1 in my town and theres always a 3-4 hour wait) or if I can use the antibiotics I have on hand, gargle warm water, etc. Thank you!

[Ekkiemom]

You might have pharyngitis. Get to the ER
wishing you a speedy recovery
D

[TheLightSeeker]

Hi abrunk.

Sorry about all your suffering.
1. The color of your tongue, indicates possible long term digestive and G/I
issues, perhaps from a fungal infection like candida, which causes tongue discoloration to whitish-grey, due to excessive hydrogen sulfide production.
2. Left-over antibiotics are not to be used again.
There are reasons for this.
Different antibiotics are prescribed for different infections and according to
the patients symptom presentation each time.
Your infection, may be viral, where antibiotics are ineffective.
Antibiotics are to be taken for the entire suggested course of treatment and not until the patient feels better.
If the doctor's instructions are followed, there should be no antibiotics left-over.
3. You should visit the urgent care clinic which accepts your insurance
and endure the 3-4 hour wait, if you feel your symptoms are severe enough and not subsiding.
4. Not knowing the exact nature of the infection, I cannot recommend any remedies, other than perhaps herbal tea like echinacea & golden seal
(together) and coconut oil pulling. Just look it up.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes.
Niko