What should you know about complications from strep throat?

Strep throat is a bacterial infection of the throat. Infection can spread to nearby tissues, including the tonsils, middle ear, or sinuses. A pocket of infection beside a tonsil may cause severe one-sided pain, a muffled voice, drooling, or difficulty opening the mouth.

After the throat infection, the immune response can sometimes inflame the kidneys, joints, or heart. Fever, sore throat, and swollen glands may occur with the original illness, but they do not show whether a complication is present. New dark urine, swelling, painful joints, chest discomfort, or breathlessness needs assessment.

Take prescribed antibiotics as directed and do not share them or save leftovers. Rest, drink fluids, and use suitable pain or fever relief according to clinical advice. Replace toothbrushes or follow local infection-control advice only when your clinician recommends it; household members with symptoms should seek their own assessment.

Contact a GP if symptoms do not improve, return after treatment, or become harder to manage. Bring a list of medicines and allergies, because these can affect antibiotic choices and pain-relief options.

Get urgent help for difficulty breathing or swallowing, drooling, inability to drink, severe one-sided throat pain, a rapidly enlarging neck swelling, confusion, or collapse. Prompt review is also needed for persistent fever, reduced urine, blood in urine, new joint swelling, chest pain, or breathlessness after the throat infection.

Ask whether testing is needed, how to take the antibiotic, when improvement should begin, and which symptoms could indicate a tonsil abscess or a post-infection complication. Ask whether follow-up is needed for urine changes, joint symptoms, or heart-related symptoms.