Are Antibiotics Necessary For A Sore Throat?

Posted on Mon, 29 Jun 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 29 Jun 2015 Answered on

Thu, 16 Jul 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello, i started having a very bad sore throat yesterday morning. Yesterday night i decided to take Augmentin (generic antibiotic) and i took one more this morning. I then talked to my doctor on the phone who told me that what i have is 90% a virus so i can stop taking antibiotics. I do feel a little better, but i dont know if that is due to the antibiotic working or if it is the virus getting better. I will likely see the doctor tomorrow in person.i might have had a little fever this morning, but definitively not now. What should i do? Should i continue with antibiotic?

Answered by Dr. Rajkishori Godhi (35 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
need not continue with the antibiotic

Detailed Answer:
Hi and welcome to healthcaremagic,

You can stop the antibiotic, As your doctor said, usually upper respiratory tract infections are viral in origin and we wait upto 6 days to start antibiotics.

One dose of antibiotic would not cause any significant difference , so the improvement you felt is probably not because of antibiotic.

Also do some warm salt water gargling 5 times daily, steam inhalation 4 times daily, drink plenty of warm fluids and avoid air conditioning.

Regards,
Dr Rajkishori Godhi MS ENT

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad