strep throat with cough and congestion?

[phoenixgirl]

Wah, I''m waiting for the on-call doctor to call back to get my prescription, but I don''t think my symptoms really add up . . .

Last Sunday/Monday I woke up with a really bad sore throat. I thought I was just getting the cold my husband had had for a week, so I went into work. Then I got chills and had a low grade fever, so I thought I was getting the flu.

I stayed home Tuesday and went to see the doctor. The in-house strep test was negative, but she said someone else had had strep C and they could only test for A and B, so she''d send away for the other test. She also thought it could possibly be mono.

I stayed home from work for two days, by which point I had definitely eliminated the flu, so I thought I just had a nasty version of my husband''s cold. I went back in on Thursday, seemed ok, then lost my voice Friday.

I thought I just lost my voice because I''m a teacher and I talk a lot and loudly. I was surprised when my voice didn''t return by the end of the weekend.

So now I''ve spent two more miserable days at work. I''m coughing up all sorts of phlegm and am very congested. I still have no voice.

Then I checked my voicemail and had a message from the doctor saying I do have strep. They can''t tell what kind, but the test was positive, and I should get treatment.

So I was a little frustrated to have gone to the doctor one week ago today and to only just now find out I''ve been highly contagious the whole time.

But what I don''t get is the cough and congestion. The descriptions of strep I''ve found online all stress "absence of cough." Well, I have one. And lots of snot. And my throat really only hurts when I have a bad coughing fit. It doesn''t seem to be hurting on its own.

Is this just because I have some mutant only-diagnosable-in-far-away-lab strep? Or could I have a bacterial infection (strep) and a viral infection (like my husband''s cold) at the same time?

I''m just really frustrated. It''s the week before exams and the end of the semester, and I just don''t feel like I can stay home from work. And even if I did, I''d just sit around being just about as miserable as I would be at work anyway.

 

[Ellen]

pgirl, the 3 years my son was at a certain school years ago, he got strep more than once every year. (I now know someone or some thing was carryoing the germs, as he''s not had it since he left that school) But anyway, he always had a cough and a head/chest full of stuff with it.

 

[phoenixgirl]

OK, thanks!

DH is going out to get the antibiotics now . . .

 

[Ellen]

Welcome, and hope you get to feeling better soon!

 

[HollyS]

I feel your pain! Just got over the hands-down nastiest flu I''ve ever had; still coughing and wheezing!

DH was really kinda scared; he''s never seen me that sick. I told him I''d NEVER been that sick! Came down with it on a Saturday night, and didn''t go back to work until the next Wednesday.

I had just told someone the week before that I hadn''t even had the flu in maybe 20+ years! Forgot to knock on wood as I said that.

 

[VegasAngel]

Hope you feel better soon.

I just got over strep throat & pinkeye. I didnt have a cough but I did have a fever, congestion with a disgusting amount of phlegm, & white spots on my tonsils. I was given amoxicillin & started feeling better about 3 days later.

 

[dani13]

Hi Phoenix!

Sorry to hear you are sick. Sounds like you have a litttle of this, and a little of that....YUCK!!!! Take you antibiotics, stay hydrated, and get plenty of rest.
Tis the season!!!!

Feel better soon, sweetie!!!

 

[Kaleigh]

My son has Strep and the flu, poor guy. He''s away at school and is on antibiotics and Tammaflu (SP?). I hope you feel better soon, so not fun!!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Reason has prevailed and I''m staying home tomorrow.

Do I feel crappier than I felt all those other days when I went to work? No, but now I know that I am contagious until I''ve been on antibiotics for 24 hours, so now it''s a moral issue. And I really could use a day of rest. Plus, by taking off tomorrow instead of later in the week, I''ll still be around to help my students the period before their midterm.

 

[Kaleigh]

My son is in quarantine in the infirmary, so he doesn''t infect others. How long before you''re no longer contagious, it''s been 2 days now.
Last thing I''d want is for it to spread.

 

[moremoremore]

I just got ...well, am getting over....what you have. It KNOCKED ME FLAT! I don''t remember being sicker....It has been 8 days and I''m still caughing and with energy at 60%. Hang in there.

 

[icekid]

Phoenix- you are quite right. Strep pharyngitis does NOT cause stuffy nose/congestion/cough. If you have those symptoms (viral) and are growing strep from your throat culture, my guess would be that you might have both a viral infection and and bacterial infection at the same time. Did the start of the sore throat coincide with the congestion symptoms? For me, I generally would not even order a throat swab on a patient that concurrently had URI symptoms, unless their throat was pretty nasty looking.

Hope you get to feeling better soon!

 

[phoenixgirl]

No, when I went to the doctor I did not have congestion or a cough. I had a sore throat, a mild fever, and body aches.

About two days later is when I got the congestion and cough, which is why I then assumed I''d just had a cold all along.