Treatment Options: Non-Surgical

Non-surgical care of a sore throat involves treatment of pain, dehydration, or difficulty breathing and frequently involves airway problems with croup or epiglottis.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections and are not helpful when a virus causes a sore throat. Occasionally it is difficult to determine whether the cause is viral or bacterial, so antibiotics may be prescribed as a precaution. Antibiotics speed the healing of a strep throat by an average of only 1.5 days. Antibiotics are helpful in preventing rheumatic fever (an uncommon but severe complication of a strep infection, which may cause severe inflammation of the heart muscle and heart valves).

Corticosteroids

Corticosteroids can be helpful in the treatment of a few select types of sore throats. Although they impair immune function, their anti-inflammatory effect can be very useful. They are generally used in cases of severe tonsillitis or in cases of croup.