Q: I am a 26 years old man having a sore throat for the last 3 months. I had tonsillitis first and took antibiotics for the same. But the pain persisted so I did a throat swab. My first throat swab was negative for strep. I was put on Combiflam and Pantocid but the pain still persisted. My second throat swab showed group-A beta-haemolytic streptococci. The doctor prescribed Amoxycillin and potassium clavulanate twice daily. I have been taking these medicines for the last 4 days but still there is pain and now I have mild fever too. Please advise.

A:You have sore throat persisting for 3 months. There can be various reasons for pain in the throat. Since you have fever with pain this indicates that there is some infection either viral or bacterial. Throat swab test give us some idea but cannot be relied on totally as some of the pathogens can also exist as normal commensals in the throat. Pain due to tonsillar infection is more on the sides of the throat and inadequate and incomplete antibiotics may make the problem chronic. Generalised pharyngitis causes pain in the centre, which can also be due to postnasal drip due to cold and sinusitis. You need to see ENT doctor and may need to take antibiotics (in bacterial infection) for some time beyond clinical recovery.