what helps a sore throat, and how are u supposed to know if it requires antibiotics or not?

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Answers:
First thing to check for - sinus issues. You can pretty much check for this yourself. Stand on a hard floor, for example your kitchen floor. Raise up on your tiptoes and drop back hard onto your heels. Did you feel pain beside your nose? Then your sore throat may be due to sinus drainage. Sinus drainage sore throat can require antibiotics, but you will need to go to a doctor to see about that. He/she will probably do the heel test again, then tap on your face and see where it hurts (to track which set of sinuses are the problem), then have a look or do a culture.

If no pain from the sinus test, then your sore throat may be due to a viral infection - aka a cold - which antibiotics do nothing for. Do look in the mirror with a flashlight (or get a friend/relative to do it for you) and say ah - if you see white or yellowish spots, you need to go for a culture ASAP. Otherwise, generally you can do watchful waiting, drinking lots & lots of fluids, especially warm non-caffeinated, non-dairy beverages (chamomile or ginger teas always seem to help me, my voice teacher swore by "Lemon Zinger" tea with lemon juice thrown in) for about a week. Avoid singing if possible, though humming is usually okay, and try not to strain your voice by extended phone conversations, talking in the car, shouting, that sort of thing. If your soreness does not improve, go see a doctor as it could be something else, they can do a culture swab to see if you have some type of bacterial or yeast infection

Other Answers:
salt water

or try robitussin

wash mouth out with warm salt water. don't swallow it.. and if their are white spots on the back of your throat, go see a doctor...

try gargling warm salt water for a minute or so and you need antibiotics if it doesn't clear up in a few days or if you have pus bags on the back of your throat.

Ever since I was a little girl my mom always told me to gargle salt water.

you can try ibuprofen or tylenol...salt water gargling or warm liquids to soothe the pain.

if you have a fever or develop a fever, it's worth it to head to the doctor. That doesn't mean you'll need antibiotics as it could still be viral, but the doc can do a strep test to rule that out.

gargle with warm salt water.
dont swallow it

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what helps a sore throat, and how are u supposed to know if it requires antibiotics or not?

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