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A single swallow feels as though a thousand tiny daggers are stabbing the inside of your neck. No doubt you have a sore throat. But is it strep?

While the most common cause of a sore throat is a virus — including the viruses that cause the common cold and flu — other triggers, including allergies, postnasal drip and environmental

irritants can cause the throat to be sore. So can a bacteria group known as A Streptococcus, or group A strep, which is to blame for strep throat, a highly contagious illness that is most

common in the winter and spring seasons.

“There isn't any single symptom that you hang your hat on to rule in or rule out strep,” says John Mafi, M.D., a primary care physician and associate professor of medicine in the Division of

General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research at University of California, Los Angeles.

Rather, it’s a combination of symptoms that can help you spot strep throat; but just know that a simple swab of the throat at the doctor’s office is the only way to confirm it.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people who have strep also tend to experience:

tonsilsA sore throat that started quickly and may appear red

Also common with strep throat is tender and swollen lymph nodes, says Viviana S. Martinez-Bianchi, M.D., a family medicine physician at Duke Health. And some people, especially kids and

teenagers, will get “a little rash that is red and feels like sandpaper,” she says. When strep throat is accompanied by a rash, which often starts on the neck, underarm and groin before

spreading over the body, it's referred to as scarlet fever. Sometimes people with strep can get a headache or experience nausea or vomiting.  

On the other hand, a cough, runny nose, pink eye and a raspy or hoarse voice are all signs that your sore throat stems from a viral infection and is not strep, the CDC says. “When we start

seeing all of those other symptoms, we're thinking it's more likely to be a virus than bacteria,” Martinez-Bianchi says.