With plenty of winter viruses spreading in the Chicago area this holiday season, it can be tricky to tell what illness you might have. But if sore throat is one of your symptoms, there's one thing to look for that might indicate it's not strep throat.
While sore throat can be a symptom for other viruses, like COVID, it is also one of the more common symptoms of strep throat.
Taking stock of the other symptoms you're experience might help rule out strep throat, however.
According to Dr. Whitney Lyn, lead family medicine physician at Sengstacke Health Center of Provident Hospital, if you're also experiencing a cough alongside your sore throat, that might be an indicator that your illness is not strep.
"You have the fever and the sore throat, but if you have a cough, it's less likely you have strep because a majority of people who have true strep do not have a cough," Lyn told NBC Chicago.
The only real way to know, however, is to test, experts say.
Here's what to know:
Local
Most common strep symptoms
Some of the more common symptoms, according to the CDC, include:
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly> Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
- Fever
- Pain when swallowing
- Red and swollen tonsils
- Sore throat that started very quickly and may look red
- Swollen lymph nodes in the front of the neck
- Tiny, red spots on the roof of the mouth, called petechiae
- White patches or streaks of pus on the tonsils
"If you have the classic symptoms of strep, which is fever - whether it's low grade, like, you know, 100.1 or even 101 or 102, which is high grade - you do not have much of cough symptoms but you're having a lot of throat pain, you feel itchiness, you feel you're having difficulty swallowing, you feel every time you drink or eat something it causes pain in your throat ... you must always get tested. So that is classic strep," Dr. Neha Bhagi, a pediatrician at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, said.
Other symptoms of viruses spreading right now
COVID
As of now, the symptoms for COVID remain the same:
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Runny nose
- Sneezing
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Altered sense of smell
- Congestion
- Fever or chills
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
Earlier reports had centered on potential gastrointestinal symptoms related to the virus.
Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, a scientific consultant for the CDC and epidemiologist, said "gastrointestinal issues including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea" have been previously identified as possible symptoms of COVID-19.
"We do not have specific data about the incidence of GI symptoms with the current strains of the virus, but COVID-19 symptoms can certainly differ based on the variant and the individual," Jetelina told NBC Chicago in July.
Last fall, a Chicago-area doctor said she's noticed shifts in the most common symptoms her patients reported as the JN.1 variant rose to dominance.
Dr. Chantel Tinfang, a family medicine physician with Sengstacke Health Center at Provident Hospital of Cook County, noted at the time that many of the cases she saw reported less of the fever, body aches and chills, and presented more with sore throat, fatigue and coughing.
"We still see some patients experiencing decreased appetite, a loss of taste or smell. So it kind of depends," she said. "One patient was just very, very tired. Like she couldn't really do much. And that's when you know ... it's different. It's not just coughing and shortness of breath. We still see that though."
RSV
People infected with RSV usually exhibit symptoms within 4 to 6 days after getting infected, according to the CDC. The most common symptoms are:
- Runny nose
- Congestion
- Decrease in appetite
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Fever
Symptoms typically appear in stages and not all at once. The signs might be apparent in adults - but less noticeable in young infants.
While RSV typically causes a mild, cold-like illness, it can also lead to severe illness such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
Other symptoms of severe cases include the following, according to the Mayo Clinic.
- Wheezing — a high-pitched noise that's usually heard on breathing out (exhaling)
- Rapid breathing or difficulty breathing — the person may prefer to sit up rather than lie down
- Bluish color of the skin due to lack of oxygen
Flu
Flu can cause mild to severe illness, and could potentially lead to death, according to the CDC.
"Flu symptoms usually come on suddenly," the CDC notes.
Some of the most common symptoms include:
- fever or feeling feverish/chills
- cough
- sore throat
- runny or stuffy nose
- muscle or body aches
- headaches
- fatigue (tiredness)
- some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults
Norovirus
Along with vomiting and diarrhea, the most common symptoms include nausea, stomach pain, body ache, headache and fever.
But one other thing to watch for if you suspect you have norovirus is dehydration.
"If you have norovirus illness, you can feel extremely ill, and vomit or have diarrhea many times a day. This can lead to dehydration (loss of body fluids), especially in young children, older adults, and people with other illnesses," the CDC noted.
Symptoms of dehydration include:
- Decreased urination
- Dry mouth and throat
- Feeling dizzy when standing up
- Crying with few or no tears
- Unusual sleepiness or fussiness
