Question for doctors: flu or strep throat?

[jimmyjazz]

My wife got sick pretty suddenly Wednesday evening. She started to feel achy, and soon she was cycling through periods of feeling feverish and then chilled. Periodically, she would sweat a lot, and then she developed a bad sore throat. Sometimes she feels nauseous, but she hasn't thrown up. From what I can see, it doesn't seem like her throat looks all that red or swollen, and we can't find any swollen lymph nodes in her neck. This morning, her temperature was 101.1 F, roughly 5 hours after a dose of TheraFlu.

These symptoms haven't really lessened much since then, except that she seems a little less achy. I've done some digging around, and it seems like it's more likely to be flu than strep throat, but I'm certainly no doctor. Is it more likely to be one or the other, or even something else?

At what point should I take her to the ER or a minor emergency clinic this weekend? Is 2.5 days too soon to expect things to have gotten better?

 

[CleverNickname]

fever less than 102 may mean just a bad cold. Its been going around. But so has a flu (one that this years flu shot didn't cover) and strep. If she got sick Weds and is still not better, it may be doctor time. Strep left too long can be dangerous.

 

[jimmyjazz]

She didn't get the flu vaccine (I did), so the unprotected flu strain isn't really relevant.

I found a CVS pharmacy that has a nurse practitioner who will do a strep test, so I'm taking her there now. I also made an appointment for tomorrow morning at the Austin Regional Clinic's Urgent Care facility.

Thanks for the advice . . .

 

[jimmyjazz]

Turns out to most likely be an upper respiratory infection. The NP said my wife's throat didn't look like strep and her lack of a strong persistent cough and high fever tended to rule out flu.