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Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Yes, usually. A sore throat is assessed by video with a look at the throat on camera; antibiotics are prescribed only when the signs point to a bacterial cause, and severe one-sided pain, drooling or a muffled voice needs emergency care.
- What it is: pain or irritation of the throat, viral in about 8 in 10 adult cases; group A strep accounts for roughly 1 in 10 adult sore throats and up to 1 in 3 in children.
- Strep signs: fever in the last day, pus or white spots on the tonsils, rapid onset, tender neck glands and no cough make a strep infection more likely; a runny nose and cough point to a virus.
- How long: most viral sore throats settle within 3 to 7 days; one lasting more than 3 weeks, especially with one-sided pain or lasting hoarseness, needs an in-person examination.
- What helps: paracetamol or ibuprofen, warm or cold drinks, honey, lozenges and salt-water gargles; antibiotics shorten a strep sore throat by about a day and mainly reduce complications and spread.
- Emergency: if you are struggling to breathe, drooling, or making a high-pitched noise when breathing in, call 112 immediately.
Do not book a video appointment if you cannot swallow your own saliva or are drooling, if your voice has become muffled, if you cannot open your mouth fully, if breathing is difficult, or if pain is severe on one side of your throat. These can signal an abscess or airway problem and need emergency in-person assessment. Call 112 if breathing is affected.
Can an online doctor treat a sore throat?
Yes. On Mobi Doctor, a licensed doctor can assess a sore throat by video: the doctor looks at your throat on camera, weighs the signs that separate viral infection from strep, and prescribes antibiotics only when the assessment genuinely points to bacterial infection.[1] Severe swallowing difficulty, drooling or one-sided pain needs emergency in-person care instead.
Sore throat is a good fit for video because the decision that matters, self-care or antibiotics, rests on symptom criteria plus a look at the throat, both of which work on camera. The honest limits: no swab, no hands-on examination. When those are needed, the doctor says so and points you to the right place.
Listen: How To Get Rid Of A Sore Throat
The audio version of this topic from the Mobi Doctor podcast. Open the episode.
How an online consultation helps with a sore throat
- A proper look at your throat: in good light, with your tongue down, the camera shows the doctor redness, white spots, swelling and whether one side looks worse than the other. It is a visual check, a camera cannot replace a swab or physical examination, and the doctor will say so plainly if they need more.
- Viral or strep, worked out properly: doctors do not guess; they weigh a specific set of symptoms (below) that make a strep infection more or less likely, and explain where you land.[1]
- Antibiotics only when they will help: most sore throats are viral, and antibiotics do nothing for viruses. Where the criteria for a likely bacterial infection are met, a prescription can go to a local pharmacy.[2]
- Relief you can start at home: which painkiller pattern, lozenges and fluids genuinely ease swallowing, tailored to what you can safely take, plus a fixed re-check point if you are not improving within three to five days.
What the doctor checks in an online sore throat consultation
A sore throat consultation combines a look at your throat with a symptom score. In a sore throat consultation the doctor will typically check:
- The throat itself on camera: redness, white spots or pus on the tonsils, swelling, and whether one side looks worse than the other.
- Fever: whether you have had one in the past day, and how high.
- Cough and cold symptoms: their presence points towards a virus, their absence towards strep.[1]
- Speed of onset: strep tends to make you feel ill quickly, within about three days of starting.
- Neck glands: the doctor may coach you to press gently under the jaw and describe whether they are tender and swollen, a surprisingly useful proxy examination.
- How you are swallowing: whether you can manage fluids, and whether pain is severe on one side, which is a quinsy flag.
- Any rash: a fine, sandpaper-textured rash with a sore throat raises scarlet fever.
- Background: duration and recurrences, your regular medicines, any penicillin allergy, and pregnancy status.
Viral sore throat or strep throat?
Most sore throats are viral: they arrive with a cough, runny nose or hoarseness and settle within about a week. A strep (bacterial) throat is more likely with fever, pus on the tonsils, rapid onset, badly inflamed tonsils and no cough. Doctors count these features to decide whether antibiotics are worthwhile.[1]
Signs that point to a virus
If your sore throat arrived alongside a cough, a runny or blocked nose, sneezing or a hoarse voice, and built up gradually as part of feeling cold-ish, it is very likely viral. This is the majority of adult sore throats. Expect it to settle within about a week with self-care; antibiotics would add side effects and change nothing.
Signs that point to strep
Doctors look for a cluster: a fever in the past day, pus or white spots on the tonsils, feeling ill quickly (within about three days of it starting), badly inflamed tonsils, and, importantly, no cough or runny nose. The more of these you have, the more likely a strep infection and the more useful antibiotics become. Strep is more common in children than adults, and even confirmed strep often clears by itself; the doctor's job is to judge when treatment genuinely shortens the illness. In some EU countries pharmacies offer rapid strep tests, and the doctor can tell you whether one is worth doing where you live.
Viral or strep: symptoms at a glance
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Feature | Points to viral | Points to strep |
|---|---|---|
| How it starts | Gradually, with a cold | Fast, ill within about three days |
| Cough and runny nose | Usually present | Typically absent |
| Fever | Mild or none | Often high, within the last day |
| Tonsils | Red, little or no coating | Very inflamed, white spots or pus |
| Neck glands | Slightly tender | Swollen and clearly tender |
| What helps | Self-care | Self-care, plus antibiotics where criteria are met |
Is my sore throat suitable for online care?
Most sore throats are safe to assess online; a small number need in-person care instead. The table below shows how doctors sort them into self-care, an antibiotic where criteria are met, and referral.
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Sore throat presentation | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When referral or in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viral sore throat with cold symptoms | Self-care: regular painkillers and fluids | Usually yes | If not clearly improving after about a week |
| Likely strep (fever, pus on tonsils, tender glands, no cough) | Assess criteria; antibiotic where they are met[1] | Usually yes | Penicillin allergy needing an alternative, or no response to treatment |
| Sore throat over three weeks, one-sided, or a hoarse voice that will not recover | In-person examination of the throat | No | Firm referral to rule out rarer causes, especially in smokers |
| Severe one-sided pain, drooling, muffled voice, trouble opening the mouth | Emergency care (possible quinsy) | No | Same-day emergency assessment; call 112 if breathing is affected |
| Sore throat with a widespread rash and fever | Prompt medical review | Sometimes, for triage | Possible scarlet fever or systemic illness needing prompt in-person review |
Not sure if yours is viral or strep? A doctor can tell you in one consultation.
See available times →How long does a sore throat last?
Most sore throats last three to seven days and are clearly improving within a week, whether viral or strep.[5] Antibiotics, where criteria for a bacterial infection are met, shorten the illness modestly. A sore throat that is worsening after a week, or any sore throat lasting more than three weeks, needs review.
Two timelines are worth separating. Worsening within days, with climbing fever, pain localising to one side, or trouble opening the mouth, points to a complication and needs prompt review. Grumbling on for weeks without fever points away from infection altogether, towards the irritation causes below.
When a sore throat is something else
Glandular fever
In teenagers and young adults, a severe sore throat with heavily swollen glands and exhaustion that drags on for weeks may be glandular fever. This matters for treatment too: doctors avoid amoxicillin when glandular fever is suspected, because it commonly triggers a dramatic rash in that illness.
Tonsillitis and quinsy
When the tonsils themselves are the centre of the problem, swollen, coated, fever, tender neck glands, see our tonsillitis page. And if pain becomes severe on one side, your voice goes muffled or you struggle to open your mouth, that pattern suggests quinsy, an abscess beside the tonsil, which needs emergency drainage rather than a video call.
Scarlet fever
A strep throat plus a fine, rough rash that feels like sandpaper, typically starting on the chest and tummy, and sometimes a red "strawberry" tongue, points to scarlet fever. It is the same bacterium behaving more loudly, it mostly affects children but does occur in adults, and it needs prompt medical review and antibiotic treatment where confirmed. Mention any rash to the doctor early in the call.
Throat irritation without infection
A throat that is sore for weeks without fever or feeling ill usually is not infected at all. The usual culprits: acid reflux (worse in the morning, often with hoarseness), post-nasal drip from allergies or sinus trouble, dry indoor air, snoring or mouth-breathing overnight, voice strain, and smoking or vaping. Each has its own fix, which is why the timeline question matters so much.
A sore throat that lasts weeks
Any sore throat persisting beyond three weeks, especially one-sided pain, pain on swallowing that reaches the ear, a lump feeling, or a hoarse voice that does not recover, and particularly in smokers or heavy drinkers, needs an in-person examination of the throat to rule out rarer causes, including growths. This is a firm referral, not a maybe: persistent one-sided symptoms are never assessed by video alone.
Why do I keep getting sore throats?
Repeated sore throats usually mean repeated exposure or ongoing irritation rather than a weak immune system: smoking or vaping, acid reflux, allergies with post-nasal drip, dry indoor air, and close contact with young children are the common drivers. Frequent confirmed tonsillitis is different, because documented episodes can justify specialist referral.
The practical move is a pattern review: a doctor goes through your recurrences, separates infection from irritation, treats the driver (reflux, allergy, environment), and, where it genuinely is recurrent tonsillitis, starts the documentation that referral decisions depend on. Meanwhile, the boring basics reduce the infectious share: hand-washing, not sharing cups, and staying away from work or school while feverish.
Treatment options for a sore throat
What you can do yourself
Take paracetamol or ibuprofen regularly for the first days rather than only when pain peaks, because steady relief makes swallowing, eating and sleeping possible.[5] Drink plenty (cool drinks often go down easier than hot), gargle warm salty water if you find it soothing, and use medicated lozenges or an anaesthetic throat spray if you are an adult. Most viral sore throats are clearly improving within a week.
Prescription treatment
A prescription is never issued without a consultation. Where enough strep-pointing criteria are met on assessment, the doctor will usually prescribe a penicillin-type antibiotic, so mention any penicillin allergy so an alternative can be chosen. Antibiotics are only prescribed when there are signs of bacterial infection; they do not work for the viruses behind most sore throats, and unnecessary courses drive antibiotic resistance for everyone.[3][4] Either way you leave the consultation with a safety net: what improvement to expect by when, and when to come back if it does not happen.
What does not help
Three habits are worth naming because they are common. Leftover antibiotics from an old course are the wrong drug, dose or duration more often than not; they can muddy the picture and they feed antibiotic resistance, so never self-start them. Vitamin C megadoses have no meaningful effect on an established sore throat. And smoking or vaping through the illness keeps the throat inflamed longer; even a few days off helps.
Sore throat in pregnancy
Paracetamol is the usual first choice for throat pain in pregnancy; ibuprofen is generally avoided, particularly in the third trimester, and some lozenges and sprays are untested in pregnancy, so it is worth a quick check with a doctor or pharmacist rather than an assumption. Strep still gets treated in pregnancy where criteria are met: penicillin-type antibiotics are among those commonly used, decided case by case.
When a sore throat is treated online, and when you need in-person care
Treated online: viral sore throats needing self-care and clear safety-netting; likely strep that meets the criteria for antibiotics; recurrent sore throats where the doctor can separate infection from irritation and start the documentation referral decisions rest on; and reflux, allergy or dry-air irritation treated at the cause.
In-person care: severe one-sided pain, drooling, a muffled voice or trouble opening the mouth, which suggest quinsy and are an emergency; any sore throat lasting more than three weeks or with a persistently hoarse voice, especially in smokers or heavy drinkers, which needs an in-person throat examination;[1] a sandpaper rash with fever, which needs prompt review for scarlet fever; and suspected glandular fever needing blood tests. In those cases the consultation points you to the right care rather than a prescription.
When to get in-person care
Go to emergency care for severe one-sided throat pain, difficulty opening your mouth, a muffled voice, or inability to swallow saliva. Get a prompt in-person review if a sore throat comes with a widespread rash and fever, or is still worsening after a week. If you are struggling to breathe, drooling, or making a high-pitched noise when breathing in, call 112 immediately.
Treating a sore throat at home: what helps and what does not
Most sore throats are viral and settle within about a week, and home care is genuinely the right first move: rest, plenty of fluids, salt-water gargles, lozenges and simple pain relief. Nothing prescription speeds up an ordinary viral sore throat.
What home care cannot do: it cannot tell you which sore throat you have. Strep throat, tonsillitis and glandular fever feel similar from the inside but are managed differently, and one of them responds to antibiotics while the others do not. A sore throat that is severe, one-sided, lasts beyond a week, or comes with trouble swallowing or breathing has outgrown home care.
The strongest at-home treatment is still a doctor. A video consultation brings one to your sofa: an honest assessment, and a prescription to a local pharmacy when treatment is right. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. Book a video consultation: the exact price is shown before you pay.
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: open daily 7am–11pm CET. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, exact price up front.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about a sore throat: a private video call: you describe what you feel, the doctor asks what matters, and you agree the right plan together.
- Leave with your plan: everything agreed before you hang up: your plan, and a prescription to use at a pharmacy near you where medication is clinically right for you. If your doctor decides you need to be seen in person, you get a full refund.
No sign-up needed
A sore throat can have more than one cause. Tick every symptom you have to see each condition page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Similar symptoms, different condition? Tonsillitis can start the same way. Compare them, or look up any other symptom in the full symptom checker.
Frequently asked questions about a sore throat
What causes a sore throat?
Most sore throats are caused by the viruses behind colds, flu, COVID-19 and glandular fever; about one in ten adult sore throats is strep throat, a bacterial infection. Other causes of a sore throat are allergies and post-nasal drip, dry or smoky air, acid reflux, shouting, and, rarely, an abscess beside the tonsil. A sore throat that lasts weeks has a different list and needs examination.
How do I know if my sore throat is strep?
Strep throat is more likely with fever in the last day, pus or white spots on the tonsils, rapid onset, very inflamed tonsils, tender neck glands and no cough or runny nose, and less likely when you have typical cold symptoms. Only a test confirms strep, but these criteria are what doctors across Europe use to decide whether a sore throat needs antibiotics.
How long does a sore throat last?
A viral sore throat usually settles within three to seven days; glandular fever can keep the throat sore for two to three weeks. A strep sore throat improves within a day or two of antibiotics. A sore throat that is not improving after a week, keeps returning, or lasts more than three weeks, especially on one side or with hoarseness, needs an in-person examination.
How can a doctor check my throat over video?
Face good light or shine your phone torch into your mouth, press your tongue down and bring the camera close, and the doctor can see redness, white spots, swelling and one-sided changes in a sore throat. It is a visual inspection, not a swab or a feel of the glands, which is why the doctor combines what they see with your symptom history.
Can an online doctor prescribe antibiotics for a sore throat in Europe?
Yes, where the assessment points to a likely bacterial infection such as strep. Antibiotics are only prescribed for a sore throat when there are signs of bacterial infection, because they do not work against viruses. Where appropriate, the prescription is sent to a pharmacy near you, with the signs that should prompt a review.
Do I need a strep test before antibiotics?
Not always: doctors in much of Europe decide for or against antibiotics for a sore throat on symptom criteria alone when the picture is clear. A rapid test earns its keep in borderline cases, and in some countries pharmacies offer them over the counter; the doctor tells you honestly whether a test would change the decision in your case.
How do I get rid of a sore throat fast?
Nothing cures a viral sore throat faster, but you can ease it within the hour: paracetamol or ibuprofen, cold or warm drinks, honey, lozenges or a numbing spray from the pharmacy, salt-water gargles, and resting your voice. Keep drinking, even if swallowing hurts. Strep throat needs antibiotics; everything else settles with time and relief.
Why is my sore throat on one side only?
A sore throat that is much worse on one side can be an early tonsil infection, a mouth ulcer, or a swollen gland, but severe one-sided pain with trouble opening the mouth, a muffled voice, drooling or difficulty swallowing suggests quinsy, an abscess beside the tonsil that needs emergency in-person care. A one-sided sore throat lasting more than three weeks also needs an examination.
Is a sore throat contagious?
The infections behind sore throats spread through coughs, sneezes, close contact and shared cups, mostly in the first few days while you feel unwell or feverish. With strep treated by antibiotics, infectiousness drops sharply after about the first day of treatment. A sore throat from allergy, reflux or dry air is not contagious at all.
What can I take for a sore throat during pregnancy?
Paracetamol is the usual first choice for a sore throat in pregnancy. Ibuprofen is generally avoided, especially in the third trimester, and not every lozenge or spray has been tested in pregnancy, so check with a doctor or pharmacist first. If strep is likely, antibiotics that are safe in pregnancy can be prescribed after assessment.
When should I see a doctor in person instead?
Seek emergency in-person care for a sore throat with severe one-sided pain, trouble opening your mouth, a muffled voice, drooling or any difficulty breathing. Also get an in-person review for a sore throat that is not improving after a week, keeps returning, or lasts more than three weeks, especially with hoarseness, a lump in the neck or weight loss.
How can I prevent sore throats?
Prevent sore throats by washing hands often during cold season, not sharing cups or cutlery, not smoking and avoiding smoky or very dry air, treating allergies and reflux that irritate the throat, keeping hydrated and having the flu vaccine. Repeated strep infections in one household sometimes mean a carrier, which a doctor can check for.
- Sore throat (acute): antimicrobial prescribing (NG84), NICE, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2018.
- Antibiotic prescribing guidance for clinicians, HSE, Health Service Executive (Ireland), reviewed 2024.
- Antimicrobial resistance, ECDC, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2023.
- Antimicrobial resistance fact sheet, WHO, World Health Organization, 2023.
- Sore throat: symptoms, causes and treatments, HSE, Health Service Executive (Ireland), reviewed 2025.
- Sore throat, NHS, National Health Service (UK), accessed October 2026.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
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