UNPOLITICALLY CORRECT
New member
i'm pretty sure I have strept throat. The problem is that I have no health insurance. What are my best options to get a hold of some antibiotics without paying an outragous doctor's bill
possible strept
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michelleb256
New member
In order to know if you really need antibiotics or not and if you do have strep, you will need to get a throat culture.
Wal-Mart has low cost walk-in clinics as do some other pharmacies (I think CVS and maybe Walgreen as well).
There may even be clinics in your area for low income that charge on a sliding scale basis.
Let us know what you find out.
Lindaru
Wal-Mart has low cost walk-in clinics as do some other pharmacies (I think CVS and maybe Walgreen as well).
There may even be clinics in your area for low income that charge on a sliding scale basis.
Let us know what you find out.
Lindaru
Yourmandrew
New member
one way or another you really DO need to have at least that fifteen minute rapid strep run on you to see if what you have is actually strep. this could just be a really bad sore throat. i get strep like once a year and the times where i think i have it only becasue the throat pain is sooo bad,i don't always. and times where i didn't really have a severe sore throat,i have actually had it. this is why that strep test really IS key. if you have a regular doc or clinic that you go to,just call and ask for a lab appt to have that rapid run on you. it would not cost as much as seeing your doc would.
if it is positive they will give you an rx or call something in later. most anti Bs don;t cost a whole lot these days since so many different drug companies make them. but you DO need that strep test run just to really know for sure if you even need anti bs,ya know? just try and set a lab only appt if they will let you. otherwise you will just have to see your doc and do it that way. BUT, if you happen to live near one of those stores(i think cub has one as well as others,look up minute clinics or something like that in your phone book)that have those "minute clinics"? they just take care of people who have simple things like ear infections and strep throats and the basic types of stuff that you don't have to be seen at your regular docs office for? i would think the overall payment would not be as much as seeing your regular doc at the office. they should have at least one of these around you somewhere since they are becomming quite popular espescially for parebts with small kids who always seem to have something they need to be seen for. that may be your best bet.
but you DO need the strep test done before anyone would just rx any anti Bs for you. and you just really need to get this treated if it is indeed strep, there are some strains out there that can get really nasty if not caught early on and properly treated. i hope you can find a good cheap way to do this. but get that test just to be certain,K? good luck, hopefully this is just a bad sore throat. please let me know how you are doing. FB
if it is positive they will give you an rx or call something in later. most anti Bs don;t cost a whole lot these days since so many different drug companies make them. but you DO need that strep test run just to really know for sure if you even need anti bs,ya know? just try and set a lab only appt if they will let you. otherwise you will just have to see your doc and do it that way. BUT, if you happen to live near one of those stores(i think cub has one as well as others,look up minute clinics or something like that in your phone book)that have those "minute clinics"? they just take care of people who have simple things like ear infections and strep throats and the basic types of stuff that you don't have to be seen at your regular docs office for? i would think the overall payment would not be as much as seeing your regular doc at the office. they should have at least one of these around you somewhere since they are becomming quite popular espescially for parebts with small kids who always seem to have something they need to be seen for. that may be your best bet.
but you DO need the strep test done before anyone would just rx any anti Bs for you. and you just really need to get this treated if it is indeed strep, there are some strains out there that can get really nasty if not caught early on and properly treated. i hope you can find a good cheap way to do this. but get that test just to be certain,K? good luck, hopefully this is just a bad sore throat. please let me know how you are doing. FB
From what I know sore throats can be caused by viruses or bacterial infections.
Do you have a runny nose, cough, hoarseness, red or runny eyes, and/or diarrhea? If so, you may be experiencing a viral infection that does not require antibiotic treatment.
Or do you have fever, pain, redness, and swelling of the throat and tonsils? If your symptoms include a fever, it is quite likely that you have a bacterial infection.
Keep in mind these are only guidelines...there can be many other causes for these symptoms.
Bethsheba
Do you have a runny nose, cough, hoarseness, red or runny eyes, and/or diarrhea? If so, you may be experiencing a viral infection that does not require antibiotic treatment.
Or do you have fever, pain, redness, and swelling of the throat and tonsils? If your symptoms include a fever, it is quite likely that you have a bacterial infection.
Keep in mind these are only guidelines...there can be many other causes for these symptoms.
Bethsheba
rbt1366
Believe it or not, there is some type of viral infection going around, at least here on the east coast, and one of the major complaints has been this very sore throat. I know because my daughter had it. The other significant symptom is total exhaustion. My daughter was out of school for 4 days. It seems to be very contagious because her whole cheerleading team came down with it one after the other.
That is not to say that you do not have strep. Strep is not to be fooled with as I am sure you are well aware of. If you are able to get a flashlight and look at the back of your throat, if not, see if you can get some other person to help you. See if your throat is extremely red and has some white pocket like holes. Sometimes your tongue may also look kind of white.
My daughter did not have a fever the first time she had strep but her throat really did not look right to me, so I did take her to our local children's hospital because of course it was Sunday evening on Labor Day weekend. They did the rapid strep test and sure enought it came back positive.
If your throat just kind of looks red than try to stick it out one more day and see how you feel. I know my daughter's throat bothered her for about 2 days and than it began to get a little better.
The post from Lindaru mentions a walk-in clinic. I know that the walk-in clinics that are opening up at the CVS Pharmacies are called the Minute Clinics. You can also check out your local hospitals, quite a few of them now have walk-in clinics attached to their emergency rooms.
I hope this helps and that you are feeling better soon.
Believe it or not, there is some type of viral infection going around, at least here on the east coast, and one of the major complaints has been this very sore throat. I know because my daughter had it. The other significant symptom is total exhaustion. My daughter was out of school for 4 days. It seems to be very contagious because her whole cheerleading team came down with it one after the other.
That is not to say that you do not have strep. Strep is not to be fooled with as I am sure you are well aware of. If you are able to get a flashlight and look at the back of your throat, if not, see if you can get some other person to help you. See if your throat is extremely red and has some white pocket like holes. Sometimes your tongue may also look kind of white.
My daughter did not have a fever the first time she had strep but her throat really did not look right to me, so I did take her to our local children's hospital because of course it was Sunday evening on Labor Day weekend. They did the rapid strep test and sure enought it came back positive.
If your throat just kind of looks red than try to stick it out one more day and see how you feel. I know my daughter's throat bothered her for about 2 days and than it began to get a little better.
The post from Lindaru mentions a walk-in clinic. I know that the walk-in clinics that are opening up at the CVS Pharmacies are called the Minute Clinics. You can also check out your local hospitals, quite a few of them now have walk-in clinics attached to their emergency rooms.
I hope this helps and that you are feeling better soon.