If you or your child is dealing with a sore throat – especially if the pain has lingered for a few days or home remedies don’t seem to be working – it may be time to see a doctor. But should you go to urgent care right away, make a primary care appointment or do something else?
The right choice often depends on how severe the sore throat is, other symptoms being experienced and which care options are available. Below, we walk through symptoms that may indicate a more serious infection behind a sore throat, and when to see a doctor at an urgent care or elsewhere.
Get in-person care for a sore throat that lingers or is paired with certain symptoms
Sore throats have a lot of possible causes. Most of the time, they’re caused by viral infections like the common cold or influenza, which typically improve over a few days with home remedies to relieve throat irritation, such as gargling with warm saltwater or over-the-counter pain relievers. But if a sore throat isn’t improving or is getting worse after a few days, it’s likely time to see a doctor.
This is especially true for anyone who develops symptoms such as:
- Bad breath
- Blood in saliva or mucus
- Earache
- Fever higher than 100.4° F
- Joint pain
- Rash
- Red or white spots in the mouth
- Swelling or a lump in the neck or face
- Trouble opening the mouth or swallowing
These symptoms may be signs of bacterial infections like strep throat or a more serious viral infection like mononucleosis. Bacteria may also cause these symptoms by infecting certain parts of your mouth and throat, such as your tonsils, adenoids, epiglottis or uvula.
Choose urgent care for a sore throat if you need care now or primary care isn’t available
If you or your child have a sore throat that is very painful or has a high fever, swollen lymph nodes in the neck or a rash, go to urgent care. These symptoms can be more common in bacterial infections where antibiotics may be needed for treatment.
You should also go to urgent care if you can’t get a primary care appointment as quickly as you’d like or it’s outside of normal clinic hours, like on the weekends. At HealthPartners, you can check wait times at urgent care locations near you and use our Save My Spot feature to get in line to be seen before you even arrive. In fact, our patients can save up to 56 minutes in the waiting room by using Save My Spot.
How much it costs to treat a sore throat at urgent care depends on a few factors
The cost of an urgent care visit depends on where you go, your insurance coverage and what care you receive. At HealthPartners, an urgent care visit is billed the same as an office visit, but the exact cost will vary depending on the testing and other services provided.
Choose primary care for a sore throat if care can wait for the next available appointment
At HealthPartners, we often have same-day and next-day primary care appointments available.
Go to the emergency room if you have severe throat pain or trouble breathing
If you have symptoms that may be life-threatening or that are interfering with your ability to care for yourself, call 911 or go to an emergency room. Examples include:
- Severe throat pain
- Trouble breathing
- Sudden sore throat combined with a headache, dizziness, confusion or nausea
These may be signs of a serious infection or an acute issue like carbon monoxide poisoning.
Get the care your sore throat needs – urgent or otherwise
Whatever symptoms you’re experiencing, we’re here to help you get relief as quickly as possible. If a sore throat isn’t going away or your symptoms are getting worse, see if a same-day or next-day primary care appointment is available. If primary care isn’t an option or you need care sooner, head to urgent care. Either way, your care team can help determine the cause and what type of treatment you need.