How long does a throat infection/viral infection last?

How long is "normal" to recover from a strep throat infection for a healthy adult?

• I am a 35 year old healthy adult woman. On Tuesday I woke up with a sore throat. By 4:30 I was in bed with a fever, chills, body aches, and the worst sore throat ever! (FYI - I don't have tonsils) My lymph nodes in my neck are all very swollen and tender to the touch. I was completely miserable and in a lot of pain. Wednesday, I went to the doctor. He said I probably had a strep infection, and did a culture to be sure. He put me on 500mg of Amoxicillian every 8 hours. That was over 24 hours ago. My throat is KILLING me and my lymph nodes are still very swollen and painful. I've been popping 800mg Motrin and Darvocet for pain...but neither is giving me much relief. Should I be worried? How much longer am I going to have to suffer???

• Answer:

  Well, I'm not an adult, but I had a strep throat infection that lasted from 2-4 days. Yours should not exceed 5 days, because step throats rarely do. Otherwise, your infection is somewhat severe.