The majority of sore throats are caused by a virus and do not require active treatment with antibiotics. Some, caused by the streptococcus pyogenes bacterium, may be severe and are treatable with antibiotics. Your doctor may take a throat culture to help make the correct diagnosis if they think you might have a bacterial infection of your throat. This allows your doctor to prescribe the correct antibiotics for treatment. A throat culture may take several days to provide results.

To collect sample for the throat swab:

1. The doctor/technician may use a tongue depressor to hold down your tongue, and then she/he will insert a special swab into your mouth and brush it against your throat and tonsils.
2. Culture tests will be performed on the collected swab sample.