trying to determine conclusively that a child has strep just by looking at the throat is not much better than a coin-toss (50% correct). this is why we do throat cultures. yes strep does have a characteristic appearance (and even smell) that can increase a clinician's medical accuracy beyond the coin-toss but in the end the culture is the definitive test.
how do i know if my toddler has strep throat. i have had a sore throat for couple nites and just noticed spots on the tonsils. i plan on going to a dr tomorrow morning for antibiotics but i'm concerned about my 3 year old. i didn't see any spots in her mouth are there any other symptoms i should be watching out for? she is recovering from a cold from over a week ago but it's been improving.