What are the symptoms of strep throat?

Symptoms of strep throat may vary quite a bit depending on the patient's age.

• Infants primarily experience a thick "colorful" (yellow or green) drainage from the nose and possibly a low-grade fever, with fussiness, irritability, and a decrease in appetite.
  
  
• Children aged one to three ("toddlers") may complain of a sore throat, trouble swallowing, poor appetite, crankiness, and swollen glands (lymph nodes) beneath the jaws.
  
  
• Older children and adolescents generally look and feel awful with strep throat. They can have high fevers, very painful throats, often severe difficulty swallowing, and pus, which can sometimes be seen covering the tonsils.
  
  
• Adults with strep throat may have milder symptoms, and in some cases the illness may be undetected. Symptoms vary; adults may also have severe pain and trouble swallowing.