<prompt> If you are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patients description.A few weeks ago I had a sore throat accompanied by body aches. No other signs of a cold. My lymph nodes were swollen and my throat hurt very bad when swallowing. I went to the doctor and got antibiotics, it got better within the 2-3 day period. A week later, it came back. I got the same antibiotics and it went away again. Today about a week after healing again, I feel like the swollen type of sore throat is coming back. How can I get rid of this?  <response>: HI, thanks for using Chat Doctor The vast majority of infectious sore throat are due to viral not bacterial infection, in over 80 of cases, it is viral. Viral infections do not require antibiotics for resolution. It may be best to use only if testing such as a swab or blood test, confirms a bacterial infection. This would reduce the chance that you would develop antibiotic resistance. It may be a recurrent infection or post nasal Chat Doctor. The use of a topical steroid nasal spray such as escort, alone, Flonase, may help. Oral garglessprays such as colonia or chlorogenic which contain a painkiller and antiseptic may also be important. I hope this helps 