Often a cold and sore throat will go away on their own after a week or so. However, sometimes the condition can become more serious and doesn't go away easily. This is when you have to go to the doctor who may later recommend that you undergo a throat culture. Several tests need to be done to identify the pathogen causing the infection. One of them is throat culture. To learn how to do a throat culture or how to do it yourself, start with Step 1 below.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Preparing for a Throat Culture Examination
Step 1. Make sure the patient is not using mouthwash and antibiotics again
Patients who use mouthwashes or antibiotics (or anti-inflammatory drugs) prior to a throat culture may result in inaccurate culture results. If the patient takes both drugs, most of the organisms on the surface of the throat or tonsils will be lost thereby providing inaccurate samples that are insufficient for culture and analysis.
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The patient may ask, “Why are the organisms in the throat not allowed to disappear or just die? Isn't that the goal? It is true, but remind them that the use of both types of drugs will not completely eliminate the current infection. Maybe the organisms are gone on the surface, but they're still in the body which means the infection isn't technically gone yet.
Apart from avoiding these two things, no other preparation is needed. The patient can eat and drink as usual
Step 2. Label the container
The container for placing the swabs to be analyzed is technically called the "blood agar cross-section/medium". Attach the label with the patient's name so that it will not be confused when sent to the laboratory. Write clearly and with a permanent marker or pen.
If the culture label is addressed to the wrong patient, he or she may receive the wrong treatment which can lead to serious complications. Follow the medication instructions given to you by the doctor or to the patient
Step 3. Place the tongue depressor on the patient's tongue
Tilt the patient's head back slightly and ask them to open their mouth as wide as possible. Then, using a flat stick (almost like an ice cream stick), place it on your tongue and push it slightly forward to get a clearer view of the mouth and throat.
Check for redness or sore areas on the inside of the patient's mouth and throat. This is the area that needs to be wiped
Step 4. Prepare the patient for a temporary discomforting process
Patients may feel like throwing up when the swabs touch their tonsils or the back of their throat. This process will only last for a few seconds, so the discomfort will not last long.
As noted above, in more severe infections associated with fever, when the mouth is very inflamed and sore, this process may be a little painful. Even so, there's nothing to worry about. The pain will go away soon
Part 2 of 3: Doing Culture Effectively
Step 1. Take a swab
Take a sterile cotton swab or cotton swab and rub it gently on the red and sore area and at the back of the throat in the area near the tonsils. This ensures that the cotton swab gets a sufficient sample of any pus or mucus that is leaking out of the area.
In the case of children who need to have a throat culture, keep him on your lap and make sure the child remains in position to ensure proper sampling in the right area. This is also to prevent possible injury due to sudden movements of the child during the procedure
Step 2. Do the culture
Carefully roll the cotton swab over the surface of the blood agar cross section. After the procedure is complete, dispose of the cotton swab and tongue depressor in a special place for biohazard waste.
- Once the doctor has completed this process, send the cross-section to a microbiology laboratory to be placed in a special culture medium and analyzed by a microbiologist. The results of this examination will tell the doctor which organism is attacking the patient.
- After several days of analysis in the pathology or microbiology laboratory, you will receive a report showing what microorganisms are present in the patient. Based on these results, the doctor will determine the most effective treatment to treat the infection caused by the organism.
Step 3. Incubate and inspect the content, if possible
If you are analyzing the culture yourself, place a cross section of blood agar in a wax jar instrument. Then, place the jars in an incubator with a temperature of 35-37° Celsius. Leave the incubator for at least 18 hours.
If you are looking for (growth) fungus, the incubation period should be longer. In some cases, you won't see results in a week
Step 4. After 18-20 hours, remove the jar and check for bacterial colonies (content of beta hemolysis)
If you find traces of bacterial colonies then the test result is positive and the patient is infected with bacteria. However, further examination is needed to determine the type of bacteria found.
If nothing grows or is visible in the cross section then the test result is negative. If negative, the patient may have a viral infection due to a pathogen such as Enterovirus, Herpes simplex virus, Epstein-Barr virus, or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). A chemical or microscopic examination will need to be done to find the type of infection affecting the patient
Part 3 of 3: Understanding the Throat Culture Process
Step 1. Know when a throat culture is necessary
Only a few diseases require a throat culture. If you have any of the following conditions, a throat culture may be performed:
- Sore throat. A throat culture is done if you want to identify the cause of a sore throat. Although a sore throat is usually caused by a virus, there are times when it's bacteria that trigger it. A throat culture will show the difference between infections caused by viruses and bacteria. It's important to know if a virus or bacteria is causing the symptoms of a sore throat because you can get more specific treatment.
- Carrier. Carriers or carriers of the disease are people who are infected, but do not feel the characteristic symptoms. Carrier identification is necessary because you can isolate them from others who are healthy and thus prevent the spread of infection.
Step 2. Understand the meaning of throat culture and its function
A throat culture is an examination performed to identify the pathogen that causes a fungal or bacterial throat infection. A throat culture is not performed to identify a viral infection. Viruses are very difficult to culture or culture, and testing for them can be very expensive.
- An infection in the ear, nose, or throat indicates that various microorganisms have entered our body and have taken up residence in its place as our blood and saliva. As a reaction to the defense mechanism, our body will naturally fight these organisms. The result is the formation of pus. Pus basically contains our body's defense cells (mainly white blood cells and their types) as well as infecting organisms.
- Mucus is also formed in large quantities during the infection process to trap organisms in it. Eventually, we'll spit it out – our bodies are trying to clear the infection. Although the microorganisms that fill the mucus and pus smell bad, are often very painful and associated with a fever, they are both very useful for diagnosing your condition and for determining the most appropriate method of treatment.
Step 3. Know what a throat culture can detect
When a throat culture is performed, the pathogen causing the infection can be one of the following types:
- Group A Streptococcus. These bacteria cause a variety of illnesses, including scarlet fever, strep throat, or rheumatic fever.
- Candida albicans. Candida albicans is a type of fungus that can cause a kind of thrush (oral candidiasis), an infection that appears in the mouth and on the surface of the tongue. Sometimes the infection can spread to the throat.
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Neisseria meningitides. Neisseria meningitides is a bacterium that causes meningitis, an acute inflammation of the meninges (the protective membrane that protects the spinal cord and brain).
If bacteria are identified, you can perform a sensitivity or susceptibility test – tests that will show which antibiotic is more efficient at treating the pathogen
Step 4. If you suspect Group A streptococci are the cause of the infection, consider having a rapid strep test before performing a throat culture
You can get the results of this check in 10 minutes. A throat culture can take 1 or 2 days to get results. Therefore, rapid strep is very easy to do in advance to narrow down the potential causes of infection.
