that if you leave Strep throat unchecked long enough, it can spread and evolve into an ear infection?

yeah, just thought i'd put that fun little fact out there.

It can also cause rheumatic fever, and so painful joints and a rash, which can even lead to heart valve damage.

Or, if you take ibuprofen and gargle with warm salty water it can just go away.

Only 5-10% of sore throats are a true strep bacterial infection, and for some reason, it way more common in America than the UK.
Hmmm, now i'm wondering why that is....

seems i fell into that 5-10%. and i'm american. perfect conditions!

i did the ibuprofen and salt water thing, and it went away...or so i thought. one week later sound in my left ear is slightly muffled and i sound like i've been smoking cigars everyday for 20 years.

that is weird. maybe we just tend to ignore signs of disease more?

Oh lord, what a huge issue.
So, I had a trawl.
It seems that it may be almost the other way round. I know if I call my doctor for an appointment I can be waiting for a month, so if you also add that as most Brits know it will be a least a week or so before they get seen, if lucky, they don't go to the doctor unless it's serious. So add the two waits togther and usually it's gone away by then. So it could well be there, just not recorded. And that might explain why we have a fair amount of rheuatic fever.
On the other hand, I also read about the immune systems of people in more overcrowded countries as being tougher as we put up with major bacterial overload, hence why strep throat is not a huge problem in the slums of Delhi, but you might get typhoid instead though....

I couldn't find a clear answer anywhere, it seems to just be one of those environmental things.

Anyhoo, I hope you feel better!

Americans are weak.

Yeah, I hope they get overrun by orcs.

.. That'd be cool.

Did you know that you can get strep throat in your pussy? How the fuck does that work out?

agreed.

I'll show you next time I have strep throat!! LOL !!