How It Is Done
The patient will be asked to tilt her/his head back and open her/his mouth as wide as possible. The health professional will press the tongue down with a flat stick (tongue depressor) and then examine the mouth and throat. A clean swab will be rubbed over the back of the throat, around the tonsils, and over any red areas or sores to collect a sample.
The sample may also be collected using a throat washout. For this test, the patient will gargle a small amount of salt water and then spit the fluid into a clean cup. This method gives a larger sample than a throat swab and may make the culture more reliable.
Read more about this topic: Throat Culture
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