Can a doctor diagnose you with strep throat with looking at your throat?

See below: A doctor can be highly suspicious that youb have a strep. Throat based on signs and symptoms. It usually starts with a sore throat and headache. This is followed by fever, pus on the throat or tonsils and enlarged lymph nodes at the angles of the jaws. Rapid strep test if positive and throat culture if the rapid test is negative are diagnostic.

Not 100% accurate: Nasty throats look nasty, and there are some features that make strep more likely than not. That said, a simple 5 minute quick strep test done during the exam either confirms the suspicion or allows the doc to focus on other possibilities like mono. The standard of care where i practice includes a quick test or culture. Failure to do so is considered poor practice.