I went to my primary doctor yesterday because of a sore throat pain was so bad it got to my ear. he told me to take zicam because it was a viral thing?

Primary med decision: maker always self. Neither (a) pain in throat, (b) severity or (c) referral pattern (ear) reveals mechanism(s) of pain, whether a virus or bacteria might be also be involved or what treatment strategy is most likely to be of any benefit. More clues always required for a more educated guess, e.g. personal history, age, pus in pharynx, etc. ↑ingly antibiotics, only 8 groups, are becoming ↓effective.