My throat is very sore & swollen. it's difficult to talk, swallow, breath normally . a clinic 2 days ago told me i do not have strep throat.

Virus: The most likely cause would be viral since your strep test was normal. Most times you do not need antibiotics but over the counter medications could be helpful. Symptoms could last up to seven days. If you start running high fevers or new symptoms occur you may want to return back to the clinic. Good luck

It happens: The worst case scenario would be that this is diphtheria, but wouldn't happen if you were vaccinated. It does produce a nasty throat. You could also develop a staph abscess in your tonsil, but that is obvious on exam. Some of the worst sore throats are caused by mono, which could take you down for 3 weeks & has no specific treatment. Stay hydrated & recheck as needed.

Dr. can recheck: If having difficulty talking, swallowing, and breathing, one should have the doctor recheck the throat. A doctor assumes his patient will call back or come back whenever symptoms get a lot worse, because a doctor doesn't know what is happening to a patient when the patient is at home. The 5-minute throat swab tests for strep throat are pretty accurate, but that means only about 90% accuracy.