The terms sore throat, strep throat, and tonsillitis often are used interchangeably, but they don't mean the same thing.
- Tonsillitis refers to tonsils that are inflamed.
- Strep throat is an infection caused by a specific type of bacteria, Streptococcus. When your child has a strep throat, the tonsils are usually very inflamed, and the inflammation may affect the surrounding part of the throat as well.
Other causes of sore throats are viruses and may only cause inflammation of the throat around the tonsils and not the tonsils themselves….