Persistent Sore Throat

[ArctisAurelius]

I have had a persistent sore throat for the past two months and was prescribed an antibiotic a few weeks ago. The antibiotic corrected the sore throat and nasal pressure, so I assumed it is a sinus infection. My test results for strains of step came in negative and the doctor recommended I cease taking my antibiotic (5 days in out of 10) so I did. It has now come back and I expect it to stay if untreated (as the past two months have shown).

Some details -

It does transmit to my girlfriend when she visits, it gives her a sore throat and cough. This has been ongoing for the past two months between us both.
I sleep with a fan (and have done so for many years).
The antibiotic fixed the problem.
I routinely do a nasal rinse in the morning to help reduce congestion, and have done so for many years.
Pressure to my lymph nodes under my jaw line does "hurt", basically they are a little swollen.
No fever or cough for me.
The irritation is purely in the back of my throat and it gets worse some days and better others but doesn't go away.
I did a coronavirus test a month ago and tested negative.

I can only assume this is a bacterial infection. What type of infection could it be and why won't my body fight it off like it always has in the past?

[cursed1]

i have had 16 rounds of antibiotics for an ear infection, in 2 years.  if the second time you take a round and they clear it up but comes back, then a third round will not work either.  read my comments to others above here.  you may gain some insight into the problem, or not.

[Paxiled]

First, if you don't complete a prescribed course of antibiotics, the infection if you have one will come back and also be harder to control with antibiotics.  I'm guessing your doctor didn't actually think it was an infection, or he wouldn't have put you on such a short course of antibiotics and certainly wouldn't have stopped it mid-course.  It's also impossible to choose an appropriate antibiotic if you don't know what infection you have.  He probably stopped it because he didn't think it was an infection and, if it was, that short a time probably wouldn't have been long enough for an antibiotic to work that well.  Taking antibiotics has an adverse effect on the immune system, so using them isn't a great idea unless necessary, and if it was a sinus infection, they almost always go away on their own and don't need antibiotics.  I have no idea what it is you do have but if you passed it to someone else, it really sounds like a virus.  My first step would be to get another covid test, they are notoriously inaccurate and sometimes don't show up positive in the earliest stages of the infection.  Other than that, if it isn't that, you need a diagnosis from someone, and maybe that has to be a better doc.  I always find it odd when someone reports being given an antibiotic without a diagnosis.  As to why your body hasn't fought it off, well, life is just like that.  Bodies work until they don't.  Peace.

[cursed1]

doctors have become lazy and do not want to investigate something that might be covid related.  of course, there is always a reason for infection, and that reason has to addressed.  well put, good advice.  thx