Sore throat

Dear Ask The Doctor: Dear Doctor, My fiance and I are getting married this coming Saturday, and he developed a severe cough, cold, sore throat and low to moderate fever. I took him to a local "take care" clinic, and they prescribed Z-pac and some cough syrup. He is not getting any better, and I am getting worried.. should I take him to the ER?

Dear Cathy: Hello, I know how concerned you are about your Fiances health. I would presume that the upper respiratory infection that he had was due to a bacterial entity, the antibiotic treatment that he was prescribed with should have covered the most common bacteria, however if the infection was Viral which is the most common cause and not Bacterial then there should not be a reason for him to improve on his symptoms.I would suggest him to rest and drink plenty of fluids to help with expectoration, over the counter medication to treat his symptoms such as Ibuprofen for the sore throat and to reduce the inflammation and also antihistamines if he has a congested nose would help. If the entity is a virus, then the process might last for a week or two but the medication would help with the symptoms. And if the cause was bacterial, then the Antibiotic should have covered it and only the symptoms left would need to be treated with the same medication previously mentioned. I wish him a prompt recovery.