What the heck infected my throat?

I went to the doctor, just so you guys know, so I’ve been treated and currently am taking antibiotics (clarithromycin, the generic brand for biaxin)

Since Tuesday I’ve had this cold thing, I mean I thought it was a cold. It started with body aches, headaches, and sore throat. At its peak, I got a fever of about 101. Then it went away quickly and I develped a stuffy nose and mucus, which I still have, along with the sore throat I still have too.

I went to the doc and it’s not strep. . .although for some reason he didn’t take a throat culture. I guess he could tell just by seeing my throat and that my glands weren’t swollen? He looked at my throat and made me jump by exclaiming, “WHOOOAAAA, it’s really red in there.” He himself was surprised being that I wasn’t a mess and had a normal body temp and no other major symptons. He said it wasn’t mono because I described the order of events and he said it was too soon to be mono.

I’m pretty much OKAY except this effing sore throat HURTS. I took my first day of antibiotics and now I woke up in the early morning to go to the bathroom. I expected my sore throat to lessen and it didn’t. So I’m like “Daaaaamn, what the hell is in there then?” I look at the back of the throat with a flashlight and see a long lining of what looks like mucus? Maybe it’s the bacteria? It’s this whitish streak going down the back of my throat.

For God’s sake, is there any way to relieve the pain while I’m still recovering from this? And what else can infect your throat besides strep and the common cold?

Lastly, what are some good ways to eject mucus from your system? I think that’s what’s making it feel worse. It’s hard though to try to just blow it all out. I tried using a Neti Pot and it only somewhat worked before. For some reason it’s failing me – I keep swallowing the solution accidentally when I’m flushing my nostrils – I don’t know why, even though I tilt my head to the side.