another strep question...

[Dianne-TX]

My dd5 has strep throat again after having it 2 weeks ago. She was treated with amox. 2 weeks ago and is now taking omnicef. Infections have always been months a part, not weeks a part. The dr. mentioned taking her tonsils out in the next 6 months because she has a history of strep throat and tonsillitis and obviously the strep is resistant to meds. She wants to see her again in 2 weeks to culture her non-infected. I read the previous posts regarding treatment for strep throat and a few said, "go for the cure" and not to mess around with strep throat. I'm wondering if the "cure" is taking the tonsils out or just making sure medicines cure it or is the "cure" different for each person. I just need clarification.

 

Also, my mother sent me a couple of articles that loosely linked the strep carrier to the family dog. Have any of you heard of this? We've only had our dog since Feb. and this is the closest my dd's strep infections have been. She's never had it 2 weeks a part. I'm just wondering if there's some link to having our dog for the last few months and her strep infection. Is another family member the more likely culprit? Should the dog and the rest of us get swabbed too? Noone else gets strep like my daughter. My ds7 has only had it once in his whole life.

[Brenda in FL]

This happened to my daughter - If I remember it right she had strep at least once a month for about 3 to 4 months.

 

That was a couple of years ago - and she hasn't had it since.

 

I had heard of the family dog being a carrier. I think in dd's case it just wasn't getting totally cleared up in one round of antibiotics and possibly because I didn't think to give her a new toothbrush!

 

The last time she had it, I did change her toothbrush and the doctor recultured her throat to be sure that it was completely gone after the antibiotics.

 

If it had continued to be a problem the next step would have been to have the tonsils removed.

 

She was probably 6 or 5 at the time.

[Amy in Orlando]

We went through this several years ago. Dh turned out to be the carrier, not the dog. Have everyone in your house tested, including the pets.

 

Also, as Brenda mentioned, change the toothbrushes after a round of strep.

[lighthouseacademy]

I heard in a natural healing lecture that dairy can be a carrier for strep infections in that you are more likely to get strep if you are consuming pasteurized dairy.

 

Second, in my opinion, cutting out the tonsils so they won't get infected is like a carpenter cutting off his finger to prevent a smashed thumb. The tonsils are the body's first line of defense against infections. If they get infected, they are working...

 

Now, personal experience... when I married my dh, he had horrible tonsils. He was advised to take them out as soon as he could (he had no insurance). Everyone in his family has horrible tonsils and many had them out. They would swell and cut off his throat when he was sick so he could hardly swallow. They would pit and food would catch in them and literally rot and fester. Thank goodness we did not have insurance! I made changes to our diet. We moved away from dairy and processed foods and took on a whole foods diet with less meat (3 times per week tops). We ate more fruits and veggies. He went from drinking 2 gallons of milk a week to 1 quart a week. His tonsils no longer swelled when he got sick. Then when we became vegetarian, they no longer pitted and festered. Every once and a while he will have hamburger and his tonsils will ALWAYS pit and he gets horrible breath from red meat.

 

So, if it were me, I would be doing everything I could to heal the problem rather than cut out the indicator.

[abbeyej]

Amox not killing off a strep infection is pretty common. Has she had strep more than five times in the last six months? If not, I would just have her cultured a week or so after finishing the omnicef, and if she's negative, I'd just keep an eye on her. I'm *very* leery of strep (ds had complications from untreated strep, and dd had it repeatedly this past winter), but what you describe so far is still well within the range of normal, not what is considered by most doctors to be cause for removing tonsils... I'm actually very surprised your doctor suggested it -- unless she has had four-six strep infections in the last six months.

[Mom2GirlsTX]

Oh Dianne, no advice but I can commiserate with you. Both my dd/s tested positive for strep this week, one on Tuesday and the other yesterday. The pediatrician said she is seeing alot of it right now, and that is unusual. I went and had my throat checked to make sure I wasn't positive for it and I wasn't, but the Dr. at quick care clinic said she had already seen a dozen cases this week of it. She again commented it was not the right time of year for it. I think my kids caught it at the college for kids program they are in this summer.

Interesting stuff about the dog could be the carrier, I am going to read more up on that. I hope your child gets better soon!

[Veronica in VA]

When my ds was in 2nd grade, he had 9 strep infections in 6 months. We sometimes caught strep from him, but we weren't the culprit. He was in school at the time, and just kept catching it from them. His best friend's mom told me she sent her son to school with strep, and I know she wasn't the only one. He did get his tonsils out eventually. Amoxicilin wasn't working and cipro seemed to be the only thing that got rid of the infection. A dr. friend of mine said sometimes with repeated infections they put the kids on a tb drug called ramphin (not sure of spelling) but ds dr. opted just to take out the tonsils.

 

Veronica

[cindyinTexas]

With us it was the type of antibiotics they chose to give. Amoxycillin was not strong enough to kill off the strep bug, but the Erythromycin worked perfectly.

 

Link to why this is:

http://www.virtualcancercentre.com/treatments.asp?sid=72

 

Of course I am glad to say we have done well without anything since our last bout of strep about 8 years ago.

 

We try and do homeopathic as much as possible of course this will not work for strep.

 

HTH's:001_smile:

 

Info on omnicef

 

http://www.drugs.com/omnicef.html

 

Of course I would not rule out that you possibly have a carrier of strep in your home. Never heard that the dog might be a carrier. We never got tested because this was when my oldest was in public school, and I figured that was where he was picking it up from.

 

I hope she gets over it soon. I remember having to think about swallowing, and it would bring tears to my eyes.

[JFSinIL]

When my twins were toddlers and had strep for the 6th time, the ped. insisted I go home and Lysol EVERYTHING they played with (etc.) and toss what couldn't be cleaned. Strep stopped.

 

Later, as kids, strep keep reappearing after a visit with a friends kids. Friend later noted how her oldest dd had , according to their doc., tonsils permanently full of strep - but since SHE did not actually get sick, why bother taking them out. Grrr. I stopped contact with that kid and OUR strep rate decreased dramatically.

 

Later, one of my twins started getting strep over and over again - his tonsils were enlarged and removed - impacted with strep. Now we have had strep ONCE in 10 years.

[Jan in SC]

My 6yo ds had his tonsils removed at 2 because they were so swollen he was having difficulty breathing. He had never had strep throat. Since that time, he has had strep 3 or 4 times, so I wouldn't count on removing tonsils as a complete remedy!

Our ped said that if someone tests positive within 2 or 3 weeks of having strep they most likely don't have it again, but instead have not treated the original infection.