Elizabeth86 Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 My 7 year old has had a fever this week and has not been feeling well. We usually just ride out sickness at home and we never have a fever over a few days. Her fever was not going away so I took her to the doctor and she has strep throat. In my almost 12 years of parenting this is the first case of strep that we have had. So if any of us gets a sore throat, do we need to go get antibiotics too or is it ok to see if strep goes away in its own. I’ve read about strep causing kidney problems and different things. Curious how you treat this situation. Is strep something we should always get antibiotics for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 2 minutes ago, Elizabeth86 said: My 7 year old has had a fever this week and has not been feeling well. We usually just ride out sickness at home and we never have a fever over a few days. Her fever was not going away so I took her to the doctor and she has strep throat. In my almost 12 years of parenting this is the first case of strep that we have had. So if any of us gets a sore throat, do we need to go get antibiotics too or is it ok to see if strep goes away in its own. I’ve read about strep causing kidney problems and different things. Curious how you treat this situation. Is strep something we should always get antibiotics for? There’s speculation that the increase in strep etc is due to Covid immune down regulation. So where your body might have dealt with it previously it now can’t. There’s been a handful of cases of kids getting strep complications etc making the news lately. I’m not sure if it’s an increase or just topical. I also think doctors are more conservative about antibiotics due to the fear around resistance but this probably compounds. Parents get sent away to wait and see and then next time they’re less likely to go get it checked out because doctors treat it as no big deal. Anyway my approach has typically been wait and see but I might lean toward a more aggressive approach given the current situation. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 If you know someone has it than others show symptopms I would definitely do antibiotics. It can lead rhuematic fever, kidney trouble and heart damage. Its basically the only time my kids ever get meds. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth86 Posted September 10, 2023 Author Share Posted September 10, 2023 Just now, rebcoola said: If you know someone has it than others show symptopms I would definitely do antibiotics. It can lead rhuematic fever, kidney trouble and heart damage. Its basically the only time my kids ever get meds. 👍We don’t do antibiotics much either. Ds age 11 has had 2 rounds of antibiotics for ear infections. DS age 10 had steroids for poison Ivy swelling his eyes shut DD age 7 just got her first antibiotic today DD age 5 got antibiotics for suspected Lyme disease None for the baby yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 Its also just miserable the time i had strep but couldn't get to the doctor to get a scrip for a couple days was absolutely miserable 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 The thing about strep is that the downside risk in an advanced case is permanent heart damage. That’s serious enough that I treat it with antibiotics no matter what. 16 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth86 Posted September 10, 2023 Author Share Posted September 10, 2023 1 minute ago, rebcoola said: Its also just miserable the time i had strep but couldn't get to the doctor to get a scrip for a couple days was absolutely miserable Also on top of the strep, I think she has a virus because she is stuffy and coughing. She feels miserable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 Just now, Elizabeth86 said: Also on top of the strep, I think she has a virus because she is stuffy and coughing. She feels miserable. Younger kids can have different symptoms than what adults and teens get. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth86 Posted September 10, 2023 Author Share Posted September 10, 2023 11 minutes ago, rebcoola said: Younger kids can have different symptoms than what adults and teens get. I didn’t know. I just quickly googled it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 I didnt either first time middle kid had it it was a surprise because they never mentioned their throat! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth86 Posted September 10, 2023 Author Share Posted September 10, 2023 3 minutes ago, rebcoola said: I didnt either first time middle kid had it it was a surprise because they never mentioned their throat! Same. For days dd hasn’t had any symptoms besides being tired and having a fever. The she started getting sniffly and coughing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 26 minutes ago, rebcoola said: If you know someone has it than others show symptopms I would definitely do antibiotics. It can lead rhuematic fever, kidney trouble and heart damage. Its basically the only time my kids ever get meds. This. Strep throat needs to be treated with antibiotics as soon as possible. We are very low medical intervention around here (although big on prevention, including vaccines), but never hesitated to get a strep test if we suspected it and always treated it without question. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianthus Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 (edited) If one person in the family is positive, our dr would prescribe antibiotics for anyone in the house showing symptoms. Edited September 10, 2023 by Dianthus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraClark Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 We all got step throat twice last year. First time my kids have ever been on antibiotics (oldest is 11). Our Dr said that, yes, antibiotics are really important with strep (I had also read that maybe waiting it out was fine). All my kids had a terrible cough and congestion the second time we had it, which is definitely not a sign of strep, so now I don't even know what to look for in the future 🤷♀️. Parenting sick kids is hard! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 We don’t wait and see if we suspect strep. We get tested for sore throats, even the adults. To be fair, I grew up always getting tested for any sore throat (pediatric cardiologist orders, not negotiable), but here are my reasons for other people: Extended family member waited it out, and her symptoms seemed to go away — this was in 2012 or so — she ended up in the ICU with rheumatic fever and kidney problems. She pulled through but has never been the same, and will always have big health issues. And we have another extended family member who passed away at 39 from heart issues. Our family doc thinks those issues were likely caused by undiagnosed and untreated strep in her childhood (they were the types to wait it out). Not to mention PANDAS. So if one person has strep, anyone else with symptoms gets tested, too. Symptoms can vary with kids. My kids run high fevers, vomit, and get stuffy noses with strep, YMMV. I hope your little one is better soon, and no one else gets sick! Don’t forget to change out the toothbrushes! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 Strep = antibiotics. Don’t mess around. You will feel terrible if you wait and see how bad their throats can get and how sick they feel. Then there’s the possible complications on top of it to worry about. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 7 hours ago, rebcoola said: If you know someone has it than others show symptopms I would definitely do antibiotics. It can lead rhuematic fever, kidney trouble and heart damage. It’s basically the only time my kids ever get meds. Same for us, too. This ^^^^ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 (edited) Strep isn't something to mess with. A niece didn't go in in time, and ended up with scarlet fever. eta: It won't necessarily cause a super sore throat, so don't let that fool you. (I've had super sore throats that weren't strep.) Edited September 10, 2023 by gardenmom5 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 (edited) What they said, and know that strep is extremely contagious. Rectal strep can happen also, so if one of yours gets a strange rash on the bum, have that swabbed too. Edited September 10, 2023 by cintinative 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 7 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said: The thing about strep is that the downside risk in an advanced case is permanent heart damage. That’s serious enough that I treat it with antibiotics no matter what. This. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet2ndchance Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 One of my kiddos when he was younger would get strep every time it was going around. But he would only be running a little fever and be a little tired even with instant positive strep test, raging strep throat. All my other kids would get the typical sore throat and feeling cruddy when they got it but not this kiddo. My youngest had antibiotic resistant strep throat this past spring. He was on just amoxicillin and started to feel better and then instantly got it again when the antibiotics ran out. So they gave him Cipro and that took care of it. I also got it when he got it the second time and the dr just started me on Cipro and skipped the amoxicillin. I hope your dd starts feeling better soon. Mine normally started feeling better/breaking the fever within a day or two of starting antibiotics. 😉 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 Antibiotics are definitely in order for strep throat. Strep throat is Streptococcus A. When it enters a break in the skin, like a cut or even a skinned knee, it can cause cellulitis. Post-op cellulitis sent me to a 10 on the pain scale. It’s extremely painful. You really don’t want that bacteria going anywhere else. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 (edited) Things like colds and flues we always self-treat. Strep we always treated with antibiotics. It's a tough bug, and it can go round and round in a family. It can be very miserable and have long-term, permanent consequences. We went through some early years (when the kids were all elementary school age or younger) when it seemed to hit us every year or two and make its rounds, with several family members ending up on antibiotics each time, sometimes more than once. It's highly contagious. Then at some point, no one got it anymore ~ maybe everyone had finally built up enough immunity against it or something, I don't know. You also have to be careful of it spreading or reinfecting through toothbrushes, even toothbrushes touching each other. I've even heard that a dog can be a carrier in a family, although I'm sure that's pretty unlikely. Edited September 10, 2023 by J-rap 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 Never mess with strep. Even mild untreated cases of strep can lead to long term bad outcomes, including PANDAS and rheumatic fever, which causes lifelong heart damage that is not reversible. A friend of mine got strep at 18, didn't realize it wasn't just a sore throat and ended up with rheumatic fever, had to spend *a year* in bed, had to move her bed to the first floor because no stairs, and could only get up to go to the bathroom. A previously healthy, 18yo girl. She has lifelong heart complications from that. We had a year where we kept getting strep over and over (it's not like viruses where there's usually a time you're immune - you can easily get reinfected right away), and we had everyone tested and turned out dh had it and was completely asymptomatic but kept sharing. So after that if one person in the family had it, we tested everyone - strep cultures are easy and quick (but the rapid tests almost always gave us false negatives, make sure they do two swabs and do the longer one as well). Unlike Covid, there's an easy cure - take the antibiotics. Covid also seems to have dinged the immune system of many so that the bad outcomes from strep are more, not less, likely right now. Scarlet fever (a shorter-term but more severe systemic version of strep) has been on the rise was well. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 Strep is about the only illness I definitely seek antibiotics for. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brittany1116 Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 I had strep a lot as a kid. My kids have had it often, and they present atypically. One has had scarlet fever as a result, even with immediate treatment. It's a pretty nasty thing and requires abx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 Strep wasn’t an issue in our family for 20 years. Then my dds, who both had covid, got strep multiple times, each worse than the last. EMT dd even went to the ER via ambulance. Her doctor highly recommended a tonsillectomy. Anyway, we’re very cautious about strep around here now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grace Hopper Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 When I was a child one of my mothers friends passed away due to an untreated strep infection that led to kidney failure. I am wait and see on antibiotics for who-knows-what, but we don’t mess around with strep. One of our pediatricians said you have about a week to ten days to do the watch and wait for most sore throats (that aren’t allergy related post nasal drip), without testing for strep. However, it’s contagious so if my kid were in school or activities I always felt responsible to test and know the strep status. I haven’t read all the replies, but ime one of my kids seemed to get a negative on rapid streps but the lab culture test (from a second sample taken same time as rapid) came back positive a couple days later. This happened twice to same kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 (edited) My son had strep that we didn't realize at the time and didn't seek out care right away. He developed Scarlet fever. My cousin had a similar scenario except hers turned into rheumatic fever. So yes, high fever and sore throat = automatic trip to doctor even though we generally don't visit the doctor for most things. And always take all the antibiotics that are prescribed for it. Edited September 10, 2023 by cjzimmer1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemsondana Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 (edited) My kids have only taken oral antibiotics a single-digit number of times, but strep is one that I'll get them tested for and treat. We aren't a family that passes stuff around - it's very rare for one person to get sick and then the rest of us catch it - so I wouldn't necessarily expect others to need antibiotics. But, the few times that I or other relatives have had strep as adults it's miserable. Very painful, and the antibiotics don't work in 24 hours like I remember kids being told in my childhood. It usually seemed to be 2-3 days before the fever and pain subsided to something that wasn't disruptive once the person started in antibiotics. And, when one relative had surgery for a heart problem as an older adult, they found heart damage that they said was likely from untreated strep as a youth. Strep is one of those things that can do damage even if you don't know that you're sick, so we treat it when we know about it. Edited September 10, 2023 by Clemsondana 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 I generally like to recover on my own at home, but with strep, UTI’s, or Bronchitis we don’t play around. These are things that often don’t resolve on their own so you may attempt to ride it out and just be sick longer before you go in. So, yes, every sore throat in the house gets hauled in and treated. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 My great grandmother had rheumatic heart disease from it pre-antibiotics. We know someone who is a double amputee following sepsis from strep in the antibiotic era. Don’t mess around. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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