Ohio12 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 a dear friend of mine keeps getting strep. it goes her, her DS and then her dd over and over. they keep passing it around. this has been going on for 3-4 months. has anyone heard of this? does anyone have an idea for what to do? the other little weird detail is that she does not test positive for it for some reason. but when she takes the antibiotic, she does get better. her dcs do test positive and then get negative cultures after they take the medicine. also, she has her tonsils out already. any help you can give would be great, her doctors are baffled and she is getting to the end of her rope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 I have heard of this. This happened with my aunt and her partner. When they finally got new toothbrushes it stopped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 They are probably colonized with it now, so it will most likely come back more than in other people. Have they tried using hibiclens or some other antibacterial soap to wash with. It may be in their nose also, and that will be harder to kill. Have the docs given them anything for their nose? I am not a doctor nor do I play one, but we use oil of oregano which is a natural antibiotic. This combined with probiotics seems to work well for us. Of course we have never had anything go around our house more than once, so I don't know if this will help. Have them clean EVERYTHING daily and for a week or two after no one is sick anymore. Phones, keyboards, keys, spray couches, chairs, wash curtains, you get the idea. So sorry they are dealing with this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 It is VERY possible that the strep colonies are hinding out in the sinus cavities... I had chronic strep as a child--my tonsils were to blame. My oldest dd had chronic strep and it was hiding in her sinus cavity--a HARD place to get the little 'buggers' out of...regular antibiotics just cannot get there... She may consider going to an ENT to be checked out for 'hiding places'. I also agree with 'change the toothbrushes' and careful handwashing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Sometimes this just *happens*, and I don't know of a truly reliable way to deal with it. But a few things that may help (and she may already be doing them anyway, but here goes): Buy a bunch of cheap toothbrushes and replace everyone's about once a week. Also, any time someone starts antibiotics, replace the toothbrush 24 hours after the first dose. (Some people put their toothbrushes in the dishwasher. In this case, I wouldn't trust that to *really* be adequate.) Find a really good probiotic supplement and start the whole family on it. Take it religiously. (Plain yogurt with "live and active" cultures is good in addition, but for problems this severe, I'd go with the supplement.) When on antibiotics, take the probiotics separated by 2 hours or more from the antibiotics (or they just won't do any good). Garlic supplements can be helpful as well. Eat as much garlic as possible (raw chopped in other foods, roasted, whatever) and take supplements (some are "odorless"). And while I'm not *normally* a person who obsesses about germs, now would be the time to do it. I have mixed feelings about "antibacterial" soaps and such, but really scrub down bathroom surfaces, faucets, handles... Insist that kids (and parents) not share glasses, clean all washable surfaces... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Sometimes there is someone who is a carrier who is not symptomatic at all but who keeps reinfecting people around them. Has the Dad been tested? Or any other kids in the family who haven't been sick? If not, it's easy to test them and then if they are positive they can be treated (it's a different treatment than for regular strep). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio12 Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 thanks everyone, I am going to give her all these tips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraceinMD Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Sometimes there is someone who is a carrier I had a friend who had a similar situation to the OP's description ... and it turned out that their DOG was the carrier. Just another thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 You have to replace toothbrushes. This is very important. It is also advisable to hot wash bedding, don't share cups, use the dishwasher, etc. Friends of ours went through this last year- and the final she-bang was when they passed it to us and my children got it - and we discovered it two days after we brought our son home from the hospital! All five of my children and my husband got it. We "killed it" with antibiotic, toothbrush purge, bedding wash blitz, etc. Hope this helps, Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I talk to the trees Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I had a friend who had a similar situation to the OP's description ... and it turned out that their DOG was the carrier. Just another thought! :iagree:Yup. If there's a family pet...or two or three as in our case, they should be checked out and possibly given a course of antibiotics as well. -Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I had a friend who had a similar situation to the OP's description ... and it turned out that their DOG was the carrier. Just another thought! Wow! I never would have suspected a pet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Sometimes there is someone who is a carrier who is not symptomatic at all but who keeps reinfecting people around them. Has the Dad been tested? Or any other kids in the family who haven't been sick? If not, it's easy to test them and then if they are positive they can be treated (it's a different treatment than for regular strep). :iagree: I had a male patient who got it 3 times. I asked him to have the kids swabbed. His wife told him their test came back negative. 2 more times and I nagged again. Wifey confessed she'd never taken the kids in because she thought I was nuts. Two kids were positive. I think hubby finally pressed her because I asked him, sotto voce, if he had a lady on the side who should be tested. He was shocked. I was shocked wife lied to him. Also, is it the rapid swab that is negative or a culture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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