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What causes it?
"Strep throat" or Streptococcal Pharyngitis is caused by
a bacteria called Group A Streptococcus. This is a different bacteria than
that associated with newborn infections from mothers who carry Group B
strep.
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What symptoms will my child have?
"Strep throat" can have a variety of symptoms associated
with it. The most common symptom is a sore throat. The throat is often very
red and occasionally will have exudates (pus) on the tonsils. Strep throat
is often associated with a headache, abdominal pain or even vomiting. It is
not uncommon to have a fever or a rash with strep throat. When a child has
strep throat associated with a red sandpaper-like rash from head to toe and
a fever, it is called Scarlet Fever. Viral infections of the throat may have
similar symptoms and may also have hoarseness.
Group A Streptococcus can infect the skin causing an
infection called impetigo. It can been found in the rectal or genital area
causing a very tender red rash.
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How did my child get this
infection?
School children are most frequently infected with Group A
Streptococcus. However infants of siblings in school or children in daycare
can be exposed to strep. It will take 3-7 days to develop symptoms once your
child is exposed to strep. It is spread through secretions from the nose and
mouth. Keeping your child’s hands out of his mouth and good hand washing
helps decrease your child’s chance of catching strep throat.
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How do I find out if my child has
Strep Throat?
Strep throat must be diagnosed with a throat swab. The
"rapid test" involves wiping a cotton swab over the back of the throat and
testing the swab for the presence of strep. This can be done in our office
and results usually take less than 10 minutes. Since viral infections of the
throat can resemble strep throat this swab test must be done to diagnose
strep or viral infection. The quick test done in the office is only about
90% accurate so a throat culture will always be done on all negative rapid
tests. A culture takes 1-2 days for results but is very accurate. You
must make an appointment to see the doctor to see if you need a throat
culture.
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What is the treatment?
All types of Group A Streptococcal infections should be
treated with antibiotics. If your child has any of these symptoms please
call our office for an appointment. Pushing
fluids and treating pain with pain reliever is important while waiting for
the antibiotics to start working. Most children begin to feel better in 1-2
days. Once well they can return to school after being on antibiotics for 24
hours. She will need to take the full 10 days of antibiotics to completely
treat the infection. If untreated or not completely treated strep throat can
lead to rheumatic fever which leads to heart and joint disease.
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What is a Strep Carrier?
Some children (some studies suggest up to 15% of healthy
children) are carriers of Group A Streptococcus. These children do not have
symptoms of strep throat and are generally well children. Family members of
a carrier may have frequent bouts of strep. When families are having
frequent cases of strep infections the physician may try to find out who the
carrier is and treat that child with special medicines. Not all experts
believe that every carrier should be treated. If your child is having
several episodes in a season make appointment with your physician to discuss
this issue. Walk-in strep tests do not help determine who is a carrier.
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When should I call the office?
If your child may have strep call our office for an
appointment. If your child has been diagnosed with strep and is on
antibiotics and you are not seeing improvement please call our office. If
your child is on antibiotics and is getting worse call our office now for an
appointment.
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The information
contained on this website should not be used as a substitute for the medical
care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment
that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and
circumstances. |
