Childhood Diseases – On a Mission to Educate: Strep Throat

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I started off on my mission to write about Childhood Diseases with the subject of Chickenpox. Chickenpox is a very contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. We learned that it causes blister-like rash, itching, fever & tiredness. We also learned that it can be serious for babies, pregnant woman who have never had chickenpox, and people with a weakened immune system. Today I will look into another childhood disease Strep Throat

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What Is Strep Throat?

According to Healthline (https://www.healthline.com/health/strep-throat) Strep Throat is a bacterial infection that causes inflammation and pain in the throat. It is considered a common condition that is caused by group A Streptococcus bacteria. Strep throat can affect both children and adults of all ages but is especially common among children 5 to 15 years old.

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Although strep throat is common in school aged children, it is not as common as parents often think. According to Momtastic (http://www.momtastic.com/health/606263-strep-throat-in-kids) only three out of ten incidents of a sore throat will actually turn out to have the bacterial infection strep throat. So the article advises parents to learn when to treat the child’s condition as a sore throat and when to seek medical intervention.

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What Are the Symptoms of Strep Throat?

Healthline stated that the severity of strep throat can vary, where some individuals experience mild symptoms like just a sore throat while others have more severe symptoms like fever and swallowing difficulties. The following are the list of the common symptoms of strep throat:

• Sudden fever, especially if it’s 101˚F or higher

• Sore, red throat with white patches

• Headache

• Chills

• Loss of appetite

• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck

• Trouble swallowing

Generally the symptoms of strep throat develop within five days of exposure to the bacteria.

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When to See the Doctor

Children will frequently get a sore throat but not all of these incidents will result in a strep infection. There are some illnesses that can cause a sore throat but don’t always result in strep throat. These illnesses can include the common cold, acid reflux, a sinus infection and a postnasal drip. Many of these things may improve on their own in a few days. Parents are advised to monitor their children to decide if an office visit is warranted.

An office visit to the doctor is warranted if you experience the following according to Healthline:

• Sore throat that lasts longer than two days

• Sore throat with white patches

• Dark, red splotches or spots on the tonsils or the top of the mouth

• Sore throat with a fine, sandpaper-like pink rash on the skin

• Difficulty breathing

• Difficulty swallowing

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How Do You Get Strep Throat?

Strep Throat is very contagious so literally anybody can get it, but in most cases it frequently starts among school-age children. There is a high correlation with infections happening when there are big groups of students in close quarters. According to Kids Health (http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/strep-throat.html), the bacteria that causes strep throat tends to hang out in the nose and throat so that things like sneezing, coughing or hand contact can very easily spread the infection person to person.

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Per Kids Health children who have strep throat that isn’t treated, are more likely to spread it when their symptoms are very severe but may also still infect others for up to 3 weeks. It is important that parents teach their children the importance of good hand washing as good hygiene can lessen the chances of them catching a contagious disease like strep throat.

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How Is Strep Throat Diagnosed?

Strep Throat can be diagnosed by a rapid strep test performed by the doctor. He/she will take a cotton swab of the fluids at the back of the throat and place it into a specialized container. The test only takes about 5 minutes. If the results of the test turns positive, then strep throat is established. If the test turns out negative, depending on the symptoms presented by the child, doctors may sometimes take a culture of the throat to further test for other possibilities.

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How Is Strep Throat Treated?

After Strep Throat is diagnosed, the doctor will prescribe an antibiotic to treat the strep infection. The antibiotic will inhibit the spread of the infection and bacteria. Generally the most common medications prescribed are penicillin or amoxicillin according to Healthline. It is extremely important to have your child finish the entire antibiotic treatment course in order to kill the infection completely. In many cases where parents stop giving the antibiotic once the child’s symptoms disappear, the symptoms return, causing a relapse.

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At-Home Strep Throat Care

According to Healthline there are at-home treatments in addition to antibiotics that can help facilitate recovery:

• Drinking warm liquids, such as lemon water and tea

• Drinking cold liquids to help numb the throat

• Turning on a cool-mist humidifier

• Taking over-the-counter pain relievers, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen

• Sucking on throat lozenges

• Adding 1/2 teaspoon of salt to 1 cup of water and gargling the mixture

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Strep Throat Complications

Healthline listed a number of potential complications of strep throat that I thought was important to add to this post. The article said that if the strep throat is treated, the symptoms will improve in one week. But if it is not treated at all, it can cause some very serious complications. The following is the list of complications:

• Ear infection

• Sinusitis

• Rheumatic fever, which is an inflammatory disease that affects the joints, the heart, and the skin

• Poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis, which is an inflammation of the kidneys

• Mastoiditis, which is an infection of the mastoid bone in the skull

• Scarlet fever, which occurs when toxins created by the strep infection cause a scarlet-colored rash to develop on different parts of the body

• Guttate psoriasis, which is a condition that causes small, red teardrop-shaped spots to appear on the body

• Peritonsillar abscess, which is a pus-filled infection that develops in the back of the tonsils

It is very important to contact the physician if the strep throat symptoms don’t improve within 48 hours of taking an antibiotic. Sometimes the physician may have to prescribe a different antibiotic to fight the infection.

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Things You Need to Know About Strep Throat

I had found an article by Woman’s Day (http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/wellness/a59123/strep-throat-complications) called, ”8 Things You Need to Know About Strep Throat.” Some of this information may be redundant but I felt that it was important to share it with you. Here are the 8 things listed:

• STREP BACTERIA THRIVES IN YOUR NOSE AND ON YOUR SKIN: The bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes (or group A strep) lives exclusively on human skin and mucus membranes. Contact with people who have it is the only way to get Strep.

• STREP IS HARDER TO SPOT IN CHILDREN UNDER 3: It's possible to have a strep infection without a sore throat, and very young children might not complain like someone who's more able to articulate their symptoms.

• THE SYMPTOMS YOU DON'T HAVE ARE JUST AS TELLING AS THE ONES YOU DO: Oftentimes a sore throat will accompany a common cold, but the other symptoms of a cold —runny nose, cough, congestion—are not typical for strep. Other common strep symptoms include swollen lymph nodes and glands in the neck and a rash.

• THE LONGER THE INFECTION LINGERS, THE MORE LIKELY IT IS TO TURN INTO SOMETHING SERIOUS: A sore throat that doesn't go away after three to five days should be evaluated by a doctor.

• SOME PEOPLE ARE CARRIERS OF STREP: If your child is getting recurrent infections, either in the same year or throughout childhood, they may be a carrier—someone without symptoms who tests positive for strep throat. Antibiotics don't completely eliminate it from these children.

• STREP COMPLICATIONS CAN BE DEADLY: Strep throat that goes untreated can progress to more serious conditions like: Scarlet fever, retropharyngeal abscess, post- post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, PANDAS (pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with strep), rheumatic fever, meningitis, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, necrotizing fasciitis, commonly called flesh-eating disease.

***According to Woman’s Day the last three listed can be fatal. They said that a “six year old Ohio girl lost her leg after flesh-eating bacteria entered her bloodstream, the result of an earlier strep throat infection, and began attacking the tissue, nerves, fat and blood vessels in her body.”

• OTHER BACTERIAL INFECTIONS CAN MASQUERADE AS STREP: Just because you test negative for strep doesn't mean that you don't have a bacterial infection. If your throat is sore for five days or more and you're not getting better, you need to see a doctor. It's probably not just a virus and it's not going to go away on its own.

• IF YOU SUSPECT IT'S STREP, STAY HOME: Washing your hands and not being around people who have strep throat is the best way to prevent getting sick. If you have it, you shouldn't be going to school or work until you're treated. As a general rule, strep patients who've been on the correct antibiotics for at least 24 hours, and no longer have fever, are safe to go out in public.

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So as you can see, Strep Throat can be easily treated but if it is not treated, the individual can eventually have very serious complications, some of which are life threatening. Plus, if you are not treated you can seriously affect many other people you come into contact with. So please see your physician if you have any of the symptoms listed above. Your health is very important to you and to others.

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I will continue this series with another childhood disease post. I hope you will continue to join me in this quest to learn about these illnesses that children usually encounter when they are young. Thank-you for reading my article on "Childhood Diseases – On a Mission to Learn: Strep Throat". If you would like to follow me, please check HERE

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These are my previous articles if you are interested in reading it:

Neuroplasticity: Hope For People With Anxiety?
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-hope-for-people-with-anxiety

Neuroplasticity: How to deal with Anxiety Disorders Like Panic Attacks
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-how-to-deal-with-anxiety-disorders-like-panic-attacks

Neuroplasticity: Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-cognitive-behavior-therapy-cbt

Neuroplasticity: Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-mindfulness-based-cognitive-therapy

Neuroplasticity: Self-Directed Neuroplasticity Exercises
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-self-directed-neuroplasticity-exercises

Neuroplasticity: Music & Music Therapy
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-music-and-music-therapy

Neuroplasticity: Meditation and Anxiety
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-meditation-and-anxiety

Neuroplasticity: Brainwave Entrainment
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-brainwave-entrainment

Anxiety and CBD: An Introduction to Cannabinoid
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/anxiety-and-cbd-an-introduction-to-cannabinoid

Childhood Injuries: Concussions
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/childhood-injuries-concussions

Childhood Injuries: Post Concussion Syndrome & Recovery & Safety Measures To Prevent Concussions
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/childhood-injuries-post-concussion-syndrome-and-recovery-and-safety-measures-to-prevent-concussions

Youth Sports: The Benefits of Youth Sports & Increase Incidents of Concussions
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/youth-sports-the-benefits-of-youth-sports-and-increase-incidents-of-concussions

Are You Ready For Some Football? - The Continuing Saga of Concussion & Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Former NFL Players & Other Concussion Victims
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/are-you-ready-for-some-football-the-continuing-saga-of-concussion-and-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy-in-former

An American Tragedy: Story of Mike Webster, Pro Hall of Famer & CTE
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/an-american-tragedy-story-of-mike-webster-pro-hall-of-famer-and-cte

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy – The Tragedy Continues: Not Just In the NFL
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy-the-tragedy-continues-not-just-in-the-nfl

Should Our Children Be Playing Contact Sports or Not?: Dr. Bennet Omalu
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/should-our-children-be-playing-contact-sports-or-not-dr-bennet-omalu

Childhood Diseases –On a Mission to Learn: Chicken Pox
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/childhood-diseases-on-a-mission-to-educate-chickenpox

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