Should that sore throat be swabbed?
Strep throat is one of the most common illnesses we see at the office. Strep throat is ALWAYS “going around.” While the number of cases we see changes, we see strep throat every week of the year.
Strep throat is caused by a bacterial infection — Group A beta hemolytic streptococcus. It is spread person-to-person through contact with saliva and nasal droplets. After exposure, it typically takes 2-5 days to become ill.
The symptoms of strep throat vary widely from patient to patient and have a lot of overlap with other illnesses. Older children and teens more commonly have the classic sore throat and fever.
But younger children ages 3-10 years, often have symptoms like headache, stomach ache, ear ache, vomiting, low energy, grumpiness, and poor eating and drinking in conjunction with a fever. Frustratingly, young children often don’t complain of a sore throat!
Between the children who have a strep throat infection without a sore throat, and the kids who have a sore throat and fever from something other than strep, it can be confusing about when to take your child to the doctor to evaluate for a strep throat infection.
The short answer is, we ALWAYS want to test for strep if it is suspected.
Strep throat can be miserable, and it’s easily treated with antibiotics. So, a lot of suffering can be alleviated. Treating strep throat helps prevent the spread to siblings and others. Some would argue that sometimes strep throat isn’t that bad and the body can clear it without antibiotics. This is true.
The problem is, untreated strep throat can go on to develop into much more serious complications, such as:
- An abscess near the tonsils or in the back of the throat
- An infection of the blood
- A bone infection
- An infection around the brain
- Rheumatic fever
- Rheumatic heart disease
- Scarlet fever
- Glomerulonephritis (a kidney disorder)
- Neuropsychiatric disorders
These complications used to be vastly more common before the use of strep tests and antibiotics. However, because strep is so prevalent and so many cases are untreated, we still see children develop these complications.
Thus, when we see children with a reasonable suspicion of strep throat, we ALWAYS want to test and treat.
Thankfully, infants and one-year old toddlers don’t really seem to catch strep throat. There are several theories as to why, but it is not completely understood. And while your child is much less likely to catch strep throat after they get their tonsils removed, it still happens.
Generally, children are usually not infectious within 24 hours after appropriate antibiotic therapy has been started (and can, therefore, go back to school). Yay!
About the Author, Dr. Josh Kindt
Dr. Josh Kindt is a pediatrician at Mercy Clinics Pediatrics West in Clive. To schedule an appointment for your child with Dr. Kindt, please call (515) 222-7337.
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The post is part of a series of sponsored post by Mercy Medical Center – Des Moines.
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