Strep Infections

I figured that since my family has had 23 diagnosed infections of strep in the last 7 months, I have learned a lot about it and should pass this knowledge on.

We're healthy today.

I think that Alex has been picking it up from an undiagnosed carrier in school, because he is always our first case, and we have confirmed that David, Griffin, and I are not carriers for sure. We are having the other three tested this week.

Here is a typical presentation of strep throat from my kids:

1) Alex is so strong, so he doesn't actually look that sick. He will tell me that he's not feeling well, and usually by this point he is running a little fever. When he's at this point, if I check his throat, he will often have a war zone at the back of his throat. That's the best way I can describe it. I had always thought that strep resulted in white spots, but I've more often seen bright red patches that sometimes bleed. It looks SO painful (because it is!).

2) In addition to the fever and a red throat, the kids won't eat or drink. This is one way to distinguish strep from a virus or some other infection. Consistently, none of my kids will eat when they're suffering from a strep infection.

3) When I had it, I couldn't believe how painful it was. It was as painful as having my tonsils out when I was 25. Of course, having had them out has probably protected me from getting the infection more than the two times I've had it.

4) Only once did one of my children present with "strawberry tongue" (see below if you're interested). I knew as soon as I saw it that the child had strep. David took the child to the doctor who said that the kid was coming off of it, since that child had just finished antibiotics a week previous. But at least the doctor ran the test, and the child was (of course!) positive for strep.

5) Untreated, or in our case, insufficiently treated strep turns into Scarlet fever, which often results in a rash that has fine bumps and can look like one smooth color but still feel rough. At this point, the fever is higher and the fever reducers don't work very well. Scarlet fever can also cause heart murmurs, so the doctor may run some tests to check the heart, depending on what he hears through the stethoscope.

6) Untreated, or insufficiently treated strep may also show itself as an exit sore from diarrhea. It basically looks like the skin was rubbed away with sandpaper. This is called impetigo and requires an antibiotic cream to clear it up.

7) Sometimes fever blisters show up. I'm not sure if they're fever blisters or boils from the infection, but they've usually been about the size of a pencil eraser or maybe slightly larger. I've seen them on arms, feet, and legs. I've never seen them on the trunk of the body or the face. They get very itchy, and in fact are more itchy than painful.

8) Strep has about a 4-day incubation period, and it's contagious up to 24 hours after treatment with antibiotics. You can imagine me counting down days every time one of our kids has gotten it. This last time, I managed to keep it away from two of the four children, thank God.

I don't know what is causing us this grief. If I did, it would be resolved by now. But I can certainly tell you that this is one of the main reasons I am so excited to get home. For some reason, I am confident that the pediatrician in Waynesboro would never allow this so passively as the pediatrician here has.

Please keep us in your prayers!!