If your child is suffering from the following symptoms, then it may not be strep throat; rather, they are infected by a virus: It includes:
Cough
Hoarseness in voice
Runny nose
Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye
Strep throat is a kind of throat infection. It is caused by group A streptococcus bacteria.
Strep Throat is very common infection among children and teens.
In this blog, we will discuss everything about the strep throat infection- its symptoms, prevention, safety measures and when to seek doctors help.
Most importantly, we will discuss pediatric strep throat screening and treatment in Alpharetta.
Keep reading the article!
Symptoms of Strep Throat are as follows:
Red, Swollen and Enlarged tonsils
Red and white patches in the throat
Fever
Loss of appetite
Headache
Swollen lymph nodes
Nausea
Stomach ache
Swollen lymph nodes
Sleeping more than usual
Irritability
Preventive Ways to Stop the Spread of Strep Throat
Below are some tips to prevent the spread of strep throat from your child
Keep their eating utensils, dishes, and drinking glasses separate from the rest.
Wash their utensils in hot water containing after every use
Ensure not to allow your child to share food, drinks, napkins or towels with others
Make sure your child covers his/her nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing to stop the spread of infection
Make them practice good hand washing. It is advisable to wash hands thoroughly at least for 30 seconds in order to kill germs on the surface of the hand.
Give your child plenty of fluids
To soothe the sore throat of your child, you can offer them warm fluids such as herbal tea with honey, warm water, or diluted juices if they are older than one year old.
You may try throat sprays that do not contain benzocaine for children over four years.
But remember to read the instructions mentioned on their labels carefully
If your child is six or older, you can give them salted lukewarm water to gargle twice or thrice a day.
Note: Ask them not to swallow it
Adopt good hygiene practices to avoid the spread of bacteria.
Avoid sending your child to school until they start recovering and have no fever even after 12 hours of in taking antibiotics.
Seek your child’s to pediatrician as soon as they develop any severe symptoms of strep throat.
Pediatric Strep Throat Screening and Treatment
To determine the type of illness your child is suffering from, consult the symptoms with pediatrician or your child’s healthcare provider.
By doing a physical test if required or screening, pediatrician may easily discover the extent of infection caused by the bacteria.
If left untreated, strep throat may result in rheumatic fever. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the presence of this bacteria.
Furthermore, rheumatic fever may cause
Painful joints
Skin rash
Negatively impact the kidneys and heart.
Screening test for strep throat
If your child is exhibiting any of the symptoms of strep throat, you must schedule an appointment with your child’s pediatrician.
Pediatrician can either get them tested with rapid strep test or a throat culture to get the confirmation.
A rapid test involves swabbing a child’s throat and then running a test on the swab. As the name suggests, it is quicker to identify the bacteria causing the illness.
If the test result is positive, your child is suffering from strep throat. Doctors may prescribe some antibiotics to cure this illness.
If the doctor suspect strep throat but still results are negative, they can let your child undergo a throat culture swab.
As this test takes more time in contrast to the rapid test, it can easily identify the presence of bacteria that which rapid test misses.
Treatment for Strep Throat
The treatment for strep throat infection is usually a ten days course of antibiotics.
In most of the cases, the child will no longer be contagious after 24 hours of taking antibiotic.
Furthermore, in upcoming two or three days the symptoms of this infection also starts recovering.
Note: It is essential for your child to complete full course of antibiotics as per the doctor’s prescription.
Otherwise the bacteria can remain in the throat and symptoms may arise again and he/she may again get infected with the same symptoms.
Reasons behind Reoccurrence of Strep Throat Infection
If you notice that your child is suffering from the strep throat infection again and again, the reason behind may be poor or underdeveloped immune system of your child.
Another reason may be that your child is repeatedly coming in contact with the bacteria causing strep throat infection.
In case of the later concern you must pay attention to the cause of infection for its effective prevention.
Our Expert Pediatricians Can Help
If your child is suffering strep throat infection don’t panic.
Consult with the pediatricians at Sun Pediatrics.
We have a team of expert pediatricians that are specialized in offering the best treatment to your child.
We at Sun Pediatrics understands the difference between diagnosis and treatment of children and adults. Therefore, we indulge ourselves into best health care practices for the kids.
Book an appointment at Sun Pediatrics.
