Strep throat is a common childhood illness, and it’s also extremely contagious, easily spreading to all members of your family. Strep throat is responsible for up to 35% of sore throats in children and up to 15% of sore throats in adults. Infants and kids in daycare or school are at high risk of being exposed to strep, so you need to be aware of the symptoms and know when to act.
At Laurel Pediatric & Teen Medical Center, our team of healthcare providers can test your baby, adolescent, or teenager for strep and advise appropriate, timely treatment — but only if you bring them in for a sick visit. Here's what you need to know about strep and why early treatment is so important.
Strep throat is a highly contagious infection caused by bacteria known as Group A Streptococcus. Once strep sets in, pain can make talking or even swallowing painful and difficult.
Risk factors for strep throat include:
Fortunately, strep throat is treatable when it’s caught and addressed early. Here are symptoms to watch for if your child gets a sore throat.
Strep throat is heralded by a sore throat that comes on suddenly, is quite painful, and makes your child reluctant to eat or drink. Other symptoms include:
A cough means that a viral infection is more likely than strep, but if multiple symptoms are present, you should have your child tested for strep throat.
If strep throat isn’t treated promptly, it can lead to a host of other painful conditions also caused by the Group A Streptococcus:
Some children develop serious pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS) that are left untreated. Signs of such disorders include at least three episodes of tics or worsening obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms.
Strep is easily diagnosed or ruled out with a simple throat culture. We can perform the culture at either a sick visit or a same-day visit. If your child tests positive for strep, we’ll immediately start treatment with antibiotics.
They should be feeling a lot better and be less contagious within 24-48 hours of starting their medication, but make sure they finish the entire antibiotic course prescribed to them. If you don’t, they could become resistant to the medication and future rounds of strep will be more difficult to treat.
To learn more about strep throat complications, call our office at 410-504-6406 to schedule a sick visit or same day visit or book your consultation online today.
