Off Topic Chronic strep throat

[Dahlialover]

Some boys on our team brought strep throat back from regionals last spring and a lot of kids and parents at the gym caught it, including my family. Unfortunately, our family just can’t seem to shake it and we are now on our 4th infection in 6 months! Any suggestions or experiences?

 

[Gymmomka]

Oregano oil and Manuka honey! They are both antibiotics but also antiviral. I use them for every illness in our house and everything has been minor. Also, if you took rx antibiotics, taking a quality probiotic regularly will help repopulate your gut bacteria, which are crucial to immune system health.

 

[Dahlia]

Make sure you are doing things like replacing all toothbrushes and such after each infection. Other things like everyone having their own tube of toothpaste and making sure toothbrushes are not near each other can help too as well as frequent disinfecting of surfaces. In addition, a strict no sharing food and beverages. Some people can carry strep, so you might want to talk to your medical provider and make sure the infection is fully eliminated in everyone after antibiotics are finished.

 

[estamey21]

Ask your doctor for advice. Hopefully they already told you something along these lines:

• new toothbrushes for the whole family
• sanitize communal surfaces regularly (especially kitchen and bathroom)
• take all the antibiotics that you were prescribed (don't stop early)

 

[Go Figure]

My son is a carrier of strep throat which means he gets it and he can pass it on but he doesn’t get sick. I had strep throat 5 times in about 15 months before we figured it out. Make sure everyone in your family has been tested even if they show no symptoms. Also you can test negative on a rapid test but still be positive on a culture. If someone in your family tests negative have your doctor send the sample for culture. My daughter gets strep throat but tests negative on the rapid test about 50 percent of the time even though her culture comes back positive. Make sure your children are not sharing water bottles etc at gym. Someone at gym may be a carrier.

Lastly may sound crazy but apparently dogs can get and pass strep throat. When we were trying to figure out why I kept getting it my doctor asked if I had a dog because she had a patient once that was getting it from her dog.

 

[Vive Moguilnyi!]

Make sure you are doing things like replacing all toothbrushes and such after each infection. Other things like everyone having their own tube of toothpaste and making sure toothbrushes are not near each other can help too as well as frequent disinfecting of surfaces. In addition, a strict no sharing food and beverages. Some people can carry strep, so you might want to talk to your medical provider and make sure the infection is fully eliminated in everyone after antibiotics are finished.

Absolutely do talk with your doctor about this! A pharmacist should be able to help the doctor choose the medications that are appropriate for you. Be extremely careful about "home remedies", as some are not just not helpful, some are dangerous.