Strep throat is a common illness, especially in children. It’s a painful ailment, making it very difficult to drink or eat anything. If not treated promptly, it can cause other complications including ear and sinus infections.
Our board-certified family medicine physicians and nurse practitioners with Bethel Family Medicine treat many cases of strep throat during sick visits throughout the year.
If you or your child contracts strep throat a second or third time, here’s what you need to know about the possible causes and what we can do to help.
The formal name for strep throat is streptococcal pharyngitis. This infection, caused by Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria or group A streptococcus, causes a severe sore throat.
Strep throat is very contagious. It spreads through airborne droplets emitted when sneezing, coughing, or even speaking. You can also get strep throat from putting your hands on a contaminated surface.
While adults do get strep throat, it’s more common among children in daycare or school, where a lot of close contact occurs.
While most infections clear up after a complete course of antibiotics, some children and adults suffer from repeated or recurrent infections.
You’ve taken the antibiotics for a couple of days and you feel better. You’ve heard about antibiotic resistance and think it’s not necessary to finish taking them. That’s a mistake.
Even though you feel better, bacteria are likely still present in your throat. When you don’t complete the prescribed dose, your strep throat can come roaring back. Although you might think it’s a brand new infection, it’s a continuation of the original infection that was never completely cured.
If your child is the one with strep throat and it recurs after a dose of antibiotics, they may have structural issues, like enlarged tonsils or sinus problems, that make it easier for bacteria to hide and multiply.
If you have recurrent strep throat, you may be more prone to infections because of a weakened immune system, which may make it harder to treat the initial infection.
In general, children are more likely to suffer recurrent strep throat than adults. Your child touches other children, used cafeteria trays, and many other bacteria-laden items at school. Many children don’t wash their hands regularly, or they may cough or sneeze in their hands or into the air, increasing the risk of spreading the infection to others.
If you or your child feels another bout of strep throat returning, call our office for an appointment. Early detection is important for preventing complications such as ear and/or sinus infections and other problems.
At the visit, we take a throat culture. We send the culture to a lab to make sure we treat you with an antibiotic that kills the bacteria that grows on the culture.
Be sure that your or your child takes all of the doses of the antibiotic we prescribe. That’s the only way we can ensure that it has killed the bacteria causing the illness. Wait two days to return to work or school after starting the antibiotic so you’re not contagious
Teach your child how to prevent strep throat and other infections. Show them how to sneeze or cough into a tissue or into their elbow — not their hands — if a tissue isn’t available. Make it a practice at home to wash hands frequently and always before eating. Have hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes available in their backpack if the school allows it.
Call us at Bethel Family Medicine in Brockton, Massachusetts, if you or a loved one feels ill. We want to keep your family healthy.
