Scared DD has strep, when do I get her seen?

[Rolypops]

DD is 14 and never really gets unwell. Yesterday she came home from school and said she felt a bit rubbish, by the evening she had a really sore throat and was coughing because it felt irritated. She went to bed but has woken up with a temp of 37.9 and a really bad headache and her throat is really hurting her. I've had a look in her mouth and her tongue and throat look OK but I am so worried it is Strep and I am trying to fight off the urge to rush her in to be seen. She's just so rarely ill and is really upset this morning. I have such terrible health anxiety and don't know what to do for the best, it's seemed to move so quickly in the children that tragically passed and I'm scared to leave it too long. Any advice/reassurance would be really gratefully received. DH was away last night so I've been up all night worried.

My 11 and 13 yr olds have had similar this week - really sore throats, headache, waking up with temperatures around 38.5. The 11 yr old was worse - had a throat swab at the dr but it was negative. Finally turned a corner after around 5 days - after starting some precautionary antibiotics - unsure whether they helped or he would have anyway.

My kids are rarely ill. I actually don't think DS11 has ever had a bad sore throat like that so I did completely panic given the circumstances - one of the children that has died from strep A complications goes to a local school and my kids knew of them so it suddenly seemed close to home.

Hope she's ok OP. I understand why you're worrying.

strep doesn’t usually cause a cough so that’s a good sign it might not be that, although covid does cause coughing. So much going around at the moment. Always a good idea to seek help if you’re worried, hope your DD feels better soon.

And this is part of the reason why the nhs is crumbling. Sounds like your daughter has a cold.

My 3 year old has just got over strep a and scarlet fever. He hasn't had a temperature at all but had the white spots on the throat, sandpaper rash and swollen tongue. Was happy and playing throughout. Strep/Scarlet Fever when treated with antibiotics is generally nothibg to worry about and only a very small % of cases lead to complications.

Just call 111 and get her seen and monitor in case she needs antibiotics but no need to panic.

Doesnt sound too bsd so far. I'd keep her home unless her throat gets very painful or anything changes. Me and dd had a virus last week and her temp waa 40 and mine was 39. We felt awful but didnt need antibiotics as it was viral. I kept checking her for rash etc. She did see GP on day 6 to check for chest infection but was given ok and told to stay off school till better.

Most people don't cough with step

If she has a cough it's unlikely to be Strep A. You also say her tongue is fine and there is no rash.

So to me, it doesn't sound she needs to be seen yet. Lots of sleep, fluids and paracetamol for now.

It's winter.

It's most probable she just has a cold.

37.9 is barely a temperature.

Give her fluids and let her rest, paracetamol and cough medicine if she's struggling.

I'm not being flippant, but this Strep A concern is the new "everyone is going to die from Covid" we need some reality checks.

If you hadn't heard about Strep A would you already be calling 111 for a child that's been mildly unwell for 24hours?

DS is 14. He has Strep. He started with a cough, sore throat and stomach pains. Phoned gp who saw him within an hour. Did a throat swab, prescribed penicillin and told us to keep a close eye on him.

The next day he had a temp of 40.5, very painful throat, spots on tonsils and tongue. No rash.

24 hours later and his temp started to come down. Still pretty poorly but doing ok.

I hope your DD is OK OP.

If she doesn’t have a rash or the distinctive tongue then you’re better off keeping her home. Waiting at A&E would be awful for her.

The system can’t cope with every child with a simple fever and sore throat seeing a doctor.

Really not interested in the passive aggressive "this is why the NHS is crumbling" type posts. The NHS is crumbling because of the scumbag Tory party, not because I'm anxious to make sure my DD doesn't have a bacterial infection that's killed 19 kids already, with antibiotics running low across the country.

Thank you for all the helpful reassuring posts, I think I will wait until this afternoon and make a decision then, as I say I probably wouldn't be jumping to conclusions if it was one of my other DC's but DD is so rarely ill and I don't think I've ever seen her upset from being ill before. The cough is completely gone but paracetamol has brought her temp down a little, so just going to have to wait and see right now.

There's some horrible bugs going around.
DS18 is never ill. Last Friday he had a sore throat and felt dizzy so I kept him off school. He slept all day and had a temp of 39 in the evening. He had a cough and runny nose. I gave him some paracetamol and he was much better the next day, sore throat was still there but temp and cough had gone. The next day the cough returned and has lasted all week.

Most of these bugs are self limiting viruses.

My DS has been exactly the same - are home from school with a bit of a sore throat yesterday, felt worse throughout the evening, temp of 38 when he went to bed (with paracetamol so guess it would have been much higher without) and has woken feeling utterly rotten today. I’m assuming it’s flu but keeping a close eye on him and need to check his tongue and throat on a minute as he’s felt too nauseous for me to look so far this morning. It’s such a worry isn’t it?

I really wouldn’t go to a and e! My child has strep and we’ve waited 12 hours twice in the place! There are so many really poorly little children but by what you’ve described it doesn’t seem to warrant a and e. I’d wait until Monday for the GP or ring 111 if you can’t settle! Give nurofen, that’s all a lot of the kids were getting treated with (which helped) and was put down to a viral illness.

I wouldn’t be too worried with fever of 37.9. My DD is 12 and very rarely ill too. 2 weeks ago she was complaining of a headache and very sore throat. Her glands were swollen too. Checked her temp it was 39.9-40. Was very scary and I kept a very close eye on her. Thankfully, she started to get better on day 3. Then DC2&3 came down with the same virus. Had to constantly remind myself that viruses take a few days to get over and not all sore throats mean strep A.
hope she gets well soon.

We've managed to avoid A&E so far as her symptoms seem to have developed into a really nasty cold with my other DC's starting with it now too. She's still quite poorly but I'm fairly confident it isn't Strep.