To think that scarlet fever is a disease I thought was pretty much eradicated in the U.K.?

[Gide]

Am I being naive? All of a friend’s 3 children are just getting over it (north east) Mum’s hairdresser also had it. I can’t remember ever hearing anyone else having it, bar my mum as a child who is now in her 80s.

I had it as a child, was poorly and off school but it responded to antibiotics.

When my DDad had it (before antibiotics existed) it was serious, he was very poorly but pulled through and was sent to aunties at the seaside for a term to convalesce.

Scarlet fever and scarlatina are the same thing.
My mum tells me I had scalatina when I was 3 which was early 90s ish so not long ago.

I had it 8 years ago and I'm in the North West.

Not sure it is or isn't scarlet fever but sons class had 7 kids off including him. Most were told viral tonsillitis and would go on it's one, two given antibiotics. One told scarlet fever and treated. My son had a sore throat, temp and a pink pin prick rash like they all did. Told viral and just to carry on with calpol/ibuprofen. Just hope if it is scarlet fever he will make his own recovery soon but read if untreated contagious for 4-5 weeks!! We are in south east

Both of my kids have had it recently. Started off with tonsillitis and a high temperature and both kids very quiet. Ended up with spots on throats and rashes on their skin.
Once on antibiotics you're still contagious for 48hrs but fine after that.

I thought DS had it 5 years ago. Textbook presentation. GP and OOH said definitely not. No incidence in area etc etc. He was really ill.

Two weeks later they did a swab (he was still ill). By the time that came back positive he was on the mend.

Then we had a spate of it across the county.

My son had it when he was 3, he had a temp and was a bit “off”but nothing major. Doctor Google suggested Scarlet Fever which sounds scary so we went to the GP who said it was a very mild case and nothing to worry about but that we had to tell his Preschool as it was a notifiable disease apparently
He was right as rain within a couple of days but he shakes most things off quickly

My daughter had it when she was 5. It is one of the notifiable illnesses so the school had to notify parents etc.

South East here, my first son has had it twice and my second son has had it once.

It definitely isn’t eradicated where I am.

I also caught it too but for whatever reason it just manifested itself in a very sudden and serious tonsil infection. Like the worst tonsillitis I’ve ever had in my life.

It's sweeping through my DCs school just now. 6 cases confirmed. I'm in scotland.

I had it as a kid in the late 80s/early 90s.
Like PP say it used to be far worse in pre-antibiotics days (my grandmother, born in the 30s, was hospitalised and almost killed by it) but the same could be said of things like measles (which for some reason hardly anyone thinks of as a potential killer)

I'm in SE & we get outbreaks amongst primary round here every so often.

My dd had it almost exactly this time last year. She caught after spending time in hospital for a different reason. I thought it was going to be much worse than it was tbh.

My DS has had it four times. Horrible horrible disease, very ill with it and very strong antibiotics, then the pain and discomfort a week or two later when the skin on his hands and feet peels off. Was told that it's related to tonsils and he should have them removed but ENT consultant said no. So we await the next infection.

We're in SE and DD had it last year, antibiotics now mean it clears up quickly with little/no complications.

the same could be said of things like measles (which for some reason hardly anyone thinks of as a potential killer)

I thought measles was still one of the biggest killers in the world.

I know what you mean op, it flew through the schools here four or five years back, and I couldn't believe it. I was a bookish child who loved all the old Victorian kids books, there's always people dying of it in them, and I had never heard of it in real life!

It did the rounds a lot when I was at school (70's) but was frequently confused with tonsillitis. The throat was horrendous but tongue went red if I remember. Antibiotics do sort it, and gargling with soluble aspirin.

I think any virus is a potential killer. What is mild on one can be deadly on another. I caught "Hand, foot and mouth" from my DS when I was in my 30's when he caught it at school. He recovered quickly but it caused me to get menegitis and encephalitis and I was very ill and in hospital for some time. Thankfully I made a full recovery. Measles is prone to this, which is what makes it so dangerous.

eosmum yes the hand peeling off the hands and feet, how utterly bizzare is that?!

That happened to us about 2 weeks after the symptoms totally cleared up. I really want to know why that occurs.

eos I had it as a child - again not diagnosed until my hands peeled. But I had had my tonsils out at 5, several years prior to the scarlet fever.

DD had it when we went to Florida last year. I was telling a friend in a- god can you believe the odds! Type of way, I didn’t think it was around anymore either. She shrugged and said her DD had it and so did her nephew a year or so ago!
School also said a few kids a year get it.

We are in Scotland and my ds had scarlet fever last year. He was poorly really quite poorly but had been immunized so it could have been worse. I kept thinking how lucky I was that if it had been 30ish hears ago he could have died. It's a scary thought

Hears= years

It never really went away the use of antibiotics stopped epidemics I think, my mum had it as a kid shecwas in hospital in isolation for weeks and weeks Dd got it and a weeks antibiotics and she was fine.