Strep A infection

[Sallydimebar]

Just heard on radio how 4 children have now died of this within the month . Advise is to seek urgent medical care if worried .

How worried should we be about this infection? And am I being unreasonable in thinking it’s so hard at hospitals to seek urgent care . The poor 5 yr old who was sent away with tonsil infection as no bed was available died .

Are antibiotics working?

StrepA is commonly called toncillitis.
My adult DS had it two years ago. He had never had toncillitis as a child and so when the doctor diagnosed his illness as toncillitis I was surprised. he had had a run of viruses and this one went on for weeks. He was given antibiotics and then came out in a bright red rash all over his trunk and face. The doctor said he was allergic to the ABs and we didn't question it. However the rash lasted for weeks. I think in hindsight it was probably SF.

I've thought the same. The NHS is so overstretched. There have been times in the past year when my 3 year old has been worryingly sick and the GP would not see her in person. It often takes hours to get a callback from 111. I can easily imagine similar happening with these poor children.

My daughter has just been diagnosed with Strep A but has no tonsils, her throat is swollen and she aches all over. has a high temperature and flushed skin, she isnt a child though, she is 27 and a teacher so exposed, shes been given antibiotics and told to isolate for 48 hours.

@Jenasaurus ive had same and also no tonsils! The antibiotics kicked in within 24/36 hours. That was Friday. I feel so much better today.

Another primary school pupil believed to have died from Hampshire, taking number to 8 .

What number to we get too before this becomes serious I mean 1 is to many 😞

Yes I'm south east it's getting scarily closer.

This is how it sounds to me. As though kids just aren’t being seen in time. Both hideously overstretched NHS and also perhaps parents not realising the signs as there’s been no public awareness of strep A, just Covid all the time for the past two years?

8 in how many weeks? I can’t find a timeline. So sad. It makes me really angry the effect the last few years has had on our little kids.

Local report
One of our region's biggest hospitals
@boltonnhsft- is warning that it's under
extreme pressure - with large numbers of
seriously ill people coming through its
doors - and patients being cared for in
corridors.

Downing Street issued statement this afternoon “They are fully confident NHS can cope this winter “

The government are lying (again!!) The NHS will not cope because it can’t cope with the work it already has. It’s impossible to access urgent healthcare, it’s impossible to see GPs. There is no slack in the system, no room at the inn.

When does the nurse strike start?

I’ve lost all confidence!
My Aunty had a fall last night after using toilet . Her son rang Ambulance at 11:30pm was told there’s a 4 hour delay . They came at 6:30am , she has broke her hip .

That's awful
I hope she's OK

Bastards.

@ofwarren Up to 100,000 members will walk out at 65 NHS organisations on 15 and 20 December for 12 hours at a time. The strikes will take place between 8am and 8pm on both days.

Maternity services and A&E patients are among those that will face disruption when the nurses walk out, trust leaders have warned.Sick babies as well as cancer and dialysis patients will be among those “protected” from the action.

Scary times

There's been recognition for some time that a lot of additional deaths are due to NHS being in crisis - lack of staff, fewer beds, social care crisis... 12 years of Tories.

I think they're running it down so the general public will complain less when private health is brought in.

In light of recent events, I would like to think the strikes could be postponed until say April when hopefully there will be less winter bug pressure.
I can’t see how the strikes won’t result in deaths, which would have been prevented on a non strike day.
I absolutely support the right to strike and increased pay but fail to understand how this won’t have immediate fatsl
conSequences.

that's good to know, glad you're feeling better, my DD has been quite tearful today, she was calling out for me earlier as was cold despite the heating being on as her body ached so much she couldnt get up to get her heated throw, whatever their age your DC are still your babies x

We are South East and have cases in my DD school sadly

We've just received notification that there's 2 scarlet fever cases in our school - it's a primary in East Midlands. Am I right in understanding that it's scarlet fever that causes strep A?

the other way round.
strep a can cause infections like sore throats and skin rash. scarlet fever is when strep a causes the whole organism is infected instead of 'just' unpleasant localised infections.

I think it is going to be a lottery of how well GPs are responding. I have two sons. About three years ago when my eldest was 18 months the GP saw him 3 times over a 2 week period as he had a viral throat infection with fever that just wouldn't go. I kept taking him back as the fevers were so bad and continuous. No antibiotics given.

This morning I took by youngest at 20 months with sore throat and a fever to the GP. Antibiotics given immediately as she said she was concerned with how much strep A was in the area. Waiting room at the doctors full of children.

So I do feel lucky that I got to see a GP same day and this practice is prescribing antibiotics quickly to be safe

I think what we are looking at is

• Compromised immunity in children who have had Covid once or more in the last 8 months.

Parents don't seek or able to access medical care as:

• We have been told that Covid, which largely presents with similar symptoms, e.g. bad sore throat, temperature, muscle ache, sometimes a rash, headaches, D&V is mostly harmless for children so we just let them ride to out
• GPs have closed shop since the pandemic with barely any in person appointments available and we have all been primed to avoid going to the GP with ill children as they are allegedly vectors of disease.

I fear it's the huge barriers to accessing medical care as and when needed that's to blame for this situation.

Yes, all of this.