So scared of Strep A

[Whyemseeaye]

AIBU to be completely terrified by the reports of Strep A deaths.

I have two small children and feel beside myself with worry. I keep crying and am considering keeping them both off school until after Christmas.

I appreciate this may sound a bit dramatic but I really wish I had

@ElmoNeedsThePotty unspeakably nasty of you to put trauma in inverted commas when this poor woman has lost a baby at 20 weeks. Disgusting.

I agree. Almost as nasty as guilt tripping people for asking a valid question.

But hey ho.

I agree @sandpDy I have reported. Doubt it is 'in the spirit'.

Thanks to all those who have sent informative, kind posts.

Without doubt I am someone who is prone to worry about illness, particularly in DC.

Having had a child who spent the beginning of their life in NICU I'm keen to avoid ever having to repeat the experience

@ElmoNeedsThePotty I've reported your disgusting comment

That is kind of you. Thank you.

What a vile thing to say.

My DD had it when she was 5. She had tonsillitis that didn't shift. Had a test, confirmed Strep, gave a higher dose of antibiotics that sorted it with no drama. Wasn't particularly concerning at the time even though she felt awful, in fact it was a relief as we knew how to make her beg her. She is a perfectly healthy teen now.

*make her better

No, it really isn't.

I sincerely hope the way you're behaving on this thread isn't representative of who you actually are as a human being. You're being hateful.

@Itstheimplication I hope you're OK 💐 I know that a really horrible comment about something deeply traumatic and personal like that awful poster just left you can feel like a gut punch.

What you are saying is 100% correct and you didn't do anything to deserve that venom. Hopefully they'll disappear off the thread.

Tbf, your response does not relate to the original/valid question which was 'When did the terminology change?' (paraphrased)

The original question alerted me to the fact 'hypochondria' has, indeed, been replaced with 'health anxiety' for those who think/behave obsessively or irrationally regarding health matters.

I still have no idea when that change in terminology took place.

OP - this overview by a few experts is really good for some more information

www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-uk-strep-a-outbreaks/, but basically strep A causes mainly impetigo - which looks like a crusty rash, scarlet fever - which gives you a rough rash and a funny tongue and a throat infection. The throat infection is the one that's difficult to diagnose as most are viral, but strep throats tend to cause a higher temperature and swollen glands.

You can actually buy rapid tests (like the covid lateral flow tests) for strep throat that you can use to differentiate from a viral cause, but they are quite expensive.

I think you need to be vigilant rather than worried.

Another thread littered with insults, arguing and bitchy remarks. 🤔👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻FFS

I know how you feel OP - with my first I worried about everything and I can’t live my life like that. The way I deal
with it now is to take what control I can, so - make yourself aware of the symptoms, practice the usual hygiene (within reason) and if your child is unwell with symptoms seek advice. Until that situation arises (it most probably will not) try not to worry. The world is full of dangers that we know about and spend every day keeping our children safe from, most of the time not even thinking about it (seatbelts etc). This is just one more thing that we must be that little bit more vigilant about at the moment.

@Trez1510 @ElmoNeedsThePotty does it feel nice to keep kicking someone when they're down. Safely behind your computer screens making someone else feel worse because they dare to mention the trauma they've experienced. It isn't a race to the bottom or a competition for who has had a harder life. Elmo's original comment about the change of terminology wasn't related to the thread, it was a dig at people. Maybe they changed the term because as we all know hypochondria was just viewed as someone being hysterical (of course a woman too) and wasn't taken seriously as a condition. But hey ho, as long as you two feel better about yourselves right now by point scoring and trying to act as if it was an innocent comment! Bringing other people down because you have also suffered hardships doesn't make anything better for you, it just makes someone else feel crap as well - congratulations - how would you feel if someone behaved in this manner towards your children 🤨

I was a martyr to Strep A when I was younger, had it loads as a teen. Last time was about 10 years ago mid 30’s. Got antibiotics which worked but it kept coming back when I finished the course. Got swabbed to make sure I was getting the right antibiotics. 5 courses and about 4 months later it finally went away.

Anyway, moral of my tale is - the overwhelming majority of strep infections do not kill you. Early antibiotic (usually penicillin, amoxicillin) intervention will stop it progressing to scarlet fever and more invasive infection. Even without antibiotics the immune system usually overcomes the bacteria.
It’s not something I would worry too much about, and doctors will be much more inclined to prescribe abx at the moment too.

Half the problem of the current wave is that children have been underexposed to pathogens in the last couple of years and immune systems are more underdeveloped than they would have been without lockdowns. The last thing I would do is keep your child off school.

Sorry you are feeling so anxious about it. However, please remember that it is a common childhood illness and that it is treatable.

My youngest had it just before October half term. It was going around his class and he got it. First day he was ill, very high temp sore throat but no rash, I rang the GP explained his symptoms to the receptionist and my concerns saw the GP later that day they confirmed it and gave 10 days of antibiotics. After 48 hours he was pretty much back to his normal self and back in school the next day.

As long as you are sensible and aware of the symptoms your kids will be fine.

Does anyone know if you are allergic to penicillin what they give you for strep?

Cephalixin I think

Totally agree.
Journalists are devastated that Covid isn't the drama it once was, and they've been desperate for another pandemic. Monkey pox didn't live up to expectations, so now they're trying to terrify parents with strep A.

OP please don't damage your children further than Covid already has. Kids need to live without fear of mild infections. It's criminal what has been done to kids in the past 3 years.

Health, and other, anxiety is fucking debilitating. @ElmoNeedsThePotty your comments are horrid. Poor OP! Doesn’t matter how logical you may think her concerns are they are real for her and deserve sympathy and reassurance not derision.

@jellybe

Erythromycin or clairthomycyn