Really worrying about strep A

[QueenBean9]

I am usually pragmatic with this sort of stuff but what the hell is going on?!

Wrong thread obv.

They always have done, it just never used to make the news.

My DC had a fever that was on and off for a week then developed a rash - was Scarlet fever, got antibiotics, a week after that course was done had a throat infection, same bacteria, 2 weeks after that ear infection same thing.

I don’t think it’s a joke what’s going around, for some it’s deadly for my DC they are still suffering the effects after 7 weeks since the first diagnosis.

yes people might panic, but we shouldn’t trivialise it. If in doubt get checked out.

also I do feel that this is also to some degree on GPS hiding away for the past 3 years while nurses and clinical staff at hospitals deal with the impact of it.

This. Sadly children do die from regular childhood illnesses.

@GabrielAgreste our three had those symptoms last week. Cough and a random short episode of vomiting, negative covid. Two of them seem fine now. The other one only started with it on Saturday so we’ll see

RSV is a much bigger problem, and is every year.

Due to covid and lack of interaction with other children, I believe naturally immune systems have weakened.

Not saying that is a fact of course, just what I believe.

Sorry-that came out as uncaring. I understand why you are panicking but it is still extremely rare.
Just keep an eye out for concerning symptoms and push v hard for ABs if necessary.
to be honest if I was worried and there was any issue with getting a drs or out of hours appointment I’d be finding the money for one of those private online appointments-can you get them for kids?

I was dubious about over use of hand gel during Covid and am now even more anti. It kills good bacteria as well as bad. During Covid my DD came back from school with red raw hands - I told her to refuse the 45 minutely hand sanitizing.

I agree i think this is the real issue sadly

I think a lot of what's feeding into the fear on this is the knowledge we all have that it's now easier to get an audience with the Pope than it is to get a face to face with a GP, A&E is on its knees and there's a massive shortage of basic medication like Penicillin.

If we could all be sure of prompt and adequate medical care and free access to the right meds when needed, we'd all be breathing easier.

Thanks @Smearywindowsagain i wonder if you live close to us? I know of at least 3 other kids at school with the same pattern - apparently there was around 25% absence today - there are several families with Covid as well.

It is absolutely not the issue. Every single child with a fever and sore throat cannot be assessed and given antibiotics. But currently every local surgery has shut to everything else other than emergencies because of the huge deluge of worried parents. Overuse of antibiotics will cause harm. And other patients will now come to harm because they cannot be seen.
Invasive strep is tragic and rare and all viral/flu like infections present the same initially. GPs are not the issue here. Do you really believe every child with a temp and sore throat should be seen immediately l and given antibiotics?
Within an hour? 6? 12? 24? Invasive strep very sadly progresses very quickly.

Not read all the posts, but, asking for a friend, if your child is allergic to penicillin/amoxicillin does the alternative (usually erythromycin or clarithromycin) work?

Serious rubbish. No one is hiding.

What is your belief based on? You didn’t just come up with that. What you’ve read and heard will have allowed you to draw that conclusion.

it’s horrible and stressful, I’ve got a 5mo and an 8 yo and we are all poorly with something, covid tests say no, current symptoms not akin to strep A. My son actually had Scarlett fever some 65 years ago and it was what it was and that was it, no news story.

Media have a lot to answer for. If anything it’s covid selling this story too, we are hyper aware of any illness that leads to death now, and it’s the time of year for peak winter ailments, so it pushes the interest harder. Im not concerned that what my children(or I ) have being lethal, it’s more frustrating that we don’t get a breather from media news sensationalising health scares.

the best thing to do is keep rational.

From a quick google, approx five children A DAY are killed or seriously injured on the roads in England (source: here. I’d get anxious about that instead.

On the reason for the higher absolute number of severe strep A, from reading the quotes from the experts in the media, they are saying that overall cases of strep A are higher, and therefore if xx% of strep A cases generally end up as severe cases, then xx% of a bigger overall number is going to be a higher number of severe cases too. Nothing to do with weakened immune systems, and people not seeking help quickly or not being able to access help isn’t being given as a reason.

Such an aggressive and ignorant response. She probably means prior to the 2.5 years of nearly sterile environment.

@CrappyUsername yes they do use those alternatives.

I’ve just done a couple of days in a big children’s teaching hospital and trauma centre with my child (tonsillectomy issues as per username).

what I have seen is:

• loads and loads of kids, especially really small ones with breathing trouble, especially RSV - many small babies; approx 70% of the other kids in ED and PMU were breathing issues/viral
• an overall lack of capacity to deal with need, and mostly at the doctor level than the nurses (the nurses are working flat out but they are also waiting on doctors to do doctory things)
• general inefficiency between systems (the ED and the ward and the ENT speciality all seem to use different computer/notes systems that don’t talk to each other)

I think that there is a huge (ongoing) issue with accessing primary care at the moment which is part of the issue - people are going to ED because they’ve not been able to use a more sensible route. Or have not managed to get a GP to see them and so have deteriorated.

The staff in ED in particular seemed to think that the media coverage had caused a massive surge in worried parents rushing kids in who maybe didn’t need to be there (but that’s a difficult message to get right because clearly some kids are very unwell).

seems the kids are suffering consequences of not being able to mix these past years.

but if I were feeling really cynical I’d question whether the blanket media coverage was in any way related to the nursing strike due next week. The deaths are alarming but the reporting of them is sensationalist.

Before people were placed in an artificial nearly germ free environment for a number of years. No need to be so aggressive.

Maybe we shouldn't have shut down our kid's world for an illness that didn't kill them, as they're now expected to carry on as normal when there's an illness about that could. Maybe we should make all the old people stay inside too. Not because they're at risk but because if they go out they might kill Grandchild.

Our Emergency dept is seeing more dc with sore throats and 7 of them were strep A (but we don’t usually swab). You can actually get swabs at the pharmacy but our ED team is happy to see dc of worried parents. We’re really busy but they understand why parents are concerned.

Happened to my son too. Never had excema before. His hands were literally bleeding and they were still putting it on him. This horrible cheap industrial stuff. I was never asked to give my consent and they kept doing it after i told them not to (was happy for him to wash his hands, although this was literally as he arrived at school and had just washed hands at home). I'm so angry about stuff like that. I still don't believe all the hand sanitiser made much difference to an airborne virus.