Strep A - are you worried?

[lucylollipop]

Apologies if there are already threads on this. I haven't seen any yet.

News in today that a 9th child has sadly died from strep a. I have primary school age dc and a young baby so I'm worried about them getting sick and also bringing bugs home to the rest of us.

I'm not clued up enough to know if this is comparable to flu deaths in kids? I suppose I just wondered if others are worried? Given the state on the NHS at the moment it isn't a great time to get unwell.

A tad worried

Someone I knows 2 little ones 18 months and 7 months have it and have been quite poorly

mine are a lot older now but still worry

Yes because it's a stressful procedure to get help.
NHS shuts down on a weekend and I don't know if our school will tell us if a child gets ill

I'm trying not to be but I'm worried about being seen quickly if needs be. DS has been in hospital twice for asthma and some of the complications to watch for include side-sucking when breathing. Those nights in A&E with ECG hookup, magnesium drip and oxygen levels of 86 were the worst of my life.

I'm not worried about it tbh and I'm currently in a&e with my youngest who is 3.

He started with a fever yesterday and his tonsils were massive. Yesterday afternoon I rang the GP for advice as I was on hold to 111 for over 90 minutes. GP advised they couldn't see me but that I needed to go to local children's walk in. I rang them and asked their wait times, 2.5 hours so off we went. In the 20 minutes it took me to get there they'd switched to triage only. Triaged him, spotted a rash and sent us to our local children's a&e. We arrived at 7pm last night. It was a 4 hour wait for triage. At one point there was a queue outside a&e to book in- kids stood outside and it was bloody freezing. The massive waiting room was standing room only. The staff were working as fast and hard as they could but realistically there's only so much they can do to remain safe. We were then triaged a second time at about 3am and told that it was a 10 hour wait to see a doctor through a&e minors and that they could make us an appt with an a&e based GP for 9am. I agreed to that so arrived back at 8:30 this morning.

A&e already had a 4 hour wait and the staff are overrun. The GP appointment didn't happen so we ended up being rebooked into A&E. We've had bloods taken and abx px and will be leaving in the next few hours but this could have been dealt with in the community. The problem is the community primary care system is absolutely buggered which tips everyone into a&e. The systems can't cope. Strep A doesn't worry me as much as the pressures the whole health care system is currently facing. I understand that we all worry when our kids are ill but in our case we didn't need to be here and I feel guilty that we've been taking up a&e resources when I truly don't believe we needed to. My son has a chest infection. I'm glad this option is here but I really wish the system had the resources to be able to deal with people appropriately and in the locations that fit.

The problem is nearly every one of these stories is the same - the child has been sent home repeatedly with the parent being told they have a viral infection then they've woken up the next day to find their child either dead or so unwell they end up passing away later in hospital. I do trust doctors in general but the attitude that you come up against sometimes - and it's right through this thread - is that you're a pathetic hysterical parent who's child has a cold. And children are paying for that with their lives.

Not at all.
It goes around every year, it’s just a particularly bad year for it but it’s still mild for the vast majority of cases.
If I felt my DC had worrying symptoms I would deal with it then.

My son had strep A when he was younger. There was no panic and after 3 visits to the walk in centre (they told us to come back every few days) when he still had a high temperature only then did they prescribe antibiotics. He was lethargic and his temperature was very high despite giving paracetamol and ibuprofen. I’m not sure how I’d feel now if I had small children. It’s very rare to get seriously so I’d be vigilant but probably not overly concerned.

I’m worried about getting DD seen and treated. I’m not worried that the risk is high in the first place.

DD is one of those children that gets ill all
the time. So first sign of an issue and I’ll be on to the doctors pronto. I am very good at being a massive PITA though so if I am worried I’ll be creating merry hell to get her seen quickly. If in doubt I have no shame in presenting to A&E. I’m taking no chances but also not being hysterical either.

I'm actually terrified. I'm reading about it constantly as well which really isn't helping. My heart is breaking for the families of those nine poor children.

That’s how I feel @Baconand

DD has been absolutely hammered by bugs and viruses - she started nursery six months after the first lockdown and it was carnage. Constant coughs, colds, vomiting bugs but also croup, 40+ degree temperatures, rigors, alarming looking rashes and viruses so bad she would be wiped out for 7+ days at a time.

The last 6 months she seems to have built up her immunity a bit but for a long time my sanity and the family’s wellbeing was hanging by a thread with constant broken sleep, cancelled plans, work absences which made me worried about getting sacked, endless A&E trips for oxygen…

I don’t think people understand what it’s been like unless they’ve had a baby since covid. It’s nothing like the odd cold when we were kids when you could just dose up and crack on. After seeing DD fighting for breath with croup and being on oxygen for 5 days, I’m not going to be told I’m a ‘hysterical mother’. If I’m at all concerned I will be seeking help for her. We need to put children first, frankly we’ve done more than enough to protect the elderly. And I’ve no sympathy for the drunks and drug addicts in A&E either.

Precisely. I won't be taking that risk and if need be I will sit in A&E as long as it takes

To echo other posters, I am not too worried about the virus itself but more for how I would access help if needed. My poorly DC displayed scarlet fever symptoms 2 weeks ago and after being on hold for 2 hours with 111 before a callback being scheduled, I then received an automated text to say that my child’s case had been closed because our local out of hours was too busy. Madness. We went back and forth for so long that the weekend ended and the GP ended up seeing DC, but DH was very close to turning up at A&E with DC, which is not right but we needed access to healthcare.

Not overly concerned although slightly more so now as there's a suspected scarlet fever case in my 3 year olds preschool, and I'm pregnant. Will just pay more attention to any symptoms of they do arise, and probably seek advice earlier than if I was pregnant or not been in contact with a case (that could change if we're made aware it isn't scarlet fever I guess)

*if I wasnt pregnant

Yes! My little one is 2 and it's hard to pinpoint where aches/pains are at this age!

Invasive group A strep killed a younger (adult) relative earlier this year. It came on quickly and the deterioration was equally rapid and catastrophic.

Having witnessed it first hand, yes, I'm very worried and will not hesitate to seek medical help if the symptoms appear.

I have a two fold worry about this.

My youngest is immunocompromised and has multiple health issues.

Firstly I worry because she’s vulnerable to everything. Balancing her health needs and the needs of her siblings to have normal childhoods - going to school, spending time with friends etc - has always been a careful balance, especially in the last few years.

Secondly overwhelming of the local health system is a nightmare for us because if DD needs help it tends to be needed right away. It’s already a nightmare if she needs an ambulance or a bed in peds. More ill children means more pressure on the system and more delays.

I have two off school with suspected strep. GP not messing around, I had penicillin within an hour of them opening this morning. They will both be fine but apparently 250 kids off at the local secondary with one thing or another.

I have a newborn and am worried. Is it sensible to avoid mixing with other children in the family who are at nursery?

Its always been thus for small children though, unless you remember being 2/3 years old which would be impressive then you're surely remembering the odd cold from being a bit older.

No, it hasn’t. It wasn’t normal for toddlers to have 3+ A&E visits every winter and illness every other week. More bugs, yes, not like this.

I disagree. This winter has been far worse. We've had 2 colds in our house heavier than any before(and worse than covid). Almost as if 2 years of isolation has impacted our immune systems /s

I’m more worried about hysterical parents demanding antibiotics for their child’s sore throat, or turning up at a&e for colds/flu and people with other life threatening conditions not being able to access healthcare like with Covid. Also concerning the lack of understanding about antibiotic resistance and thinking it’s fine to just start/stop.

@GodspeedJune are you breast feeding your newborn? If yes, they'll have your immunity so should be ok to mix with your wider family members presuming people who are known to be ill themselves are staying away, which should be common sense anyway.

Realistically, nursery age children won't be holding a new born but it might be a good reason for you to warn against them holding baby.

I’m a bit worried. Ours seem to pick up a lot of illnesses lately, there’s a lot of scaremongering though. I’ve just seen someone sharing a post blaming the flu nasal spray for these children’s deaths 🙄