strep pneumonia

[JollyJay]

My 6yo son has just spent a week with my in-laws. My MIL is now in the hospital with septicaemia, caused by strep pneumonia which was probably brought on or helped along by a mild bout of the flu. Her doctor said to keep an eye on anyone who spent time around her. I'm sitting here waiting for my son's doctor to get in and will ask her about this, too.

Anyway, in the meantime, anyone know the incubation period for that sort of thing? My son has his usual winter cough and cold (which will last until the weather warms up again) and I'm keeping close tabs on his temperature. Would it be possible for him to pass it on to my younger son without him getting sick? I can't see that happening -- my eldest gets extremely sick and has asthma, etc etc and the youngest is as strong as a horse (well, a horse in excellent health).

My first line of defense anytime is a humidifier in the bedroom and I've got that going. If anyone has any info, it'd be much appreciated. I don't want to overreact and take him in to the hospital or doctor because the flu is going around and I've found those places to be the best places to catch something..... sigh.

Thanks. Sorry for the babbly tone. I'm worried about both my MIL and sons.

JJ (not feeling so Jolly atm)

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as you're humidifying anyway why not add some essential oils to the water.

This link looks interesting:

www.mercola.com/1998/archive/organano_destroys_strep.htm

Haven't read it but tee trea is a good antispectic oil as well.

The kind of strep that causes pneumonia (Streptococcus pneumoniae) is actually a different strain than the one that causes sore throats (Streptococcus pyogenes). I used to work in a medical library, so probably know too much about this sort of thing .

The incubation period is quite short, about 1-3 days. How long ago was your ds at his grandparents?

Here is a fact sheet with a bit more information.

Thanks! I couldn't get through to the doctor and don't want to call the hospital -- everytime I've called them about something, the boys have been admitted. Not that they were that sick, but the people there overreact.

Sparks, that info is perfect. He saw her about 2 days ago, so after tomorrow I'll stop worrying (about that, I mean!). She's gotten very sick with pneumonia both times this year she's been in close contact with my son. Do you think he could carry it? Sorry if that's an inane question.

Jimjamblebells, thanks -- I've got loads of oils and your link definitely helped decide which one to put in the humidifier. It wasn't the one I was going to use, so very useful info.

Robinw, yep, because of you, my son now uses xylitol toothpaste and has xylitol sweets. (The sweets aren't the best way to do it, I know! ) He's had issues with strep in the past (strep A) and gotten very sick. But the really bad stuff hasn't happened in 2 and a bit years... I think the xylitol has helped. Hasn't hurt, at any rate, and he likes it. Thanks!

I've still got a few questions, if anyone's around:
--should I start up his prophylactic asthma stuff, even it's just in case of the flu (which is going around) . By this I mean the albuterol (um, the acute one) 3x a day plus the steroid one twice?
--if he starts having breathing problems, I'll definitely use the inhaler, but will the epipen work? I mean, I can see situations where it won't, but for a severe asthma attack, I still use it, right? Or should I always use it if he's having trouble breathing?
--would an epi-inhaler help?
--will they quarantine him if we go to the hospital? I hated not knowing he was going into quarantine.

Thanks again. My MIL is still very sick.

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Thanks Robinw and sorry for not replying earlier! My son stayed strep free, much to our relief. He's not on probiotics because he doesn't like yoghurt (is that where you get it?). But I might start him on some type of supplements.

My MIL is home and ok. It will be a couple of months before she's competely well, though and she won't make it out here in Feb as planned. My mom is going to come instead! Should be fun.

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