Is tonsillitis contagious?

[Mckayz]

I think DS2 has tonsillitis. He's got a bad cough and isn't feeling well. I've had a look and they look swollen. Will get him to GP first thing in the morning.

DD has similar symptoms but seems a bit better in herself. She's only 17 months so won't let me have a look.

Thanks.

debs- based on my experience with proper killer tonsillitis, by day five the main sore throat and the temperature should have gone. There may still be a little residual soreness that strepsils do help.
You are starting to get out and about but not for long cos you tire easily. you still feel like you've done ten rounds with Mike tyson.

build up tonic is disgusting but helps

He seems fine this morning. Still coughing a bit but his tonsils don't look swollen like they did last night. Will keep an eye on him.

When my DD was getting tonsilitis every 28 days, I was getting it too. Two days later exactly.

Since she had them out, I have only had it once or twice.

Debs if you had come to see me I would have advised to bring her back around the day 4/5 time if she had not significantly improved. I would definitely want to see anyone who is not improving while taking antibiotics again for a review.

Soon to be 6 if you read the thread or listen to a doctors advice, you'll see that it is often v contagious and certainly in my house it tends to spread

On Wikipedia it says the most common cause is viral infection ;-)

Pennysillin Thanks she has looked better today, a full nights sleep which usually means in our house someone feel better. Still has a hacking cough but finally managing to eat a full meal. She has finished the antibiotics so will keep an eye on her to decide on school on Monday

Glad to hear she's on the mend.

PacificDogwood
The swab showed that mine was resistant to ordinary penicillin, but sensitive to Zithromax. It was an expensive one, but works in 3 days. Thank goodness. I had done all the simple analgesics, gargling with all manner of things, but had got to the point when I felt as if I was going to fade away. I also thought I was going mad because everyone kept telling me it was "only viral". The pain was dreadful. (This was 20 years ago - I don't know if Zithromax is around any more).

Inflamed tonsils may most often be caused by a viral infection but a strep throat is bacterial and is in a different category entirely, as many posters have described, needing antibiotics and a review if the symptoms don't improve. I can understand the reluctance to prescribe antibiotics but in children in particular complications from a wrong diagnosis are not nice. A swab test will identify the bacteria and the antibiotic that is most effective. Sometimes the bacterial infection is secondary to the initial virus.

IN my experience. GPs rarely explain the difference between bacteria and viruses and parents are left confused and unsure how to treat the child or when a visit for antibiotics is required.

3littlefrogs, Azithromycin (Zithromax) is still around - it's now used routinely in the States for all sorts of minor infections so no doubt will soon stop working too .

Like I said a 'simple' sore throat can last 5-7 days or just over, be totally miserable and very painful, but settles with time.
If you get worse rather than better in that period of time, get reviewed.

I had a sore throat earlier this year that absolutely floored me - in bed for 3 days, I have barely any memory of those days due to fever etc, but I was able to be back at work after 5 days, felt totally back to normal on day 10. I have no idea whether it was viral or bacterial, but it got better with time, Paracetamol and gargles.

Apple, swabs are not done as a matter of routine because they take about 3 days to come back, but which time you are either no worse or better (no antibiotics needed) or worse (consider antibiotics).
The main concern with strep throats used to be the risk of the bacteria attacking the heart valves and causing Rheumatic Fever - this was a real problem before we had antibiotics. And will be again if we run out of effective antibiotics.
The majority of bacterial throat infections settle in 5-7 days without antibiotics