University life for freshers (2019/20) - Christmas backpacking (or not) and festive homecomings with all the tinseltastic trimmings!

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Previous thread.

@ Benjispruce, sorry to hear your DD is I’ll again. My DD suffers a lot from bad throats and colds, but has only once or twice been diagnosed with tonsillitis. I think lack of sleep and partying doesn’t help... Hope your DD can get rid of it soon.

Yes tonsillitis is called strep throat in the US. They swab to find out if it's bacterial and check the results before they decide whether or not to prescribe antibiotics. It never takes more than about 10 minutes.

If the results are negative they just call it a sore throat and send you on your way. They usually test for mono (glandular fever) while they're there. When DD was really run down they also tested for Lyme Disease.

She hasn’t had the fatigue that normally goes with GF and the antibiotics get her better within 3 days. Surely that wouldn’t happen if it was viral. Both times she’s been prescribed antibiotics straight away. She was only really ‘ill’ for a day or 2 with chills and sweats and carried on working all over the holidays.

I’m just wondering if anyone has had more than 2 courses of antibiotics to get rid of tonsillitis?

@Benjispruce You may be right. I've only once heard it referred to as Strep throat here, so I assumed it's a specific form of bacterial tonsillitis.
My understanding (not a medic) is that strep throat has different forms so different ones may need different antibiotics, which is why you swab for it. I think strep A (or possibly one form of step A!) can be associated with Scarlet Fever for example.

I know that sometimes ds has had an infection that has kept on returning, for his ears or throat. After 3-4 times recurring they've done a swab and chosen the antibiotics accordingly and given him double the length, which seems to sort it.
He's also had antibiotic resistant ear infections which have looked like they're initially responding to the antibiotics and then returned about 3-4 days into the course with vengeance.

@HoldMyLobster I don’t think the nhs has a 10 minute swab reader! I will tell her to ask for a swab to be taken but I know she put won’t !!

• probably won’t

Thanks @Witchend I’ve never experienced antibiotics not working first time. Perhaps we’ve just been lucky. Then again she hasn’t taken any since she was 4 and had her appendix out!

Benji Don't apologise - I hope it didn’t look like it was dismissive just to say that’s it’s been a particularly bad few months for bugs. The weird unidentifiable virus that my youngest picked up that attacked her brain was after weeks of us all having bad colds (I was on antibiotics for pneumonia). My university Dd is on her 3rd set on antibiotics too. We are all exhausted.
I second or third pps by getting swabs done and getting specific rather than broad spectrum antibiotics. Youngest Dd was on very strong IV antivirals/antibiotics and now tablets but I wish they could have been more specific as these have nasty side effects too.

@Benjispruce
For the ear infections it's really not a worry, but it is painful.
Dd1 had pneumonia when she was 8yo (last time she missed school for illness!) and that was resistant which did get a bit scary as by the time she admitted she was ill, she was in a bad way, and to find 24 hours later she was getting rapidly worse was scary. She ended up on 3 different antibiotics for a fortnight to make sure it was totally hit away.

Not at all @ZandathePanda. I can only see that for tonsillitis the drugs recommended are penicillin, amoxicillin if allergic, clarithromycin or ethromycin. She has 2 of those!

In between she’s felt well, been to the gym, feeling fine.. I wouldn't go to the gym at this stage. When I exercised more -ahem- I was often ill after a gym session and instructors said heavy exercise lowers immune system. No idea if this is true or not, but sounds right.

I do worry about our offspring with these big debts and exams so early. DC1 is exhausted and still has one exam to go and is only two weeks in to a twelve week term. It must be an enormous stress compared to how it was to DH's and my day.

I agree but she won’t listen. I’ve told her to not go out for a while, get to bed early etc but I guess she feels fine so goes with that. Grrr.

You are correct SecretGuilty. Exercising when you are ill isn't that good for you.

But she wasn’t ill! This is the thing, she is completely better for about a week.

Thanks for your help and advice everyone. It was so much easier when they were little and I could look after them properly!

But I wasn't ill either - I'd go to the gym perfectly healthy and have a sore throat one or two days later - every time.

Presumably also there could be some resilient remaining bacteria that then take the opportunity to take hold again.

@ZandathePanda. So pleased to hear your good news.

That makes sense @secret !

@Benjispruce - DS has metronidazole for tonsillitis recently, alongside penicillin. That worked! Definitely no alcohol allowed while taking metronidazole though. Maybe ask if this is an option?

Thanks @blame.

Do you know why? Had it come back?

It was the first time he’d ever had tonsillitis, but it was severe. GP initially prescribed penicillin, but it was still getting worse (having taken the penicillin for 48 hours) and then DS was referred to A&E by the GP.
The Doc at A&E prescribed the metronidazole and he then took that alongside the remaining penicillin. This was in September and he’s had no reoccurrence of the tonsillitis.
Good luck to your DD.