Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: strep throat + strep throat: + strep  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/7/2008)

Aztecs quarterback job not settled, says transfer San Diego Union Tribune, United States - 13 minutes ago Soto was suffering from strep throat. Tight end Eric Miclot, who was out because of strep throat, returned to the field yesterday. Dobinson performance cut short by sore throat Collingwood Wasaga Beach, Canada - Jul 31, 2008 Dobinson performed on Friday evening at the Old Town Terrace, but later came down with a bout of strep throat, which prevented him from singing. ... Don?t buy a dishwasher ? be one! Southwest Voice, CA - Aug 4, 2008 Picture my wife and I in college housing with two children in the 1950s ? and my wife suffering from strep-throat for a month! Our doctor?s prescriptions ... Wall Street Journal The Health Edition Wall Street Journal - Aug 5, 2008 ... removal of foreign object; splinting for fractures; cast boots; lab tests (urinalysis, strep throat, mono); blood-sample collection; and EKG. ... Strep may be one of many triggers for tic, OCD exacerbations AAP News (subscription) - Aug 1, 2008 Tics, OCD, strep throat and elevated ASO titers are all common. Therefore, it was reasonable to wonder whether the association was causal. ... ABC News The New Face of Heroin ABC News - Aug 4, 2008 By SCOTT MICHELS The first time Lauren, a suburban teenager in Connecticut, took a prescription pain killer, she says she was sick with strep throat during ... Children's illness: Top 5 causes of missed school MayoClinic.com - Aug 1, 2008 ... by a fever or red and swollen tonsils, contact your child's doctor. Your child may have strep throat, a bacterial infection that's treated with antibiotics. SDSU's rushing roulette San Diego Union Tribune, United States - Aug 6, 2008 ... missed the past two seasons after suffering multiple ligament tears in his knee two years ago, was held out of the opening practice because of strep throat. Monar quiets Finest bats, tosses two-hitter Farmington Daily Times, NM - Monar, who recently recovered from strep throat, carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning until Arizona shortstop Vinnie Barreda smacked a hard-rolling ... SDSU FOOTBALL: Perez at home on the base North County Times, CA - ??-DL Jonathan Soto missed practice with strep throat. ... DL Nick Spencer also missed time with a shoulder ailment. He'll be evaluated on Thursday. ...

Strep Throat

Strep throat is an infection caused by group A streptococcus bacteria, and it's very common among kids and teens. The symptoms of strep throat include fever, stomach pain, and red, swollen tonsils.

Strep throat usually requires treatment with antibiotics. With the proper medical care - along with plenty of rest and fluids - your child should be back to school and play within a few days.

How Does Strep Throat Spread?
Anybody can get strep throat, but it's most common in school-age kids and teens. It occurs most often during the school year when big groups of kids and teens are in close quarters.

The bacteria that cause strep throat tend to hang out in the nose and throat, so normal activities like sneezing, coughing, or shaking hands can easily spread the strep infection from one person to another. It's why it's so important to teach your child the importance of hand washing - good hygiene can lessen your child's chances of getting contagious diseases like strep throat.

What's the Difference Between Strep Throat and a Sore Throat?
Not all sore throats are step throats. Most episodes of sore throat - which can be accompanied by a runny nose, cough, hoarseness, and red eyes - are caused by viruses. Sore throats usually clear up on their own without requiring medical treatment.

If your child has strep throat, he or she will start to develop other symptoms within about 3 days. Those symptoms can include:

• red and white patches in the throat
• difficulty swallowing
• tender or swollen glands (lymph nodes) in the neck
• red and enlarged tonsils
• headache
• lower stomach pain
• fever
• general discomfort, uneasiness, or ill feeling
• loss of appetite and nausea
• rash

Diagnosing Strep Throat
If your child's throat is sore and he or she has other strep throat symptoms, it's a good idea to call your child's doctor. The doctor will likely do a rapid strep test in the office, using a cotton swab to take a sample of the fluids at the back of your child's throat. The test only takes about 5 minutes. If it's positive, your child has strep throat. If the test is negative, the doctor will send a sample to a lab for a throat culture. The results are usually available within a few days.

Treating Strep Throat
In most cases, doctors prescribe about 10 days of antibiotic medication to treat strep throat. Within about 24 hours after your child starts taking the antibiotics, his or her temperature will probably be back to normal, and your child will no longer be contagious. By the second or third day after taking antibiotics, the other symptoms should start to go away, too.

Even though your child may not feel sick at that point, it's very important that he or she finish the antibiotic prescription. If your child stops taking antibiotics too soon, bacteria can remain in the throat and the symptoms can return.

If your child is not treated for strep throat, he or she is most infectious when the symptoms are the most severe but could remain contagious for up to 21 days. Lack of treatment - or not finishing the prescribed course of antibiotics - also could put your child at risk for other health problems, such as rheumatic fever (which can cause permanent damage to the heart), scarlet fever, blood infections, or kidney disease.

To prevent your sick child from spreading strep throat to others in your home, keep his or her eating utensils, dishes, and drinking glasses separate from those that everyone else is using. Wash them in hot, soapy water after each use. Also, make sure your child doesn't share food, drinks, napkins, handkerchiefs, or towels with other family members. Make sure your child covers his or her mouth and nose during a sneeze or a cough to prevent passing infectious fluid droplets to someone else.