Strep Throat

When you have strep throat, never eat spicy foods. They'll just make your throat burn even more!

1) What's harder than making a child go to the hospital? Click here for the answer.

If you have strep throat, you should stay home from school for at least a day.

Has your throat ever felt like it’s been sunburned, felt like a porcupine was in it, or felt as rough as sandpaper? And to top it off, have you ever felt like you could hardly swallow? You may even have a fever, a headache, a stomachache, and a sore neck. You probably didn't feel like doing anything. Well, you could have strep throat. This virus is one of the most common, so if you want to get the scoop on it, just read this report.

I get this illness a lot and I know what it feels like. Strep throat is caused by teeny-tiny egg-shaped bacteria called Group A streptococci (pronounced: strep-toe-cock-eye). These bacteria cause 10% of all the sore throats and can be found in your throat and on your skin. Some people, called carriers, carry streptococci around in their throats, even if they’re not sick. If you have been around someone who has strep throat and you start to feel sick, you should see your doctor immediately. The sooner you see your doctor, the sooner you’ll be able to swallow without it hurting. When strep throat isn’t treated, it can affect other parts of the body. It can cause arthritis or heart problems from a disease called rheumatic (roo-mah-tick) fever.

If someone in your family or at school has strep throat, there is a possibility that you will get it because it’s contagious. Strep throat is spread when people who aren’t sick come into contact with people who have it. When a person with strep throat sneezes or blows their nose and you’re nearby, or if you share the Soup is one of the best things that you can drink when you have strep throat. same forks, spoons, or straws with them, the bacteria can spread to you. If you get it, you’ll start to feel sick within 5 days after you’ve been around the person who gave it to you.

Your doctor will peek into your mouth to see if your throat is red and if your tonsils are swollen and covered with white or yellow spots. He or she will look for small red spots on the roof of your mouth too. To prove that you have strep throat, your doctor might do 1 or 2 tests. First he or she can do a rapid strep test to look for strep bacteria. He or she will wipe a cotton swab over the back of your throat. With this test, he or she may be able to find out in less than 1 hour if you have it. But if the first test doesn’t prove anything, then your doctor might do a longer test called a throat culture. A swab from your throat will be rubbed on a special dish and then the dish will be left alone to sit for two nights. If you have strep throat, then streptococci bacteria will usually grow in the dish within the next couple of days.

If you have strep throat, your doctor will give you a medicine, or, more specifically, an antibiotic, which kills bacteria. Most of the time, the antibiotic that they give you is a form of penicillin. You will take it as a pill, a liquid, or a shot. My doctor usually gives me amoxicillin and I take it as a pill. To make sure the bacteria goes away entirely and doesn’t spread to different parts of your body, you must take all the medicine unless your doctor gives you special instructions. Your mom or dad might give you acetaminophen (pronounced: ah-see-ta-min-oh-fen) like Tylenol, to stop the fever, pains, and aches. You may drink tea with honey in it too, but it’s best not to eat any foods that are spicy, or drink any orange juice because they can make your throat burn and make the pain even worse! Your doctor will tell you to stay home from school for about 1-2 days. That way, you don’t spread the illness to anyone else. Kids who have strep throat usually feel sick for a few days.

My mom gives me flat soda when I have strep throat. There really isn’t a way to not get strep throat, and there isn’t a shot that you can get that can protect you from it. If someone in your family has strep throat, make sure they cover their mouth when they sneeze or cough to keep from spreading it. Everyone in your family should wash their hands before they cook or eat, and after coughing, sneezing, or blowing their nose. Wash dishes, cups, and silverware in hot soapy water, and keep sores and cuts clean. Strep throat is not any fun at all, but with a little bit of care and some very helpful medicines, you’ll be drinking your orange juice again in no time at all.

Credits

Web Sites

The Nemours Foundation. "KidsHealth for Kids" 1995-2004. <http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/> (January-February, 2004).

Book

Bernstein, Joanne E. and Paul Cohen. Dizzy Doctor Riddles. Niles, Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company. 1989.

Images

Images of soda can, and soup with spoon from "Microsoft Office Online" <http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?cag=1> Images free for non-profit and personal use. (October-February, 2003-2004).

Joke Answers

1) Making the hospital go to the child. Return.