Should I test for Strep?

[Erin3]

Hi everyone - my son started Augmentin on October 19th after seeing Dr. B. He had a stomach virus a few days later so went without the abx for 2 days. We started him right back on the 24th. He has been completely "off" for the past two weeks. Rage, crying about anything and everything, tantrums, anxiety and fear of everything, plus new ticks such as biting his lips and then doing this crazy exhale thing. I couldn't figure out why things were getting worse instead of better. Well, at the bus stop this morning I found out that 3 other kids have had strep over the last few days. Could this affect him even though he is on antibiotics? Should I bring him in for a strep test at the doctor? He also has a bad cough and cold, could that also trigger the behavior?

 

Thanks for any insight, I'm feeling pretty lost!

Erin

[Worried_Dad]

PANDAS kids can definitely react and have an increase in symptoms just from being around others with active strep infection, even if they're not infected themselves. And - if the abx dose isn't high enough - they can indeed be infected as well. Our son contracted strep infection while on a low dose of augmentin (500 mg daily for a boy weighing 100+ lbs at the time).

 

Here's an awesome thread by Buster where he explains the phases of GABHS infection and how abx work (bacteriostatic vs. bactericidal, etc.).

 

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=5520

 

Hope that helps!

Edited November 3, 2010 by Worried Dad

[thereishope]

Yes, being exposed to strep can worsen symptoms even without infection. Many on here call in the "canary effect" or compare it to a peanut allergy where even just being airborne can cause symptoms to appear.

 

In our family, if my kids are directly exposed to strep, I take them for a strep test since they are all asymptomatic. If my son ramps up, I would take him in as well. Now, you can get a false negative strep test while antibiotics, so that is something else to remind the doctor of. If you want, you could wait a few days and see if he improves on his own, but if he continues to worsen or no improvement within a few days, I vote for taking him in.

Edited November 3, 2010 by Vickie