Complications from the infection can be life-threatening.
By Maria Carter, Woman's Day
[post_ads]When is a sore throat a sign of something more? Roughly 10 million Americans
contract mild strep infections each year and antibiotics typically nip
the problem in the bud, but if left untreated, those same infections can
progress to more serious conditions. Last December, 24 hours after
first complaining of strep throat symptoms, Kevin Breen,
a 44-year-old husband and father of three, was admitted to the hospital
with acute pancreatitis. During an exploratory procedure, doctors found
1.5 liters of infected pus teeming with streptococcal bacteria in
Breen's stomach. He lived, but the medication that saved him ultimately
caused kidney failure and tissue death in his extremities—he's now a candidate for partial amputation surgeries in both hands and feet. Here's what you need to know about the potentially fatal infection.
1.
Strep bacteria thrives in your nose and on your skin.
"The bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes
(or group A strep) lives exclusively on human skin and mucus
membranes," says James Wantuck, M.D., of leading online urgent care
provider PlushCare. "Contact with people who have it is the only way to get it." Strep throat is most common in children ages five to 15 years old; likewise, parents of children in that age range contract strep more often than others.
2.
Strep is harder to spot in children under 3.
The
younger the patient is, the less typical their symptoms are, says Dr.
Wantuck. Children under three may have vague complaints of abdominal
pain and fatigue, and may refuse to eat, for example. It's possible to
have a strep infection without a sore throat, and very young children
"might not complain [like] someone who's more able to articulate their
symptoms."
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3.
The symptoms you don't have are just as telling as the ones you do.
"Oftentimes
a sore throat will accompany a common cold, but the other symptoms of a
cold —runny nose, cough, congestion—are not typical for strep. That's a
good layman's way to distinguish between the two," says Wantuck. Other
common strep symptoms include swollen lymph nodes and glands in the neck
and a rash.
4.
The longer the infection lingers, the more likely it is to turn into something serious.
"A
sore throat that doesn't go away after three to five days should be
evaluated by a doctor," says Wantuck. Likewise, if you've been treated
and the sore throat doesn't improve with medicine in three to five days,
it's time to go back to the doctor.
5.
Some people are carriers of strep.
If
your child is getting recurrent infections, either in the same year or
throughout childhood, they may be a carrier—someone without symptoms who
tests positive for strep throat, according to the CDC. "We can test
[carriers] for strep when they're sick and when they're not and it will
be positive regardless," says Wantuck. "Antibiotics don't completely
eliminate it from these children."
6.
Strep complications can be deadly.
Strep throat that goes untreated can progress to more serious conditions like:
- scarlet fever, characterized by rash
- retropharyngeal abscess, when pus collects in the throat's lymph nodes
- post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, a kidney disease
- PANDAS (pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with strep)
- rheumatic fever, although rare, can lead to heart valve disease
- meningitis
- streptococcal toxic shock syndrome
- necrotizing fasciitis, commonly called flesh-eating disease
The latter three can be fatal. Last March, a six-year-old Ohio girl lost her leg
after flesh-eating bacteria entered her bloodstream—the result of an
earlier strep throat infection—and began attacking the tissue, nerves,
fat, and blood vessels in her body.
7.
Other bacterial infections can masquerade as strep.
"Just
because you test negative for strep doesn't mean that you don't have a
bacterial infection," says Dr. Wantuck. "If your throat is sore for five
days or more and you're not getting better, you need to see a doctor.
It's probably not just a virus and it's not going to go away on its
own."
8.
If you suspect it's strep, stay home.
Washing
your hands and not being around people who have strep throat is the
best way to prevent getting sick. "If you have it, you shouldn't be
going to school or work until you're treated," says Dr. Wantuck. As a
general rule, strep patients who've been on the correct antibiotics for
at least 24 hours, and no longer have fever, are safe to go out in
public.
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