What is a strep throat? Thank you for all your answers.?

Answer 1

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. That'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.
http://familydoctor.org/670.xml
http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/strep_throat.html

Answer 2

Strep throat is caused by Streptococcus bacteria. It is the most common bacterial infection of the throat.

Even though the sore throat usually gets better on its own, people who have strep throat SHOULD take antibiotics to prevent more serious complications of this infection, including rheumatic fever. Penicillin has been traditionally recommended. However, resistance to penicillin is increasing, and cephalosporins may be more effective in some situations. Ibuprofen can help people feel much better while the antibiotic is taking effect. Gargling with warm salt water (one half teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water) several times a day may also help.

Answer 3

Strep throat is a contagious disease caused by infection with streptococcal bacteria. Strep throat symptoms include fever, pain, redness, and swelling of the throat and tonsils. Strep throat may produce mild or severe symptoms.

Answer 4

A lot of the symptoms listed above apply to infectious mononucliosis or other viruses. Culture and typing is the only way to be sure. Type A strep is the most serious causing rheumatic fever.

Answer 5

A strep infection is one to be concerned about..Must watch for "strawberry tongue" which indicates it is going systemic.. The toxin from the bacteria is what causes lesions of the heart valve or, vegetative growth of the valve which prevents complete closure of the valve. Referred to as a murmer.

The streptococcus is only one of the many opportunists which can be found in the mouth, at any time.. Is why it is most imperative to maintain a high level of resistance.

Answer 6

strep throat is a bacteria that grows in your lymphnodes. it is highly contagious. and if you have it you need to get treated right away. if left untreated it can go to your heart and cause you seriuos health problems including death. see your doctor right away. sypmtoms of strep throat is high fever achey muscles swollen lymphnodes under your arms inside of the legs and in your neck also a sore scartchy thoart its exremely painful to swallow. the only way to get rid of it is by an antibiotic. good luck.

Answer 7

I think strep is short for streptolococis or something like that. I think it enjoys bathroom surfaces. So you must have a potty mouth