Kids and Strep?

Question

My son has swollen lymph nodes. They've been swollen for a couple of weeks. They aren't painful and he's had no other signs of sickness. I was concerned about his almond sized, hard lymph nodes and called the doctor. They didn't seem all that concerned and told me to watch him for a few days. There was no change so we took him into the doc and he did a rapid strep and it was negative and told me to just watch for signs of tenderness or sickness. I got a call this morning from his doctor who comfirmed he has strep! How is this possible? I had strep as a kid and it was horrible. I could barely swallow and had a fever. Anyone experienced this?

Answer 1

Believe it or not strep manifests itself in lots of different ways. I knew a little boy who had strep once and it effected his hip joint and he couldn't walk for a few days. He recovered fine. Some people get really really ill with strep and some don't. It's not an infection to fool around with. Make sure that your son takes all his medication as prescribed.

Answer 2

I have had it a few times, and each time my initial symptoms are different. I got strep one time (I was about 18) and it was just "tight feeling" then a slight sore throat, and t hen I lost my voice. I thought nothing of it, until I ended up with full blown Scarlet Fever! Now that was horrible! I had gone to the docs about two weeks before the S.F. when I lost my voice. They took a strep test and it came back neg, well a false neg.

I have to be very careful, because if I get a strep test it usually comes out with a false neg for the first few weeks. I don't know why, but it does. I also don't get the white dots. . . So before I know I even have strep, my whole family gets sick. :(

Answer 3

Not everyone with strep is sick.

While the current rapid strep tests are quite sensitive, throat cultures remain the gold standard. But, it takes a throat culture 24 - 48 hours to become positive.

Answer 4

i have had strep countless times.
(so much i dont have tonsils anymore.
i got them removed.)
some people are more suseptable to it than others.
its not a big deal.
he goes on an antibiotic.
and should feel better in about three days.
it sounds as if your son has a very light case.
no pain.
no fever.
if hes on medicine he wont get any worse.
the way the test works is.
if its positive right away its a pretty bad case.
but if it has to grow to become positive like your sons did.
its a light case.
they just grow the swab in a culture to see if the strep shows up
it is really nothing to worry about.
however he is contagious and if he goes to school should wait 48 hrs after being on the meds before returning.

Answer 5

It is normal for the glands to swell. It is a part of the auto immune system building resistance. It is a part of growing up. The strep comes from stress. Try gargling and swallowing Grapefruit Seed extract for two days. One drop for each ounce of juice or liquid of your choice. Found in natural food stores and GNC type stores. Gargle and swallow about every 15 minutes. This remedy flushes out the bacteria. No worries

Answer 6

Everyone in family including my 3 year old just got over the strep, you need to be more careful about washing all of your family members hands (germs are everywhere) and most importantly throw away all your family toothbrushes, and keep the new ones separated. also buy your son a new toothbrush after he is done with the antibiotics as well.

Answer 7

I have had strep 2 times, you are probably 'older' cause my mom was nervous too. she was afraid i would go through what she did when she had strep is easily cured now a days, it takes less then 3 days and the meds you get take care of the tenderness pretty good. dont worry about it

Answer 8

My 5 year old son just got over scarlet fever, which is a strep infection with a rash. He seemed fine and then developed a rash, when I took him to the docter, I was told he had scarlet fever, they prescribed him antibiotics and told me to give him soft foods, like yogurt, ice cream, and banana's. He should feel fine within 48 hours.

Answer 9

yes i have, apparrently ur strep test doesnt come back positive as soon as its suppose to, that happened to me, i had to go back the next day and get a new one and it was positive, so maybe ur son didnt have strep then, but it showed up when he the sample had activated today or when u got the call

Answer 10

Honestly, before I go and throw antibiotics at him, I would have him retested..Labs make mistakes all the time..Would not hurt to be on the safe side..sometimes, those darn things swell when your body is fighting something..That's their job..It just may not be bad enough to manifest itself yet...