Treating Strep Throat In Children

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Table of Contents

1. Classic Strep Throat Symptoms To Look For
2. How To Confirm Your Child Has Strep Throat?
• 2.1 In-Home Strep Tests
3. Tips To Help Your Child Recover Well From Strep Throat
• 3.1 Pain Killers
• 3.2 Fluid Intake
• 3.3 Helping Children Recover
4. What Parents Should Know About Strep In Their Children
• 4.1 Typical Time To Recover In Children
• 4.2 When Can My Child Return To School?
• 4.3 Can I Get A School Note From BabiesMD Pediatrician?
• 4.4 Is Strep Throat Contagious
• 4.5 How Can I Prevent Strep Throat In My Children?
• 4.6 How Soon Should Parents Make A Pediatrician’s Appointment For Strep Throat Treatment?
5. Reasons To Contact Us Again
• 5.1 Additional Questions
• 5.2 Prescription Reactions
• 5.3 Child Not Recovering As Expected
6. In Conclusion

Classic Strep Throat Symptoms To Look For

Red Swollen Tonsils
White Streaks on Tonsils
Tender Swollen Lymph Nodes In Neck
Red Spots on Roof of Mouth
Pain With Swallowing
Sore Throat

How To Confirm Your Child Has Strep Throat?

In-Home Strep Tests

There are inexpensive in-home tests now available at local drug stores, Walmart, and Amazon that can confirm Strep Throat in Kids. The accuracy of this kit is comparable to those at the Pediatricians’ office.

Tips To Help Your Child Recover Well From Strep Throat

Pain, fever, and insufficient fluid intake from a Strep Throat infection can make your child feel miserable. The following tips are usually helpful in helping your children recover quicker.

Pain Killers

We recommend either Tylenol or Ibuprofen to reduce the pain of a sore throat, headaches, body aches, tummy aches, and fever.

Fluid Intake

Please be sure to push these fluids.

Water
Gatorade
Warm Soup
Teas
Cold Apple Juice

(Avoid citrus drinks like orange juice & lemonade that might sting their throat).

Helping Children Recover

Please keep kids hydrated and offer soft foods if they have an appetite. It’s ok if your child is only drinking & not eating much for a couple of days. Let them rest to give their bodies time to fight the infection.

What Parents Should Know About Strep In Their Child

Typical Time To Recover In Children

Children usually begin to feel better from their Strep Throat infection within 24 to 48 hours of being on antibiotics. Their appetite begins to return, their energy seems to bounce back and before you know it, it’s like nothing ever happened. It is crucial, however, to complete the full 10 days of prescribed antibiotics to make sure that there are no lingering long-term effects from an incomplete treatment of strep throat.

When Can My Child Return To School?

In order to return to school after being diagnosed with strep throat, your child must be fever free without Tylenol or other fever reducers for at least 24 hours. They also must be at least 24 hours into their 10-day course of antibiotics.

Can I Get A School Note From BabiesMD Pediatrician?

Absolutely! If we here at babiesMD see your child and diagnose them with Strep Throat (or anything for that matter) which requires them to stay home, we will provide a note indicating when it is safe for your child to return to school. These can easily be printed or emailed to your child’s school.

Is Strep Throat Contagious?

Unfortunately, Strep is quite contagious. Strep Throat spreads easily through mucus, saliva & by sharing food or drinks. Similar to respiratory illnesses like cold & flu, coughing, sneezing & touching contaminated surfaces like toys & doorknobs can lead to a contagion of Streptococcal bacteria.

How Can I Prevent Strep Throat In My Children?

Like with other respiratory diseases, prevention is possible with good hygiene. Reminding children to cover their cough, to sneeze into their sleeve, and wash their hands is helpful to keep Streptococcal bacteria from spreading. It’s also important to remind them not to share water bottles or eat off their friends’ plates.

How Soon Should Parents Make A Pediatrician’s Appointment For Strep Throat Treatment?

For children dealing with Strep, oftentimes they deteriorate fast and are quite uncomfortable. The sooner we can get antibiotics started for your child, the faster they are on the road to feeling 100% again. That is one of the reasons BabiesMD Pediatricians are available late evenings and weekends.

Reasons to Contact Us Again

Additional Questions

As your child recovers, you will have additional questions about the illness. We are happy to address those questions. Please text them to us at the office number.

Prescription Reactions

We go through great pains to ensure we understand what your child is allergic to before prescribing them anything. However, there can always be unknowns. If you think your child has reacted to any medication that we prescribe, please contact us at the earliest and we will gladly have the doctor assess the situation and prescribe an alternative if needed.

Child Not Recovering As Expected

The physiology of each person is different and they may behave differently to medication or disease, thereby taking longer than expected to recover. However, we ensure you are not left alone during this time. Please contact us if your child is taking longer than expected to recover and we are happy to reassess the situation with you and ensure optimal recovery.

In Conclusion

A Strep Throat infection can make children feel really sick, really fast. This can cause parents to feel alarmed & nervous. Since Strep Throat can come with a constellation of symptoms, it can be confusing for parents to figure out what is causing their child to feel bad.

At babiesMD, we know that children are not just little adults. They require special attention & immediate management of illnesses like Strep Throat. We also know that kids don’t stop getting sick at night or over the weekend.

Our approach to Treating Strep Throat in Children or any illness your child may face will always start with a relaxed & detailed discussion with you followed by a thorough examination of your child… We’re here when you need us & we look forward to getting to know your family real soon.