Sore Throats

Does your child's sore throat mean a dose of antibiotics? Only if it's a proven case of strep say the experts.

Does your child have a sore throat? While viruses cause most sore throats, the streptococcus bacteria, otherwise know as strep, usually cause those that are accompanied by headache and fever. Thankfully, in this day and age of antibiotics, strep throat is not nearly the dreaded illness that it once was, says pediatrician, Dr. Diane Sacks. "In the past, 50 or 60 years ago, it was a very serious infection that was feared because it led to serious heart problems, rheumatic fever or problems in the kidney. Fortunately, penicillin came along and it killed strep very effectively."

Dr. Sacks adds that strep can still lead to scarlet and rheumatic fever if left untreated, so if your child has a very severe sore throat and swollen glands, the doctor needs to take a throat swab, and if it turns out positive, medicine must be taken for its full coarse of treatment to prevent some of the secondary side effects."

Still, don't assume that your child will be prescribed antibiotics even when it appears to be strep. Overuse of antibiotics has been blamed for the development of some strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Therefore, most doctors won't prescribe them unless the signs of strep are very clear and the swab is positive, says pediatrician Dr. William Feldman, editor of "The 3AM Handbook". He adds "people are developing guidelines that predict strep throat a little better. Now if the child with a sore throat, has a runny nose, no fever and there's nothing to see in the throat, then the chances of this being strep throat are quite remote."

So when should you suspect strep? "If the child just has a sore throat and has a high fever and swollen glands then it's likely that this is strep and that the child should be seen," explains Feldman who adds that if your child is covered in a rash, he may have scarlet fever. "Scarlet fever is simply a strep throat with a toxin that is released into the bloodstream and causes a rash. But it's not at all serious, it's just a strep throat with a rash and will get better with penicillin."