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Strep throat in infants: A common diagnosis?
By Mayo Clinic staffOriginal Article: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/strep-throat/AN00949
- With Mayo Clinic emeritus consultant
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Jay Hoecker, M.D.
Dr. Jay Hoecker, an emeritus member of the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, brings valuable expertise to health information content on primary care pediatrics. He has a particular interest in infectious diseases of children.
He's a Fort Worth, Texas, native, certified as a pediatrician by the American Board of Pediatrics and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was trained at Washington University's St. Louis Children's Hospital, and in infectious diseases at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He has been with Mayo Clinic since 1989.
"The World Wide Web is revolutionizing the availability and distribution of information, including health information about children and families," Dr. Hoecker says. "The evolution of the Web has included greater safety, privacy and accuracy over time, making the quality and access to children's health information immediate, practical and useful. I am happy to be a part of this service to patients from a trusted name in medicine, to use and foster all the good the Web has to offer children and their families."
Definition (1)
- Strep throat in infants: A common diagnosis?
Treatments and drugs (1)
- Recurring strep throat: When is tonsillectomy useful?
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Question
Strep throat in infants: A common diagnosis?
My 10-month-old son has had strep throat twice. Is this normal or should I be concerned?
Answer
from Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Strep throat is an infection caused by a bacterium known as group A streptococcus. Strep throat can occur at any age, even during infancy. However, strep throat is most common in school-age children and young adults.
For the few infants who develop strep throat, signs and symptoms may include:
- Sleeplessness
- Irritability
- Fever
- Refusal to breast-feed or drink from a bottle
- Occasionally, a fine, red rash on the torso, arms and legs
Strep throat is diagnosed with a throat culture, in which the doctor swabs the child's throat and tests the sample for the presence of strep bacteria. Treatment for strep throat is typically a course of antibiotics.
Recurrent strep throat isn't likely a sign of an underlying problem with a child's immune system. Children who develop strep throat repeatedly may have contact with a carrier of strep, likely at home or in a child care setting — or may be strep carriers themselves. Recurrent strep throat is often treated with a different antibiotic from the one prescribed originally.
Next questionRecurring strep throat: When is tonsillectomy useful?
- Pichichero ME. Treatment and prevention of streptococcal tonsillopharyngitis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 8, 2010.
- When a sore throat is a more serious infection. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/ear-nose-throat/pages/When-a-Sore-Thoat-is-a-More-Serious-Infection.aspx. Accessed Sept. 8, 2010.
- Ogle JW, et al. Infections: Bacterial & spirochetal. In: Hay WW Jr, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Pediatrics. 19th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=3410745. Accessed Sept. 8, 2010.
- Caserta MT, et al. Pharyngitis. In: Mandell GL, et al. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/linkTo?type=bookPage&isbn=978-0-443-06839-3&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00054-0. Accessed Sept. 8, 2010.
- Danchin MH, et al. Burden of acute sore throat and group A streptococcal pharyngitis in school-aged children and their families in Australia. Pediatrics. 2007;120:950.
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