Other forms of "strep"

[MakeMineTea]

I didn't want this question to get lost in my other post where I was asking if PANDAS is ONLY brought on by strep of the THROAT. A few responded that it is likely that it can be exacerbated by strep in the sinues, etc.

 

So, I'm guessing then that would be the case for strep in the eye (many times conjunctivitis, "pink eye" is due to strep) also? Anyone here with specific examples or KNOW of any studies/articles that substantiate this theory?

 

We will be seeing his ENT tomorrow and I want him to do a nasal swab to check for strep....but I also think he has pink eye (which, again, could be strep). He had pink eye week before last and I treated it at home with leftover prescription eyedrops for a few days and it went away - and foolishly I stopped the treatment and "it" is back. Now I want you all to know that if this were an oral antibx I would NEVER have treated my son myself (and we always finish our antibx so I would not have had any left anyway). I just felt that perhaps it wasn't as bad since it is an eyedrop...but perhaps I was wrong.

 

Jackson's syptoms, right now, seem to be mostly hyperactivity (more than usual, and he has NOT been dx with ADHD) and obsessing (he basically can't turn off his "imagination" and comes up with some pretty out there stuff) about things. His hand washing is relatively under control at the moment.

 

And one more VERY important question. I do not know if the ENT he is seeing tomorrow is a "friendly" (PANDAS believer), but when you go and aren't sure....is there one specific article that you take with you to explain it in a more "formal" and "official" way....so s/he doesn't think you are making it up if they haven't heard of it? : ) Thanks!

[NVAmom]

Unfortunately, I don't know of any specific articles but I can speak from our experience. After a 6 week steady decrease in rages, once we began treating with abx, my son woke up one AM and had one of the worst rages, period of separation anxiety and irrational thoughts that he had experienced before. The next day his sister woke up with pink eye. The dr felt the exacerbation was his body reacting to his sisters pink eye infection.

 

On the subject of meeting a new doctor, I can tell you what I say. I tell them my son has an autoimmune disease. Sometimes they will ask for more info and sometimes not. If they do, I say that his body had an autoimmune reaction to strep that has caused post infectious encephalitis. All of which is true. I feel it is a shame that I can't call it PANDAS to all dr's BUT I don't care to take a chance of my son hearing a dr state that what makes his life so difficult does not really exsist.

 

Sorry I don't have articles to cite but I hope it helps and most importantly that all goes well at the appt.

[ajcire]

Pink eye is often connected to strep... Prior to my knowing about pandas, I brought my ds in to the ped for pink eye and she said she wanted to culture him because she said it was often the result of untreated strep... to my surprise he was positive for strep.

[airial95]

I don't know about Pink Eye specifically, but I will say that PANDAS is triggered by more than just strep throat. My son's initial onset was from an impetigo infection. And he has reacted when others have other forms of strep - so I wouldn't be surprised if his reaction is to the Pink Eye.

 

Good luck!

[colleenrn]

It does not matter where the strep is in the body, it just needs to be there to exacerbate PANDAS. It can be one small patch of impetigo caused by strep on the skin and cause PANDAS symptoms. In my nephew, he can sometimes have one red eye and my sister sees a big flareup in symptoms. That is very intersting that the dr said pink eye is a sign of untreated strep. Looking back, my now 14 year old got pink eye all the time when she was much younger and I never connected it to PANDAS. If we could only know then what we know now...

Colleen

[matis_mom]

I didn't want this question to get lost in my other post where I was asking if PANDAS is ONLY brought on by strep of the THROAT. A few responded that it is likely that it can be exacerbated by strep in the sinues, etc.

 

So, I'm guessing then that would be the case for strep in the eye (many times conjunctivitis, "pink eye" is due to strep) also? Anyone here with specific examples or KNOW of any studies/articles that substantiate this theory?

 

We will be seeing his ENT tomorrow and I want him to do a nasal swab to check for strep....but I also think he has pink eye (which, again, could be strep). He had pink eye week before last and I treated it at home with leftover prescription eyedrops for a few days and it went away - and foolishly I stopped the treatment and "it" is back. Now I want you all to know that if this were an oral antibx I would NEVER have treated my son myself (and we always finish our antibx so I would not have had any left anyway). I just felt that perhaps it wasn't as bad since it is an eyedrop...but perhaps I was wrong.

 

Jackson's syptoms, right now, seem to be mostly hyperactivity (more than usual, and he has NOT been dx with ADHD) and obsessing (he basically can't turn off his "imagination" and comes up with some pretty out there stuff) about things. His hand washing is relatively under control at the moment.

 

And one more VERY important question. I do not know if the ENT he is seeing tomorrow is a "friendly" (PANDAS believer), but when you go and aren't sure....is there one specific article that you take with you to explain it in a more "formal" and "official" way....so s/he doesn't think you are making it up if they haven't heard of it? : ) Thanks!

Nothing scientific here either, but DS first clear OCD handwashing episode was when we were visiting my sister and her kids had pink eye. One of my nieces had to be hospitalized because her eye was bleeding, it was nasty! We were there for a month. All my nieces/nephew got it, but none of my kids did (unless they got it in the throat and I didn't realize?). I told my kids the best way to avoid getting it was to wash hands often... WRONG THING TO SAY! LOL! DS was literaly washing every five minutes. This was all before we knew about PANDAS, but I can see looking back how it was an early sign of it.