Possible mycoplasma in sibling

[GraceUnderPressure]

Myco p experts I need help! Multiple questions!

 

I took my ds7 to the family dr. this past Tuesday to get him checked for strep, ASO & mycoplasma p per the advice of ds18's dr's nurse as he began w/sore throat, cough & sinus crud approx. a week & 1/2 ago.

 

Rapid strep negative, ASO normal & they had never done mycoplasma testing before. So they called their lab helpline & were told they needed a particular swab kit which of course they did not have. They told me it would be in either Friday or Monday. It was not in Friday.

 

Looked up myco p & OMGosh! every symptom listed matched what ds7 had when he got really sick w/bronchitis this past June. This time it has been pretty much the same as then, just much, much milder. (DS7 also began experiencing an anxiety that is not at all like him around bedtime during both illnesses - it seems to go away as his symptoms go away)

 

The family dr rx'd zithromax but I haven't started it yet. The dr said his throat & one ear were red, but he appears to be recovering just fine on his own & I was afraid it would mess up the results of the swab test?

***So question #1: Will antibiotics mess up the swab test (which I understand is an attempt to culture the bug)?

 

Plus, the nurse of ds18's PANDAS dr said we should get the blood draw to check IgG & IgM to myco p rather than the swab, BUT the family dr's nurse said she couldn't find such a test listed & needed the lab code to do it. The PANDAS dr's nurse was SUPPOSED to look it up & call me back, but still nothing after 2 phone calls & 3 days. I was thinking maybe I should just bring ds7 with me to ds18's followup appt. which is on the 21st & ask them to do it? Is that too long to wait?

***So question #2: How long after an infection will a swab test still be capable of giving a valid result?

***And question #3: How long after an infection can the blood test still be helpful?

 

***Finally, question #4: Since my ds7's symptoms seem to be resolving on their own, wouldn't it be better for him if I let his immune system finish taking care of it than to give the antibiotic at this point? (Esp. since he has a little bit of a clostridia overgrowth) Is the myco p more or less likely to dig in & hang around & continue to cause us problems if we don't?

[thereishope]

Okay. I think I'm getting tired so if I don't answer your question, I'm sorry. The question is whether you should start antibiotics for possible Mycoplasma Pneumonia in your non-PANDAS child, correct? I say yes. Myco P can clear up on its own in some people, but not all. Also, Myco P actually is contagious, hence why it is also referred to as community pneumonia. Does your child still have any symptoms such as a cough? That was my non-PANDAS son only symptom. He was put on 5 days of Zithromax and the symptoms went away in about 2 weeks.

[GraceUnderPressure]

Thanks for your response, Vickie! My ds7's cough is actually almost completely gone. Meanwhile, my ds18 is ticcing a lot more these last couple of days. I'm actually tinkering with the idea of giving the zithromax to ds18 instead. Is that a good or a bad idea?

 

Esp, if his PANDAS dr wants to do a myco p test on him (assuming he didn't already - he ran so many tests that I'm not even sure what all was done other than Cunningham's) - would that mess up the IgG/IgM test for myco p?

[thereishope]

Hm. I honestly don't know if the antibiotics would affect testing for Myco P. I wouldn't think so, but let's bump this thread up and see if anyone else knows:)

 

Can you contact the dr running the tests and see if that one was run already and, if so, what the results were?