Strep question

[Cj60]

Hello,

 

I'm a poster on the Tourettes forum with a question concerning strep, so I figured I'd come to the experts!

 

My son (8) just tested positive for strep. He'd had a sore throat for several days and we finally took him in. When I heard it was positive, I asked for a record of other positive strep tests. I was told that in Jan. 09, he tested positive, then in Feb. 2010 he was tested but it came back negative. And now he's positive. So that's 2 (possibly 3) occurrences since Jan. 09. Is this a higher than normal occurrence of strep? Should I ask our dr. for a longer than usual prescription of abx, just in case?

 

I've seen nothing that would make me think PANDAS to this point, but now that I'm a little more aware, I'm asking more questions.

 

Thanks,

Chris

[peglem]

Hello,

 

I'm a poster on the Tourettes forum with a question concerning strep, so I figured I'd come to the experts!

 

My son (8) just tested positive for strep. He'd had a sore throat for several days and we finally took him in. When I heard it was positive, I asked for a record of other positive strep tests. I was told that in Jan. 09, he tested positive, then in Feb. 2010 he was tested but it came back negative. And now he's positive. So that's 2 (possibly 3) occurrences since Jan. 09. Is this a higher than normal occurrence of strep? Should I ask our dr. for a longer than usual prescription of abx, just in case?

 

I've seen nothing that would make me think PANDAS to this point, but now that I'm a little more aware, I'm asking more questions.

 

Thanks,

Chris

I'm not sure what a normal # of strep infections/year is, and given my child's disorder, every occurrence of strep is a major crisis here. Here's the thing, though- many PANDAS kids have asymptomatic strep (I mean not typical symptoms), so it would be hard to say how many times a person has strep when they are only being checked when displaying typical symptoms. I don't think it is unusual though, for most kids to get strep 2 or 3 times a year.

 

I would just be vigilant about watching for behavior changes and dramatic tic increases w/ the strep- that would be a big red flag for PANDAS.

 

Really, I think infectious etiology should be ruled out for all kids who present w/ neurological dysfunction because I would rather see the underlying cause treated, instead of just the symptoms...but maybe I'm a bit extreme because of our experiences.

[Kayanne]

Or a decrease in tics and symptoms possibly due to the antibiotics.

 

I would just be vigilant about watching for behavior changes and dramatic tic increases w/ the strep - that would be a big red flag for PANDAS.

 

Also, this doesn't sound like an unusual amount of strep. My non-PANDAS children have had a recurrent infection (kept testing positive) in 2009, and then again just about a year later in 2010. It really is not the number of infections per say, it is more about if you notice an significant increase in symptoms.

 

Do you mind sharing which antibiotic and dosage your son was prescribed?

[Cj60]

Or a decrease in tics and symptoms possibly due to the antibiotics.

 

I would just be vigilant about watching for behavior changes and dramatic tic increases w/ the strep - that would be a big red flag for PANDAS.

 

Also, this doesn't sound like an unusual amount of strep. My non-PANDAS children have had a recurrent infection (kept testing positive) in 2009, and then again just about a year later in 2010. It really is not the number of infections per say, it is more about if you notice an significant increase in symptoms.

 

Do you mind sharing which antibiotic and dosage your son was prescribed?

 

 

I'm waiting on a call from the dr. right now to find out. I know you all know more about this than he will, so I wanted to check in with you first.

 

Thanks for the feedback!