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reducing reinfection?


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We had negative strep results mid June but my youngest just came down with strep throat yesterday again and is now on Augmentin. His older brother is the DS PANDAS. My husband has become a cleaning fiend. I keep tossing and replacing toothbrushes. Dishwasher, handwashing, what else? Neither DH nor I carry strep so far although I wish they would check our sinuses and not just throats. We don't have dogs but friends do. We have cats. Since the start of April we've had only two weeks free of strep. What other tricks do folks have for this?

thanks,

Emily

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We also throw out tooth paste tubes since the toothbrush comes into contact with the tip. We throw away chap stick also. When we had strep repeatedly this spring with myself and our non PANDAS son, I even went so far as to wash our feather pillows and dry them on high heat. Since I also had it, I threw out most of my makeup and started over since my first round of clindamycin didn't get rid of it (allergic to penicillin and cephalosporins).

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Emily-

 

Technically, strep is not considered a "reinfection", but most likely a chronic infection, if a recurrence happens within a certain amount of time (I think 2 to 4 weeks). This may be the case. What abx are you treating with? You may want to consider a course of clindamycin.

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We also throw out tooth paste tubes since the toothbrush comes into contact with the tip. We throw away chap stick also. When we had strep repeatedly this spring with myself and our non PANDAS son, I even went so far as to wash our feather pillows and dry them on high heat. Since I also had it, I threw out most of my makeup and started over since my first round of clindamycin didn't get rid of it (allergic to penicillin and cephalosporins).

Good point with the chapsticks. My dd has a fixation with them - 40+ collection. I sometimes purchase the travel size toothpaste tubes when on sale.

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no sharing towels.

 

I spoke to my dr who is an infectious disease doctor and he said that strep doesnt live long on surfaces, and it has to be on something "alive"

 

I do have several air sanitizers in the house that specifically say kills strep and other things.

 

http://www.hunterfan.com/Products/Air-Purifiers/4-in-1-Total-Air-Protection-30847/

 

this is a new model it seems, the prics is a lot better than the ones I bought by like $150

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We also throw out tooth paste tubes since the toothbrush comes into contact with the tip.

 

We used to do that, too, as well as throwing out the toothbrushes themselves. Then we got an electric toothbrush that has a little ultraviolet light chamber where you store the brushes, push the button to turn it on, and the UV light kills sterilizes the brush heads. A little expensive on the front end, but worth it in the end in terms of what it saves in toothpaste & toothbrushes! ;)

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This might be a no-brainer, but we all wash our hands the moment we come in the door from being out. I implemented this many years ago to cut down on stomach viruses, and it really works. We rarely get sick. When we do, it tends to be an air-borne infection that someone picked up in school.

 

Also, wipe down objects such as remote controls, gaming controllers, cell phones, house phones, and computer keyboards (don't forget the mouse) with something like Clorax Wipes, especially during cold and flu season, or after your kids have had friends over. I do door knobs, too, when I know something's going around. Oh, and also, I wipe down the refridgerator/freezer handles daily as part of kitchen clean-up.

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no sharing towels.

 

I spoke to my dr who is an infectious disease doctor and he said that strep doesnt live long on surfaces, and it has to be on something "alive"

 

I do have several air sanitizers in the house that specifically say kills strep and other things.

 

http://www.hunterfan.com/Products/Air-Purifiers/4-in-1-Total-Air-Protection-30847/

 

this is a new model it seems, the prics is a lot better than the ones I bought by like $150

 

Ooh - towels, will have to be careful on that one. We are due to replace some of our air sanitizers, so thanks for that link!

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