Kids who get strep and kids who don't?

[faith]

Hi all,

I would like to get an idea of the relationship between those of our kid that actually get strep (i.e. have the symtoms of sore throat, test positive on swab or culture, basicaly who actually "get" strep and you know it) and get it often or at least once a year..... vs. .... those that do not really get strep, maybe you know of one time, but subsequently, they just get other illness such as virus, flu, bronchitis, etc.

 

I think what I'm trying to see is if those who actually are definitevely getting strep each year are the ones who have more OCD and other symptoms which are on the more moderate to severe.

 

For instance, my son is 10 now and his main problem is tics, altho he does have most of the other symptoms that many here describe as the PANDAS profile, however he is functioning, is in school, and his other symptoms are mild to moderate, but I would say have been climbing over the years, probably due to waxing after illness and never really getting back to baseline, in other words, he might wane some, but his baseline gets higher and higher, aka "the new normal"..........As far as strep goes, I've only known of one time he had it, when he was 7 and I can definiteively say that he showd an obvious 'episode' of a new eye roll tic that came on sharply along with very hyper and out of control behavior. He was low titers (tested twice), and always tests negative on strep swabs and culture. He doesn't usaully get sick alot, he usually gets a 24 hour virus once, sometimes twice a year, with a little fever and vomiting and lethargy. ,.... rarely gets colds, just sniffly for a week or so.

 

So basically what I think would be interesting, would be to see which kids get sick alot with strep, and are their symptoms on the high end? and if the kids that don't necessarily get strep, are the ones with symptoms more in the tic department and mild to moderate on other symptoms?. ... doesn't have to be lengthy, just confirm if they are "streppers" (and how often) and give a description of symtom severity. (also state if you think your child's symptoms are mild,moderate or severe, if you can).

 

I guess I'm thinking that actually getting strep and knowing it may be the real "bullet" for PANDAS kids, and those that don't get too much illness or more viral may be lower on the spectrum?

 

thanks,

Faith

[DebC]

Hi all,

I would like to get an idea of the relationship between those of our kid that actually get strep (i.e. have the symtoms of sore throat, test positive on swab or culture, basicaly who actually "get" strep and you know it) and get it often or at least once a year..... vs. .... those that do not really get strep, maybe you know of one time, but subsequently, they just get other illness such as virus, flu, bronchitis, etc.

 

I think what I'm trying to see is if those who actually are definitevely getting strep each year are the ones who have more OCD and other symptoms which are on the more moderate to severe.

 

For instance, my son is 10 now and his main problem is tics, altho he does have most of the other symptoms that many here describe as the PANDAS profile, however he is functioning, is in school, and his other symptoms are mild to moderate, but I would say have been climbing over the years, probably due to waxing after illness and never really getting back to baseline, in other words, he might wane some, but his baseline gets higher and higher, aka "the new normal"..........As far as strep goes, I've only known of one time he had it, when he was 7 and I can definiteively say that he showd an obvious 'episode' of a new eye roll tic that came on sharply along with very hyper and out of control behavior. He was low titers (tested twice), and always tests negative on strep swabs and culture. He doesn't usaully get sick alot, he usually gets a 24 hour virus once, sometimes twice a year, with a little feve and vomiting and lethargy. ,.... rarely gets colds, just sniffly for a week or so.

 

So basically what I think would be interesting, would be to see which kids get sick alot with strep, and are their symptoms on the high end? and if the kids that don't necessarily get strep, are the ones with symptoms more in the tic department and mild to moderate on other symptoms. ... doesn't have to be lengthy, just confirm if they are "streppers" (and how often) and give a description of symtom severity.

 

I guess I'm thinking that actually getting strep and knowing it may be the real bullet, and those that don't get too much illness or more viral may be lower on the spectrum?

 

thanks,

Faith

 

 

Our daughter does get strep. She's 9 now and was diagnosed in January with PANDAS. Her throat doesn't get sore, but she starts to feel bad, gets dark circles under her eyes, and then throws up due glands that swell with strep. Any time she throws up, I know to take her in for a culture. He symptoms are severe OCD anxiety along with separation anxiety. It took about 3 months for her to return to near normal after her mid January strep. At her worst, she was pretty much non functioning in January. Her first PANDAS episode was probably 2 years ago in first grade. After a bout of strep, her room was obsessively neat to the point that a friend coming over and moving anything would set her off. I thought it was just a neatness phase. However, after her big PANDAS exacerbation in January, the last stage was obsessive neatness as she healed. Therefore, we've linked the previous behavior to PANDAS.

[ajcire]

My ds had strep 2 times at the age of 5:

1st positive only cultured because everyone in the house had it. He had no signs but a positive culture.

2nd positive he had pink eye, no strep signs but the dr. said it often went hand in hand so she cultured him and it was positive.

 

Those were before I knew about pandas.

 

Since knowing he has had 3 more positive cultures, with no strep symptoms but I tested based on behavior and that someone else in the house had it. He has tested negative so I know it's not just that it's not gone inbetween.

 

He is now 7.

 

I consider him very mild based compared to others I am reading about... Throat clearing tic, sleep anxiety (although now it's almost gone.. we just have to check), argumentative behaviors, quick to upset.. more of that is what we see....

 

So my basic answer is - positive cultures but without classic strep symptoms - mild Pandas symptoms (although I didn't realize they were mild until I realized how bad it could be)

[thereishope]

I'll answer this the best I can. My son's original trigger for PANDAS was strep. With strep, his PANDAS gets bad. You can read all symptoms under that "bio" topic someone started. It includes extreme OCD, ODD, sep anxiety, rages, no eating, etc, etc. After that first strep induced PANDAS episode, he now has slight reactions to viruses and allergies as well. But, those reactions are not as bad as strep triggered PANDAS and for him the non-strep ones go away once the virus goes away.

 

My son never had a strep infection prior to when he turned 5 years old. But then after that he had it 3 times in 6 months. The ped said last year strep was really bad in our area. Currently, my son has been strep free for 7 1/2 months.

 

He did have a virus induced (H1N1) blip in PANDAS behavior a few weeks ago, but it was the most minute one he's had. If I didn't know what PANDAS was, I wouldn't have been concerned. It was much smaller than the virus and allergy ones he had shortly after strep while he was still healing.

 

He does not get classic symptoms of strep. No fever, no sore throat, etc.