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diarrhea and vomiting with strep?


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I am trying to figure out if my 3 1/2 year old son could have strep. He is my only child who is not on prophylactic antibiotics (other 3 kids on zithromax 250mg/day for past 18 months). I am very suspicious b/c this Tuesday he had his first teeth cleaning at the dentist (if he had any strep in his mouth it definitely could have entered b/c he bled several times on his gums while they were cleaning him). Five hours later he is complaining of bad stomach pain, vomits several times, then wakes up the next day with 102 temp. Next day (today) he still has 102-103 temp and periodically has diarrhea. Has anyone seen diarrhea when their child has had strep? Not sure if it is just a coincidence that this occured after dental appointment. (Keep in mind that he just had a GI bug that was going around a month ago so it can't be the same one- maybe a diferent one?)

 

For those who have children that experienced a flareup in PANDAS symptoms after being at the dentist, how long after didi you see the symptoms begin? He usually gets a rash on his abdomen, becomes incontinent of urine, and throws lots of fits. I am not seeing any of this.

 

Thanks!

Colleen

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I have spoken to three different parents this week who have children displaying the same symptoms and they believe it's strep related, also. Maybe there's a particular strain going around??? I don't know if this comforts you or not but I thought I would let you know.

 

I am trying to figure out if my 3 1/2 year old son could have strep. He is my only child who is not on prophylactic antibiotics (other 3 kids on zithromax 250mg/day for past 18 months). I am very suspicious b/c this Tuesday he had his first teeth cleaning at the dentist (if he had any strep in his mouth it definitely could have entered b/c he bled several times on his gums while they were cleaning him). Five hours later he is complaining of bad stomach pain, vomits several times, then wakes up the next day with 102 temp. Next day (today) he still has 102-103 temp and periodically has diarrhea. Has anyone seen diarrhea when their child has had strep? Not sure if it is just a coincidence that this occured after dental appointment. (Keep in mind that he just had a GI bug that was going around a month ago so it can't be the same one- maybe a diferent one?)

 

For those who have children that experienced a flareup in PANDAS symptoms after being at the dentist, how long after didi you see the symptoms begin? He usually gets a rash on his abdomen, becomes incontinent of urine, and throws lots of fits. I am not seeing any of this.

 

Thanks!

Colleen

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yes, if you google, diarrhea and vomiting can be a sign of strep. I believe that was a sign for my kids, but that was b-4 I knew about PANDAS (and knew that vomiting and diarrhea was a sign of strep) so they were never tested.

 

here's one http://www.bcbsnc.com/content/services/for...ng-diarrhea.htm :

 

 

Like fever, vomiting and diarrhea are not illness themselves, but are common symptoms of many other common illnesses of childhood. The most common cause of vomiting and diarrhea in children is a stomach or intestinal infection, typically caused by a virus, but occasionally can be caused by a bacteria or parasite. These viruses are contagious, so typically other children or family members will have it as well. Other illnesses that can cause vomiting and diarrhea include:

 

Strep throat infection

Urinary tract infection

Respiratory or sinus infection

Meningitis

Ear infection

Appendicitis

Reyes syndrome

Milk or food allergy

Side effects from oral medications (usually antibiotics)

Edited by EAMom
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Thanks for the responses!

 

We did a rapid strep test and a flu test- both negative. We are waiting on the 72 hour culture. He does not have his "normal" signs of PANDAS (wetting bed, rash on abdomen, screaming) but I am VERY suspicious b/c this all started 5 hours after his first teeth cleaning (Bad abdominal pain) and the fact that his temp was 103 for 2 days. I am also suspicious that it could have to do with strep/teeth cleaning b/c none of my other 3 kids have gotten sick and when it is viral, usually at least one of them gets it. He was so dehydrated he had to get IV fluids, but tthankfully they were able to do it at the office instead of sending me to the ER.

 

Colleen

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My non-PANDAS son gets severe diarrhea with strep. The doctors originally missed the strep because they assumed it was a stomach virus and didn't culture him. It wasn't until I brought him back to the doctor because he was not getting better that they cultured him and he tested positive. Now, whenever he has this symptom, I bring him to the ped and insist on a throat culture. He is positive everytime.

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I am so upset I could scream and cry. I posted last week about how sick my 3 year old was and that I was so suspicious it could be strep b/c it all happened after his first dentist visit. He started to get better this weekend, then spiked 102 fever last night. I called our physician this morning b/c I had not heard anything over the weekend about the 72 hour strep culture and the nurse said they threw it away- the dr thought it was a viral illness (rapid was negative) so they never sent out the culture.

 

NOW, he is wetting the bed, has enormous lymph nodes in his neck, has a fever, and had periods of sleep apnea last night (all of the things he does with strep). I have a 330 apopintment for him today, but have to see someone I never see who knows nothing about PANDAS or my children's history.

I am so worried about him. My gut tells me he has strep, but if the rapid comes back negative, the dr I am seeing is highly unlikely to give me antibiotics. What to do?

Colleen

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Colleen-

 

I am SO sorry. I am so MAD you and your child have to go through this.

 

I would (and have) lie! You know you have to be the advocate. You know YOU know so much more than these docs, and YOU know what to do for your child.

 

I would say what happened, but add the sweet little lie that four other kids in his class have strep now, and you INSIST on a prescription of antibiotics AT LEAST until they get a negative culture and prove to you otherwise.

 

You are in VA? Have you seen Dr L? Who gets you the antibiotics for your other kids?

 

Keep us posted- stand your ground- go in with the plan NOT to leave without antibiotics.

 

(Worst case scenario- do you have enough from the other kids to "share" a little with their sibling while you wait for the test.)

 

The other thing- if it is not strep, does not mean it isn't pandas, unfortunately, but I am sure you know that.

 

I wish you the best of luck this afternoon- let us know how it goes....

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Thank you for your response! I do have enopugh Zithromax from my other kids that I could give him and I am very tempted to. My gut told me from the beginning that it was strep and not just a coincidence that he had just been to the dentist. My fear is that thge culture will also come back negative as it has so many other times. Right now I get antibiotics for my other 3 kids from the NP I always see- the one who decided not to send the culture, which still blows my mind. She believes that my kids have PANDAS, so even if she felt it was viral on Thursday, she should have sent it anyway, or at the very least, told me she was not sending it b/c then I woiuld have insisted she send it.

 

When we were there Thurs and he needed IV fluids b/c he was so dehydrated, the nurse drew blood for a CBC before hooking up the IV. They called Friday and said "the blood work looks viral". I will ask to see the labs today, but what looked viral? What did not look bacterial?

 

Colleen

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I am so upset I could scream and cry. I posted last week about how sick my 3 year old was and that I was so suspicious it could be strep b/c it all happened after his first dentist visit. He started to get better this weekend, then spiked 102 fever last night. I called our physician this morning b/c I had not heard anything over the weekend about the 72 hour strep culture and the nurse said they threw it away- the dr thought it was a viral illness (rapid was negative) so they never sent out the culture.

 

NOW, he is wetting the bed, has enormous lymph nodes in his neck, has a fever, and had periods of sleep apnea last night (all of the things he does with strep). I have a 330 apopintment for him today, but have to see someone I never see who knows nothing about PANDAS or my children's history.

I am so worried about him. My gut tells me he has strep, but if the rapid comes back negative, the dr I am seeing is highly unlikely to give me antibiotics. What to do?

Colleen

I would be upset too! I don't get it, was it so much more work to just send in just in case? Now with the fever, the lymph nodes, etc, they better do something!

I hope the appointment goes well. Even if the rapid/culture are negative, I would insist that they do ASO and Anti-DNASE titers. Keep us posted.

Isabel

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I am not sure- but will relay our experience:

 

My dd 9, had pandas inducing strep last year. She had literally 2 days with fatigue and mild loss of appetite. Because of her sister (pandas), I freaked and brought her to the doc for culture- positive. She did a course of amoxicillin (I know- what a mistake- I was green at the time). I called the doctor halfway through the course saying that she was just not feeling better. Fatigue and stomach aches. She went back to school for a week, and then was out again for a week of not feeling well. Took her back to the doc insisting she was not right. They tested for mono (negative), strep (negative- but on antibiotics at the time) and WBC (normal). So they surmised she had nothing serious. Well, in the end, she had pandas- and all of their testing neither helped confirm or deny that. The only proof was in the treatment (abx, steroids, and pex)- and that it worked.

 

SO- in the end, I don't put much stock (unfortunately) into tests. Frankly, the deeper you get into pandas, the more you realize how little docs (and the science community) really know about bacteria and our immune system. I am with Dr L, and this is what makes her a great doc, she told me "we just have to do what works."

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The appointment went better than I thought it would (we were seeing someone we don't usually see). We did a 72 culture and she said "I'll give you antibiotics. What do you want?" I almost fell on the floor! On Monday he had all his "typical" symptoms of strep except for the rash he usually gets on his abdomen. As we were waiting for the NP to come in the room, my son laid down under the bright lights, and sure enough, thre was the rash- very faint, but there. Today is two days later and the rash is much more pronounced and his behavior is horrible. He is only 3 1/2, but he is usually laughing, playing, so happy. Today he is screaming, throwing fits, crying, etc..

 

My questionis, did it take until today for the antibodies to increase to a high enough level for me to start seeing these behaviors? It was a week ago today that he woke up with 103 temp.

TIA!!

Colleen

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