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  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Default Can you have strep with no sore throat?

    DD1 woke up Thursday AM with a decent fever (101.1) and coughing. I did give her some ibuprofen, but she spent most of the day feeling mostly OK. DH came home. I went to work. DH did not give her any ibuprofen before bed. She woke up about 45 minutes ago and her temp was back up to 102.4. So I'm staying up until her temperature goes back down to a reasonable level and she's sleeping more comfortably.

    Anyway.

    I emailed her teacher earlier about unrelated things, and she mentioned in her reply that I should consider having DD1 tested for strep because it's been going around the school and some of her classmates have been out for it in the last few days. However, DD1 *insists* that her throat doesn't hurt, she doesn't "feel sick", just that her legs feel like jelly, she hates coughing, and she's hot.

    I don't want to drag her into the pediatrician's office to pick up more germs if it's not necessary, but I also don't want her spending the weekend miserable with strep if she's got it. Can you have strep with no sore throat?

    WWYD?

    Sarah
    Mommy to:
    Carolyn, 10/04
    Anna, 7/08
    Matthew, 8/13

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Default

    Yes. You can have strep without a sore throat. Knew someone who's kid tested positive with no sore throat.

    Catherine

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    Yes.

    The strep bacteria can actually cause infections and illnesses in other places than your throat including your joints and your brain. It is one of the reasons doctors are so specific that you must complete your course of antibiotics with strep even after you are feeling better.

    I had strep twice over the winter of 08-09, once with no sore throat and once with no fever.

    There is a decent write up here on various symptoms
    http://www.faqs.org/health/topics/35/Strep-throat.html
    ---------
    A-M
    happy mother to DD1, 7/08 & DD2, 2/12
    charter member of the BBB I Love Brussels Sprouts Society, 1/11

    I believe in the power of BBB Good Mojo.
    ---------

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    Default

    OK, thanks. I think I'll call the pediatrician's office and ask them what I should do when they open in a bit - poor DD woke up with a fever of 102 again (about 8 hours after taking the ibuprofen last night) and now has no voice whatsoever. And it takes a good hour+ for her temperature to come down to something approaching more normal.

    I'm not usually the kind of mom that heads to the ped on day 2 of a fever, but if it could be strep I'd like to know sooner rather than later!

    Sarah
    Mommy to:
    Carolyn, 10/04
    Anna, 7/08
    Matthew, 8/13

  5. #5
    Edensmum is offline Platinum level (1000+ posts)
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    Default

    Yes, often there are no symptoms or stomach or headache but no sore throat. Get her cultured.

  6. #6
    Twoboos is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    Yep, DD1 had it once w/no sore throat. She had a fever for a couple of days, I happened to catch a glimpse in the right light as she was taking her ibuprofen, and nearly fell over. It was fire engine red with white lines everywhere. When I brought her to the ped, the nurse took a look and almost didn't culture her, it was SO obvious. Nurse said she would quit her job if it wasn't strep, LOL. I felt like Mother of the Year.

    And DD never said a word that her throat hurt.
    "Every mother needs a wife." - Amy Poehler, Yes Please

  7. #7
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    Default

    OK, so now I'm torn. The nurse said that there is strep in the area, which is not especially wide-spread, but that there's also a 2-3 day high fever/cough/headache virus running rampant among their patients - and that parents keep calling because they've heard strep is going around but all the cultures have come back negative. She suggested waiting a day or two to see if the fever goes away before bringing her in for a culture, but that they'd certainly see us if I wanted. They do have Saturday AM walk-ins for exactly this sort of situation, so I'm thinking I'll wait and see how tonight goes.

    (Seriously, if my children tag-team me again tonight, I'm going to cry...last night it was one with fever, the other with a nightmare, plus an acid-reflux attack because I stupidly drank decaf coffee at work last night. Sleep? What's that?)

    Sarah
    Mommy to:
    Carolyn, 10/04
    Anna, 7/08
    Matthew, 8/13

  8. #8
    erosenst is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    Sorry you're going through this.

    Two separate answers:

    * You can definitely get strep without a sore throat...and sometimes without feeling sick at all. It recently happened to DD, which we found out when, after a fair amount of testing, we discovered she had a strep infection in her bladder.

    * If DD is coughing, it's unlikely to be strep. I'd definitely agree with waiting it out, as difficult as that is. In the 'it could be worse' category, the virus going around here last fall was 5-7 days, sometimes longer. Hoping you avoided that one...

    Also hoping you get some sleep - everything always seems worse without it.

  9. #9
    jenmcadams is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by erosenst View Post

    * If DD is coughing, it's unlikely to be strep. I'd definitely agree with waiting it out, as difficult as that is. In the 'it could be worse' category, the virus going around here last fall was 5-7 days, sometimes longer. Hoping you avoided that one...
    Just wanted to say this isn't always the case. My DD had strep last spring -- pretty severe case, the nurse said it was one of the fastest positive tests she'd seen. She also said that the cough my DD had (which was horrendous) was a classic strep cough

    This post is interesting to me though, b/c my DS just got strep for the first time this week (positive quick test yesterday) and while the antibiotics have kicked in and he's doing great, I'm worried about his sister. She's had a bad cold all week (actually was sick first), but no sore throat or fever and seems better today. I'm always second-guessing whether I should take them in and I keep wondering if I should take her in for a swab...we have house guests coming into town tonight, but I feel bad wasting the doctor's time since she seems better. I think I'm going to wait it out...our house guests are both MDs (a ped and a family practice doc), so maybe if it gets worse, they can take a look...
    Mom to a DD (8/02) and a DS (6/05)

  10. #10
    robinsmommy is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    It's not uncommon for little kids, preschool and under to get anal strep. Yep, strep bottom. And older kids can get it there too. It made the rounds at preschool last year......ugh, ugh, ugh.

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