What is strep throat?

Causes and Symptoms

Strep throat is pharyngitis that is caused by a specific strain of
streptococcus bacteria. These bacteria are
very common and are easily spread by direct, person-to-person contact. Droplets of
saliva or nasal mucus from sneezes, coughs, and infected hands, cups, or utensils
are frequent means of contact. Young children and teenagers, between the ages of
five and fifteen, are at the highest risk. The prevalence of group A
Streptococcus ranges from 4 to 12 percent in asymptomatic
children under the age of eighteen and from 24 to 37 percent in children with sore
throat.

After a short incubation period, the bacteria produce definite signs and symptoms:
a red sore
throat with pain on swallowing, swollen and pus-filled
tonsils, enlarged lymph nodes along the jawline and down the neck, and a
fever. These symptoms may be milder in younger children less
than three years of age, and some may show no symptoms at all. Difficulty in
diagnosis may arise from distinguishing strep throat from other bacterial or viral
infections.

It is critical, however, to make the diagnosis early. Left untreated, strep infections can have serious consequences for the heart and kidneys. More commonly, the throat problem will spread to the sinuses and ears.

Treatment and Therapy

Strep throat can be differentiated from other throat infections using the
technique of sampling (culturing) throat secretions by rubbing the back of the
throat with a swab and testing them with special substances that detect this
specific strain of bacteria. Newly developed methods can provide results in a few
hours, instead of days.

Supportive care through increased fluid intake, warm salt-water gargles, throat
lozenges, the use of a humidifier, and pain- and fever-reducers such as
acetaminophen and ibuprofen are recommended. Antibiotics
such as penicillin and erythromycin are the drugs of choice once a
definitive diagnosis of strep throat has been made. Symptoms generally subside
within a few days. The most feared complication of strep throat is its spread
through the blood to the joints and heart, causing rheumatic
fever, and to the kidneys, causing glomerulonephritis.
Rheumatic fever can seriously and permanently damage the heart valves, while
glomerulonephritis can result in kidney failure. Before the development of
antibiotics, many children suffered these complications.

Bibliography

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Nathanson, Laura
Walther. The Portable Pediatrician: A Practicing Pediatrician’s
Guide to Your Child’s Growth, Development, Health, and Behavior from
Birth to Age Five. 2nd ed. New York: HarperCollins, 2002.
Print.

Shaikh, Nader, Erica Leonard, and Judith M.
Martin. "Prevalence of Streptococcal Pharyngitis and Streptococcal Carriage
in Children: A Meta-Analysis." Pediatrics 126.3 (2010):
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Vincent, Miriam T.
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