Wondered what my 14 month old's cances were of contracting strep from me. Is his immune system tough enough to prevent a full blown case? He drank from my cup this afternoon.
In Reply to: Re: Strep Throat posted by Kate on June 01, 1998 at 22:19:12:
Dear Kate,
Too complex a question.
1. Your immunity would have to be at just the right level to allow you to carry it without your getting it yourself.
2. You could temporarily boost his resistance to infections by giving at least 12 grams of esterified vitamin C (as calculated from a #150 adult---in other words, a child of #30 would need 1/5th of that dose) the total daily amount given in divided doses twice a day--that means an average adult would take 6 grams twice a day. It comes in powder so you can easily give the right dose. Within a few days of the exposure, you could taper it off over a few days.
Hope this helps.
Walt
Dear Barb,
My purpose is education so that people have some idea of what is going on. Scarlet fever has about a 4-7 day incubation period so, if you have had no more contact and presently have no sore throat, you are probably safe for now. The rash of scarlet fever comes several days after the sore throat since it is a reaction of the body to the toxins from the throat infection.
Scarlet fever rash has no similarity to the virus fifth rash! Either this kid had 2 kinds of infections at the same time (extremely unlikely), AND the rash had nothing to do with the throat infection, OR the throat infection was inaccurately diagnosed---throat cultures are not 100% accurate. You could go to the library & get a dermatology book that would have color pictures of infectious rashes & figure out for yourself what the rash looked like.
If this was scarlet fever, you should be getting advice from the OB doc you plan to go to.
Hope this helps.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Strep Throat posted by Walt Stoll on June 02, 1998 at 12:57:57:
Dr. Stoll,
My fourteen-year-old son was just diagnosed with strep throat. We have four other children. My main question is: How long is the incubation period for strep throat? Also, when does it start becoming contagious (i.e. before the fever and sore throat show up??) Should I keep my other children home for fear of exposing their friends to it? Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Lori
In Reply to: Re: Strep Throat posted by Lori on June 24, 1998 at 17:03:08:
Dear Lori,
See my note on this subject yesterday.
The incubation period is 4-10 days and it is contagious at least 24 hours before symptoms. Personally, I would not worry about sending asymptomatic children to school. Your conventional doc would have a better pulse of the community and should be the one to advise you about this.
Walt
My son is being treated by an environmental allergist. He has had continuous strep throat since March '98. He is 5 years old and has been put on the strongest antibiotics there are for this. The ear, nose, and throat doctor has recommended removal of the tonsils. The allergist he has just started seeing feels that if we treat his numerous allergies, this will help prevent the need for the tonsils to be removed. This allergist does not use antibiotics hardly at all, but since the strep throat keeps coming back after he goes off the antibiotics, he wants to keep him on an antibiotic while we treat the allergies. He is also treating him for candida. He is taking the powdered Nystatin 4 times a day. He will be tested soon for candida. I have tried echinacea and golden seal, but when I take him off of it, the strep comes back(before antibiotics). I give him 1000 mg of Vit C a day and a good multi-vitamin. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have access to high quality herbs. The environmental allergist does not recommend removal of the tonsils. He also is struggling with an ear infection. I do not give him milk. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
In Reply to: strep throat and tonsillectomy posted by Christine on June 06, 1998 at 12:54:46:
My 7-year-old had a tonsillectomy 3 weeks ago. I would have done anything so she wouldn't have to go through the pain of surgery, but once tonsils are diseased for awhile there's not much you can do. I'm now glad she had the tonsillectomy because the improvement is remarkable. She is happy, no longer snoring, eating well and now very healthy. I say have his tonsils out, they are only dragging him down and making him miserable. All those antibiotics can't be very good for him either. If you wait too long he will just get more run down and the tonsillectomy will be more traumatic.
Linda
In Reply to: strep throat and tonsillectomy posted by Christine on June 06, 1998 at 12:54:46:
Dear Christine,
Linda may be right. Once the tonsils have been damaged enough with recurrent bouts of infection, they become a "nidus" of infection themselves. in those cases, removal of the nidus really helps. Of course, your environmental allergest is right, too. If these are tonsils that still are doing their job of isolating the infection to the throat (as opposed to letting it go throught the blood), they need to be spared.
Unless the tonsils are cronically scarred, & full of abscesses that never clear up, they are still helping more than they are hurting. Unfortunately, "to a hammer, everything looks like a nail". SO, were he mine, I would find a good holistic pediatician nearby (within a couple of hundred miles) and get a 3rd opinion to break the tie. If I knew what part of the country you came from, I might know of someone, personally, who would help you break the tie.
In the meantime, your best bet would be to improve his immunity every way you can. The holistic practitioner could do that best. Finding a good Naturopath in your area might serve that purpose as well. A nutritionally oriented Chiropractor would do you good. See if you can attract Doc Dave (the Chiropractic expert on this BB) by starting a note with his name in the title. Structure has a lot to do with recurrent problems in this area.
The recurrent ear problems ARE related to the allergies. Dairy is just the most common one that does this for ears. Wheat is the next most common. In the end, dealing with WHY he has sensitivities (lgs & candida) are more productive of a normal life than just treating the allergies of witholding the triggers.
Hope this helps. Go to your heath food store & take a look at the book "Nutritional Healing" by Balch & Balch. They have a section on improving immunity in that book.
Walt
Dear Dr. Stoll,
My 9 year old daughter was just diagnosed with her 4th case of strep throat this year. I also have a 5 year old son who is in close contact with her yet has never had strep. I am at my wit's end trying to figure out how she is getting contaminated each time. We have a very clean house, we throw away toothbrushes after each incident and she completely finishes the antibiotic prescription. My question is this: Is it possible for our family dog who was just brought into the household in the last year to be a carrier?? Our group of pediatricians was split. Two said possible, One said possible but unlikely and one said no way. I called our vet who said he'd never heard of such a thing as a dog being a carrier. What do you think? Thank you in advance for your response.
In Reply to: Recurring Strep Throat posted by Susan Harrison on June 23, 1998 at 16:54:58:
Dear Susan,
This is what Pasteur was referring to on his death bed when he said "Bernard was right! The territory is everything." Remember, he had made his life's work the proof that the germ was the most important thing. He ended his life believing that his germ thing was probably the least important thing that determines whether people got sick. Unfortunately, the conventional medical monopoly has gotten fat & rich for more than 100 years convincing people that Pasteur's initial thoughts are the only thing. Louis would turn over in his grave.
The real question is: "Why doesn't everyone in the house have it if the presence of the germ is the problem?????"
This is due to the child's immune system horsepower.
There is a bell curve of immunity in the human species just as there is a bell curve of skin color, intelligence, eye color, etc., etc. For the person who happens to have been born toward the lower end of the immune system bell curve, lifestyle choices have a lot greater effect than for others with the exact same lifestyle.
You really need to do some basic reading to understand what to do to stop this. KEEP THE DOG!
Get a copy of my book (link on this page). THEN, if you have more questions write again. I do not think that the word "strep throat" are mentioned in the book. That is NOT the point of the book! It is designed to change your paradigm to the present view of the health care of the 21st century. THERE is where the solution to this is found.
Walt