Wellness Archives

Scarlet Fever

Follow Ups:

• Re: Scarlet Fever (Archive in wellness.) Walt Stoll [9.8] 07:25:13 2/27/04 (0)
• Re: Scarlet Fever Scarlett O'hara [1079.566] 20:30:57 2/26/04 (0)
• Re: Scarlet Fever ANN [1077.516] 11:55:28 2/26/04 (0)

In Reply to: Scarlet Fever posted by Karen [6.662] on February 26, 2004 at 08:15:42:

I'm not up on the disease, but keeping the immune system strong will cut down on chances of getting it or lessen severity of the illness.
Cut out sugar and white flour immediately. Focus on whole grains, veggies, beans, nuts, and meat ,if you use it. No dairy, since many people are sensitive to wheat and haven't realized it, emphasizing brown rice is usually best for grains.
Many people eat poorly and are very susceptible. THEN, when someone gets sick, they'll eat soda or ice cream which doesn't support getting better.
When sick, hot, salty soups are usually the best food (with brown rice, veggies, and ossibly meat in it, if the person can handle some solids.
You can't totally avoid illness, but you CAN exert a lot of control.

In Reply to: Scarlet Fever posted by Karen [6.662] on February 26, 2004 at 08:15:42:

To my knowledge Scarlet Fever is what happens when strep throat
goes untreated. It is essentially an advanced stage of strep throat.
The reason you had not heard of it happening so much is because
with the invention of antibiotics it had virtually become an extinct
disease. When people get strep throat they take antibiotics and it
never gets to the Scarlet Fever stage.

I had it when I was in High School. I got strep throat when my
parents were in Europe. I assumed I just had a really bad flu. I
never thought to go to the doctor and just kept going to school and
running myself down. Finally it turned into Scarlet Fever. At that
point I was so ill my throat had closed off almost completely from
all the blisters, I was vomiting nonstop, and was so delirious from
fever that I barely remember my sister rushing me into the
emergency room. I do remember on follow up visits to the doctor
after they had pumped me full of antibiotics that he said the reason
we don't see Scarlet Fever anymore is because people treat Strep
before it has a chance to develop.

Given this fact I don't understand how it can being running rampant
at a school. If kids are getting sore throats and high fevers why are
they not being treated before it advances to the Scarlet Fever
stage? Or perhaps in young children it can just rapidly come on as
Scarlet Fever? I don't know, but I do know that it is ALWAYS
treated with antibiotics these days because it is caused by a
bacteria (Streptococcus) and not a virus, and that is the best way
(and perhaps only way) to kill it. People used to die from Scarlet
Fever before antibitoics were in use because they had no way of
stopping the bacteria.

As with any illness a strong immune system will help your chances
of not succumbing to it so readily. But remember this is not a virus.
You do not build up antibodies to Strep bacteria like you do for
colds and flus.

In Reply to: Scarlet Fever posted by Karen [6.662] on February 26, 2004 at 08:15:42:

Karen,

Scarlet Fever is just a human response to a specific streptococcus and is directly related to the bodymind's immune response.

Listen to Ann.

Once exposed, it is a little late to do much prevention via improvement of immunity but it surely could not hurt prevention of the complications of this disease.

If MY kids had this I surely would treat them with strep specific antibiotics. Fortunately, the cheapest is still best: penicillin.

Keeping immunity up in school age kids is still their best prevention of communicable diseases and is a good example of "Fixing the roof while the sun is shining." As the level of immunity in the general population continues to go down this becomes even more important for those who care enough.

Walt