Help Panicking - Just been told My son has Strep A in his skin!!

[Meewah]

Hi

On Monday we went to the Minor Injuries clinic as my youngest son who is four had bitten my Eldest son while playing. Even though it had not drawn blood it looked very painful. As the days went on the bite started to spread in a circular fasion around the site.

Anyhow I took him to the Minor injuries and they took a swab and sent it off to the labs and put him on Erythramicin 250mg four times a day.. . Two days later when we went to have it redressed we were told the bacteria was nothing nasty and was a very common Strep A Bacteria. The site was redressed and we were sent away. We were told to call the nurse tommorow to find out from the labs if we would have to change antibiotics.

Any how we went home and I googled it and found a reliable source of information on the NHS Choices website. I am now totally panicking as it says it is very common but for "invasive strep A" The outlook is very bad!!!!


Help me please I cannot think straight and even though I should listen to the Nurse I am worried they may have missed this crucial detail.

I am not sure what "invasive strep A" is but I am thinking it is when it has got under the skin???

Please help

Mee

[Gemmalou84]

Hey hun try and stay calm easier said than done I know ! But I'm 100% the labs know what they r doing they test things all day day in day out and they know what they r looking for so I'm pretty sure ur son will b ok ! Why not try calling ur docs 2moro cause they will have been sent the results and maybe he/she can put ur mind at rest and explain it and tell them ur concerns bout the other type of strepA ! And another thing if it was the invasive strepA ( it's not though) I'm sure ur son would have other symptoms by now if it was from a few weeks ago ! The antibiotics will have killed all the bacteria now ! Hope this helps hun :)))

[Meewah]

Thanks Gemma

The only other symptom is that his temperature was up slightly. The doctor said this may just be another virus as there is a lot going around.

He has been off today from school as he said he felt unwell. I think talking to him, that his Tummy is aching which is a side effect of the antibiotics. Apart from this he is playing on his computer. I will take his temperature again.

Thaks for the quick advice. I hate feeling like this as I am really panicking now!!

Mee xx

[Gemmalou84]

Honestly he is fine ! His temp is prob just a virus and like u said the antibiotics r prob upsetting his tummy they r very common side effects of antibiotics ! Def try and get in ur docs 2moro just 2 put ur mind at rest if nothing else ! He will b back 2 being a typical boy b4 u know it ! And strep A is v v common Bacteria it's causes Common things like sore throats ect so please don't worry xx

[Meewah]

Thanks Gemma

I just know how strained the NHS is at the moment and I feel they could easily make mistakes and miss something. I rang NHS direst but they were no help trying to calm my worries. They told me I could get a second opinion if I wanted at a walk in centre but they would want to swab it also and confirm it was strep a.

I felt that I do not need that confirmation as it would take just as long. My panic says to rush him to A&E. My rational mind says wait till the morning and speak to the nurse at his doctors.

I just dont know if I can calm down and sleep tonight. My mind is spinning 100 MPH.

Thanks for the support Gemma.

Mee.

[Meewah]

Ok so i spoke to the doctors surgery and they showed no compassion as usual. They said the antibiotics according to microbiology should clear it up. The expect a good improvement on Friday when he has his dressing changed.

I am not sure if this helps me or my son. I feel it is just a waiting game.

Strange I got very little sleep last night and even though I feel tired out the morning brought great relief from the Anxiety. Why oh Why is anxiety 100 times worse in the dead of night???


Mee

[Jo3016]

Hi

I know it is so easy for me to say but try not to worry. Strep A is a very common and almost always mild infection that can cause, amongst other things, strep throat and mild skin infections (which sounds like what your son has). Invasive strep A (as it says on the NHS website) is rare with only 3 out of every 100,000 people getting it and this will usually be people who have a lower immunity. Invasive Strep A can cause things like toxic shock and the "flesh eating disease" which is extremely uncoomon. You did exactly the right thing and you already have antibiotics for your son. I'm sure he will be on the mend really soon.

I know it is hard when your children are ill. I hate it myself and always panic about menningitis and all sorts of other things. So I totally understand your panic but I don't think you need to worry. Obviously, keep an eye on him and maybe make a follow-up appointment with your GP to get further information. Take care

[Meewah]

Hi Thanks Jo.

This really helped. I do respond well to statistics. We went to have his dressing changed on Friday and the nurse said she does not have to see him again. She gave him some oversize plasters and said to let it get some air so it can dry out. I explained about reading the NHS Website and panicking and she said " I thought you would" Not sure if she meant panic?

Anyhow I feel the medical professionals are less and less inclined to reassure you if they cannot be 100% Sure complications wont happen. He finished his weeks supply of Antibiotics on Sunday night so we will keep an eye on it.

It looks like a 10p size red but hard disc on his finger at the moment.

These super bugs and bacteria really scare me. I feel these are the things that will make the human race extinct. The problem is we are not developing any new Antibiotics for the antibiotic resistant strains of these bugs and that scares me even more. We are fighting a battle with an near invisible army with old over prescribed antibiotics. Not only that but we feed our livestock antibiotics also so we get a steady stream of low level antibiotics for the bacteria to adapt to.

Again thanks and sorry about the rant.

Mee