Strep Throat/Scarlet Fever Info

My 2 year old has had strep a handful of times, and the symtpoms in babies and toddlers are not the same as trep in old kids and adults (which is HORRIBLE, I had it once!). Normally there is a fever and they are just miserable. My Ped says they don't really even get a sore throat, it's just a high fever, and sometimes they throw up once or twice (that's how I know mine has strep, if he throws up once for no apparent reason).

It's also not contagious to adults, which is awesome for me, b/c I seem to get everything else.

My son did get the rash once, too. It was really not serious and antibiotics kicked it right away.

I think with children strep can show in different forms. A rash is one sign of strep. She could also of had a belly ache. I know in the daycare I work in, some parents call their child out and list what they have, but the day before they were perfectly normal. I wish I handles illnesses the way they do :)

My son is 5 1/2 he rarely has any sore throat or fever but presents with a runny or stuffy nose and a rash on his mouth. The first time he had this rash was with a cold and the old time doctor noticed the rash - which looked like pimples- and said let's test for strep. Sure enough he had it. He has only had the rash on his mouth to his chin never on his body...another time when he had strep his throat did not hurt but the infection made his tummy ache badly. Just different ways the kids will show strep. As soon as you see the rash get to the doctor.

My son just got diagnosed with strep too. He did not complain that his throat hurt, but I could hear it in his voice. Now he's complaining that his neck hurts, and he has no energy, until I give him tylenol. And he does have a fever. He does not seem to have a rash, but I've heard of that happening, especially since they have a fever, and their skin gets a little hot and dry, maybe that is what is causing the rashy look. After reading a few posts, I did not realize that untreated strep could lead to scarlet fever! Wow! This site has such good info on it.

Hi A.,

Yes, my son (9) about 2 years ago or less went to school
fine, the nurse called me by 10am with a high fever. I brought him home gave him tylenol he was fine. I made an appointment for the next day with the Dr. just in case since it was Friday and they only see patients till noon on Sat.
Sat. he seemed fine, his fever (without any other symptoms) never reserfaced. I called to cancel the appt.
A little while later I went to him again thinking how odd it was that he had no symptoms but had a 103 fever from no where.
He just didn't look right his color was off somehow. I decided for some reason to lift his shirt and noticed what appeared to be jus slight dots very subtle in one area. I called the Dr.'s office back and explained to them they said bring him in. Apparently he too had strep. He had developed scarlet fever which is a side effect of untreated strep. I was both shocked and very happy that I listened to my innervoice or intuition. He could have developed many severe side effects if it went on undetected. With antibiotics he was fine, but it had instilled something in me that I am glad to share because it is scary. Your child may have had a fever at sometime that you didn't even know about? Bottom line is it is tough when they don't show traditional symptoms and important to listen to you intuition. Glad things turned out ok.
~ Mary

A.,
A friend of mine has a daughter who is 9 and whenever she gets a rash or a cold sore on or around her mouth, its a tall-tell sign that she's got strep throat.

I never experienced this with my own children - they always complained of their throat hurting.

With the use of the antibiotics.. I'm sure she'll be back to her - as you say - dazzly self!

My daughter had scarlet fever last year at the age of 3. She had a rash all over her body - felt like "sand paper" from head to toe (tell tale sign)...doctor diagnosed her immediately. I had to keep her as still as possible for 72 hours and have her urine tested a couple of times, and was on antibiotics - rash eventually went away. Evidentally scarlet fever is either strep that has gone un-treated or just strep that manifests itself through the skin - not exactly sure. Anyway, my daughter had NO symptoms prior to the rash that would have caused me to contact her doctor. The ONLY thing I can think of was that I did notice her clearing her throat a lot, so the next time I noticed her clearing her throat a little more than usual (this past month) I brought her to the doctor right away even though she was not complaining, and sure enough she had strep! I even brought her recently for another rash - turned out to be dry skin! So basically I have become one of those mothers who calls for the slightest things - better to be safe than sorry. My 7 year old son is the same way - rarely shows symptoms of illnesses - neither of my kids gets fevers (very, very rare) - my doctor is finally starting to believe me about this!
Anyway, that was my experience and the diagnosis of scarlet fever sounds worse than it is (of course it can be dangerous if left untreated) - I remember being afraid to tell people for fear of their reactions...just make sure your doctor does some follow up tests to make sure her heart and kidneys are funcioning okay, which I am sure they are, but just be on the safe side...Good luck!