question about strep throat and contagiousness

[chrisspringob]

OK, here's the question. This week, I'm visiting my sister and her 2-year old son. The kid is sick, and it's probably strep throat, as there are two cases of strep in his daycare. As I understand it, adult immune systems are such that strep rarely infects them, so I should be OK.

But would my immune system being strong enough to fight it mean that I'm not even a carrier? Or am I possibly a carrier, in which case I should probably avoid contact with uninfected children. The issue is that I might want to visit my *other* sister, who has a baby daughter, and I don't want to infect her.

Unfortunately, it's tough to find the answer to the above via googling, so I came here, in case there are any medical experts.

 

[Chaos Descending]

Personally, I tend to stay away from people that are sick with things like that, period. I've known too many adults with strep throat to seriously believe that the adult immune system is supposed to be strong enough to fight it off.

 

[chrisspringob]

Personally, I tend to stay away from people that are sick with things like that, period. I've known too many adults with strep throat to seriously believe that the adult immune system is supposed to be strong enough to fight it off.

Well, the issue is that I've already been exposed to the kid. So it's too late for me to avoid infecting myself. I either have it or I don't. I'm just wondering if the fact that I might have it means that I should avoid any contact with any kids who don't yet have it.

 

[Chaos Descending]

Yes, avoid contact for a couple days.

 

[RoJoHen]

Man, I get strep all the time.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Did you know that dogs can be strep carriers? So if a person gets strep a lot and has a dog (Roger, i know you have cats), that person could be getting it from the dog if said dog licks them.

 

[Vulcan Princess]

Strep is highly contagious, and you can be a carrier without any symptoms. (I catch strep all the time, and I usually don't have symptoms until it gets serious. I've taken to going to the doctor whenever someone around me gets strep, just to be on the safe side.) It can also be very dangerous if left untreated.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

Untreated it can turn into Scarlet Fever. My son had scarlet fever last fall.

My kids get strep all the time (two sets of school classmates and two sets of afterschool daycare). Along with every other illness you can think of. I catch it from them about once every 5 or 6 infections. It's not really airborne (although I understand every time you flush the toilet there is a cloud of strep in the bathroom). You catch it by sharing cups and utensils, and possible by not washing your hands after handing cups and utensils.

You can clear up strep by gargling with salt water once every hour or so.

 

[RoJoHen]

You can clear up strep by gargling with salt water once every hour or so.

You can? I always need strong antibiotics.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

You can clear up strep by gargling with salt water once every hour or so.

You can? I always need strong antibiotics.

Maybe I should say "One can usually clear up..." but yeah. But you have to do it regularly, every hour, like 16 times a day.