Chronic Strep

My daughter had chronic ear infections and she was put on a low dose of antibiotics for about 8 weeks and it worked. Have you tried that?

Hi C.,

Just a thought, but do you change her toothbrush every time? She could be getting reinfected from it...

My heart goes out to you. My kids are grown, but I remember the frustration and heartache these ongoing situations bring.

Just guessing here, but is it possible that even with the rounds of anti-biotics she's simply not getting rid of the strep in her system and it recurs? If so, that may be an indicator that the tonsils are indeed the culprit. If the Drs. confirm that and want to remove the tonsils, by all means have it done. At three years of age, it shouldn't be a major issue. I had my tonsils removed when I was five and still recall how I went home the following day (in your daughter's case it will likely be a couple of hours... because my surgery was many years ago) and I felt great. My poor mother was exhausted from having stayed at the hospital sleeping in a chair beside my bed the night before, but I was playing and singing. I recall her saying "I don't know how you can sing after having your tonsils out. It makes my throat hurt just listening to you."
Your daughter should be fine going through the surgery and if it helps her health it will be well worth it.

Hi C.,
Sorry to hear about your daughter being so sick. I too, had a similar situation with my son when he was around 2 to 3 years old. He constantly had ear infections. It seemed that as soon as the ear infection cleared up and he was done with is meds, another would start. His doctor recommended putting him on a low dosage antibiotic for long term. It did clear up his ear infections in the long run, but my poor baby had diarrhea. I don’t think the doctors even knew why this was happening. His doctor talked about putting tubes in his ears, if the ear infections did not clear up. Luckily we didn't have to go that route. My son had scar tissue from the numerous ear infections he had. When he started grammar school, he had a speech problem. It was caught early enough, so got him into speech therapy and it was resolved easily enough.
I really don’t have an answer for you, just wanted to let you know, that sometimes are little ones have illnesses that drag on and yes, it’s scary.
I wish your daughter the best.

I don't have an answer for you but I think it is great that you are seeing an ENT. I am surprised that your primary care has waited so long to refer you! Strep Throat is rare in small children...isn't common until they turn 5 or so.

One thing to check...has your primary care been culturing the sample? A positive "quick" test doesn't necessarily mean that the patient has a active strep infection...they could have an underlying viral infection and just be a carrier of the bacteria.

Before you go through a tonsillectomy, I'd request a full culture to confirm it.

my nephew had something like this and he had to be on antibiotic for a lengthy time to be sure it was all out of his body.

Sounds like you are trying to do the best you can. I don't know what probiotic or nutrition products you used, but all are not created equal. If you would like some recommendations contact me.

It's better to have the tonsilectomy when she's young like this........she will probably be almost back to normal the very next day..........the younger they are.....they quicker they recover.

It's definitely time for it.........actually, I'm a little surprise your dr hasn't referred you earlier than now.....you might need her medical records copied to show the ENT how many times she's had strep...

Your solution is to take her into the ENT......If she is having this when she's young, she'll probably have it when she's older..............she needs those tonsils out :O)

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Someone in your family might be a carrier. Your whole family should go on antibiotics at the same time. The person who is the carrier probably has no symptoms...
Change the toothbrush. If she has a pacifier, get a new one. If she has a blanket or something that she carries around, bleach it. Look around your house. Figure out what she touches, puts near her face, or even licks... (kids do the weirdest things!) Scrub and wash and disinfect everything - even door knobs, cabinet pulls, table and counter edges, and chair arms...
We've had a few rounds of strep and if someone comes down with it, the whole house gets a scrub. I start with the kitchen and move methodically through the house until every last thing has been cleaned. It's a pain, but it works.
YMMV
LBC

My daughter also has had similar things. Her ears were infected very very often for a long time too and has had strep throat quiet a bit...i took her to a ENT specialist too we went almost once a month for a year to let them check fluid levels in her ears and see how or if it was changing at all. I told the doctor from the get go that i wanted to avoid surgery at all if possible so he worked with other techniques on ways to give it a chance to heal on its own and it did work. it took time but she has out grew it. I am so thankful he was not quick to rush to surgery because that idea scared me bad. I think if it came to it and we had to have done it i would have been tough and got through it with her but I wanted to see if she could grow out of it becaue there are alot of things children get when they r small that will not be there when they r older and i feel that surgery is such a serious step unless the child has no other option then thats different. I hope this helps u in any way please update us.

Change her toothbrush after each bout with strep and other times too. Disinfect the house. My daughter when living with her father had strep often... when she came to live with me she never had it again.

Have you had her tested for food allergies? She may be allergic to a common food, like wheat (or the gluten in wheat), milk, eggs, etc. that she's been eating since she started solid foods. This would lead to something called "leaky gut syndrome" where undigested food particles are allowed to enter the bloodstream, sending her immune system out of whack. Between a leaky gut and all the antibiotics, this would upset the balance of "good" vs. "bad" bacteria in her intestine, which could then lead to candida, which is basically a chronic, systemic yeast infection that antibiotics alone would not fix. I would recommend she get a blood test for food antigens and also a comprehensive diagnostic stool analysis. They aren't very expensive or difficult to do and at least you will have ruled it out before doing something as invasive as a tonsillectomy.

Best wishes! My heart goes out to you and your daughter.

It sounds like you are describing my childhood! My parents tried really hard to avoid having my tonsils removed, but once I was in school something had to be done. I was sick so much I missed a lot of school. Finally, in 3rd grade, I got them out. It hurt...worse than the worst strep throat...but then it got better and now I don't get strep any more. I was out of school for almost 2 weeks because my scabs kept coming off and I had a lot of bleeding, but I know a few kids who have had the surgery really young (3, 4, and 4) and they are only on the couch for a couple of days and then they are good to go. So, from what I have seen, I would say that they sooner the better....if you intend to do the surgery.

At the other extreme, my brother-on-law should have had his out, but mom didn't want to. Now at 37 he has to because they are constantly so large that they are causing severe sleep apnea, snoring, and frequent illness.

It sounds like your daughter 's immune system is being compromised. I would recommend on rebuilding her immune system so her own body can take care of itself. I work with many children in many situations but bottom line is keeping ther immune system healthy.

I am a wellness consultant and can share what you can do to make a difference in her health if that interest you.

Email me if you would like more information.

Have a great weekend..

N. Marie
____@____.com

Go ahead and have the tonsillectomy and ask about tubes for her ears too. If they are even considering it, having it done all in one procedure is the best. If surgery makes you nervous, think about what might happen if she becomes immune to antibiotics or suffers permanent damage due to the constant throat infections.

I would say that removal of her tonsils may be the only solution. I had my tonsils out when I was 5....and that was a LONG time ago...so I am sure it is an even quicker recovery nowadays!!! You don't want to keep her on antibotics because of possible yeast infections and also her body will build up a resistance to it and then when she really needs it someday you are going to have to use the stronger ( and much more expensive) antibiotics to tackle whatever problem she has at that time. I would definitely see an ENT to make sure there aren't other issues going on that could be making the infection so difficult to get rid of. Tell them that you would like surgery to be the last resort, but be open to the possibility.

I had the same problem as a child and had my tonsils removed. I have not had strep throat since. I still remember being in the hospital, but have no bad memories since I got to eat all the ice cream I wanted. My daughter had surgery at 5 for something else and she also has no bad memories from the surgery, although I did insist they give her something to prevent nausea in her IV. They usually will only do that if you request it.

This happened a few years ago in my house. My daughter and I each got strep three times in just a couple of months. Each time we would go to the doctor, test positive, get antibiotics and get better. Finally the doctor asked to test my two boys and my husband, who were not 'sick.' One of my boys tested positive for strep, and after he was prescribed antibiotics my daughter and I did not get it again. Please test your whole household and see if you have a carrier in the house. The carrier may not be sick, but may be giving it to your daughter. If she attends a preschool then they should have sent out a letter to all the parents. Is anyone there getting sick?

This is random but did you change her toothbrush? After she starts and antibiotic you should change her toothbrush or it could be reinfecting her. unlike a cold (can't get the same one twice) an infection can re-occur. I would give that a try. It's too simple to not ....good luck!

Have you had everyone in the family checked for strep too? People can be carriers and pass it along without showing any symptoms. In fact, I've heard someone kept getting it from the family dog! So if the carrier isn't treated, they can just kept passing it to the patient anew, despite having just completed antibiotics.