I think I need to make a Dr. appt (even though I'm one to just wait things out)... I've had a mild sore throat for a few days now and I've also had headaches too. Yesterday I linked the two together after the pain in my throat and head started to get worse. My neck glads are all swollen and tender now too along with an all over head pain and body aches and tiredness. My kids are getting over Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. My toddler daughter had it first (all gone now) and my 4 y.o. son contracted it next pretty bad and he is slowly recovering. This all started about 2 weeks ago for them. I'm wondering if it's possible that I could have strep throat. I don't know if I could have contracted something from the virus that causes HFM disease... I don't know if that's possible. Does anyone have any idea if adults can contract a secondary type of virus from mainly 'kids' viruses? Thought someone out there could give me a little insight since I've gotten some very helpful advice on here in the past.
I've had a weird sore throat for 2 weeks I"m hoping to get to the dr on friday. I have had strep from when i worked with kids, this doesn't feel ilke it, but i have no symptoms of handfoot and mouth (can adults get that?) It's mild but still not at all fun!
My toddler just had HFM (a very slight case, tiny little marks on toes, and a LOW grade fever one night. it was going around the daycare so I am pretty sure she had it).
I, on the other hand, came down with a sore throat that got REALLY painful! it was awful. and then I started coughing and had a cough for a week.
I am almost positive the sore throat was HFM related. I went to the dr and got a strep test and it was negitive.
When my son was a baby in day care he came down with Hand, Foot and Mouth.
He didn't have it very bad and the only way you could tell he had it at all was the few blisters he had on his hands and feet.
He didn't even run a temperature.
Well, I'd never had it before, so sure enough - I got it too.
I had a few blisters on my hands and feet and it wasn't even enough to keep me home from work (I didn't have the sick leave to burn).
It WAS great for making sure no one would touch my desk at work for a few weeks though.
Some people have a much harder time with HFM and they are miserable for anywhere from a few days to a week and a half.
But the virus just has to run it's course - there's not much you can do about it.
Adults can only get strep throat if you still have your tonsils
I would ... better to tell you, you don't have it then to have it, not be treated and then spread it (very contagious). Feel better!
It doesn't sound like strep throat, which is typically sudden onset, quite painful, high fever out of nowhere, and you'll have white slimy things on the back of your throat.
Also strep is it's own *animal*, so it's not going ot morph into strep if you get sick with something..... like, say, pneumonia will..... where you can have any old illness and if, left untreated, it goes into your lungs and your lining gets irritated and wet...voila...pneumonia. strep isn't like that. You get strep from someone else who has strep. end of story. You may not know who you got it from....but you got it from someone.
However - I would go to the Dr just to be sure. anyone can get a "kids" virus.... and as a matter of fact, lots of time it's WORSE for adults.
I hope you feel better.
With the symptoms you are having, I would see a doctor. Adults can indeed get Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, by the way. I had it in college. My symptoms were actually rather similar to what you are describing, except that I also had painful blisters in my mouth. I still remember the three days I spent in the student health center and how annoyed I was that the nurses would wake me up at 7 each morning to give me breakfast, when all I wanted to do was sleep because my mouth hurt too much to eat - ugh.
I'll tell you what, one of my sons had fifths disease when he was a baby. Not too long after that, I started having really bad problems with my joints. It never went away and after about a month i finally went to my dr. she sent me to a rhumatologist because she thought i might be getting arthritis. it was very painful. After some blood testing there, turns out i got parvovirus from my son when he had fifths disease. i guess that's the virus that causes fifths disease in little ones but adults get it in that form. i could barely walk up the stairs it hurt so bad! after about 2 months of meds it went away. i'm so glad the dr recognized it and thought to test for it.
So long story short, you can definitely get secondary viruses from your kids! and sometimes in adults it's nothing like what the kids had.
in all likelihood, whatever is going on with your throat is probably viral, and therefore nothing that they can do for you, especially given that your kiddos have been sick. i hate going to the DR, for several reasons, first, it's expensive, and second, we always seem to pick up some bonus illness while we're there. if it were me, i'd wait it out a few more days. in an adult, strep is usually a VERY sore throat, not just a mild one.
