Just curious if any has had their preschooler come down with strep throat, but not complain of a sore throat?
Saturday my 3 year old came down with a really high fever (for him, he's only ran a fever one other time when he was 16 months old) of 103.3, Sunday, it did fluctuate , ranging from 100-102.5, but was pretty constant. When it spiked he was either really tired or just not interested in doing anything, but he had ABSOLUTELY no other symptoms. I was for sure thinking a cough, a rash, runny nose , or something would develop, and at least make sense of the fever. But there's nothing. In fact, his chronic runny nose that we've been dealing with is gone? His appetite was so so Sat.-Sun, but today he seems to have an appetite and fever is gone (as of right now).
With that said, yesterday I thought I'd check his throat, since my 18 month old ran a random fever and was inconsolable on Thursday (took him into the pediatrician thinking it was an ear infection, but they did said he had wicked sore throat and still does, strep was neg. tho). The first 2 days I asked him to open wide and he wouldn't/couldn't so I really couldn't see anything. I did notice these weird red dots towards the back of the roof of his mouth, but that was all I could see. Today he was able to open wider, and I still see the red dots, and a possible white thing on one side of his tonsils? BUT he says his throat doesn't hurt? His glands feel slightly swollen, but nothing extraordinary.
I'm debating whether to take him in or let it go? I know Strep could become serious, but we've also been to the doctor between my 2 kids 4 times already this month (and have one more well baby visit scheduled for the 20th). I really don't want to pack him up if he's not complaining of anything. Obviously if his fever spikes again I will take him in. But in the meantime should I just hang out and wait and see? He did seem to drool a lot Sat & Sunday and I suspected it might be because he was avoiding swallowing, but today I even gave him juice and expected him to wince or something and nothing? Doesn't seem like strep to me, but there is obviously something going on with his throat with dots & white specks.
From what I saw from pictures on the web, it doesn't seem to be Hand/Foot/Mouth disease. Altho' my 18 month old did have a random rash on his legs (but not feet/hands). If we didn't have preschool and MOPS tomorrow and Thursday I would be more apt to do the wait and see approach, but since he will be around other kids I would just feel horrible if I pass something along, especially strep?
Confused on whether this is just some funky virus or something more? Suggestions? And if viral how long after a fever breaks do you keep your little one home? It would just be over 24hrs tomorrow morning for MOPS, would you go ahead and take him out?
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Since you are seeing red & some white spots, I would think he needs to be looked at. Did you talk to the nurse on call?
Personally, I'd take him in. Even if it was only for your peace of mind. Strep isn't something you want to play around with, and isn't always painful in the beginning. Most pediatricians have an after hours clinic, you could always call and talk to a nurse. Good luck.
My son has had it many times without complaint...and then some times with major pain. It really varies. And when he was 3 I took him to the doctor for what I thought was jock itch (rash around groin area) that turned out to be strep. The white dots are a pretty good indicator though..if it were my child I would be taking him.
my 4 year old had strep in Jan. She didn't complain of a sore throat until day 4 of her fever. Until then she only said her tummy hurt and had moments of very playful activity then finally she said her head, tummy and throat hurt. She too had the little red dots in the back upper part of her throat and one white spot on her tonsils. I took her in to the Dr because her bday party was in 2 days and if it was strep I wanted to get her on antibiotics. Her test was positive - I didn't think it would be...
I use the school rule of fever free (with no meds) for 24 hours before going out and about.
Take him in. The white spots are typically indicative of strep, whether or not there is pain. Once diagnosed with strep, the fever typically needs to be gone 24-48 hours (depending on what the doctor says) before a return to work or school is recommended. Why do I know this? I was lucky enough to be diagnosed with strep this past weekend, lucky me! The doctor took my history, looked at my throat, and said "I don't even need to test you, given what I see here and the other accompanying symptoms you describe."
The strep, if left untreated, could trigger scarlet fever which would appear as a rash of red dots on the body. This is exactly why you need to take him in.
It could still be hand/foot/mouth disease. My 3.5 DS just got over a case of that. The first time he got it he was around 2 and had a fever and only a few very small spots in his mouth. This time he didn't have a fever at all but lots of spots in his mouth and a few on his hand and feet that really bothered him. His pediatrician said that kids with no fever usually get the rash worse and that kids who have a high fever usually have a milder rash. I would definitely take him to the dr but be prepared that hand/foot/mouth disease is a virus so if that's what he has they won't be able to give him anything for it and the contagious period is likely over so he'll probably still be able to go to preschool - although if he does have it you may need a note from the dr clearing him to go to preschool.
Maybe he has tonsilitis.
