Prevent Strep Throat

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Streptococcal pharyngitis, also called strep throat, is a very common, highly contagious infection of the oropharynx (the area including the back of your throat, the back part of your tongue, your tonsils, and the soft palate).[1] There are 11 million diagnosed cases annually in the US. Strep throat is spread readily from person to person by touching or coming into contact with the bacteria. The bacterial infection is most prevalent in late winter and early spring[2]. If you are worried about getting strep throat, follow a few simple steps to prevent the infection and learn more about it so you know how to avoid it.

Steps

Avoiding the Bacteria

  1. Avoid contact. The main way to prevent strep throat is to avoid contact with someone you know is infected with strep throat. You should avoid any contact with that person, which means you should not touch them at all or share a close environment with them. You should also avoid touching anything that an infected person may have come into contact with. The objects could have the bacteria living on them and you might transmit it to yourself.
    • You should keep your distance while the infected individual completes the first 48 hours of antibiotics. After 48 hours of proper antibacterial treatment, you may resume casual contact because she is no longer contagious.
    • The American Academy of Family Practice has done research that state that in homes with one confirmed case, there is a 43% chance of a second family or household contact contracting the bacterial infection. Be extra careful if someone in your family had strep throat and avoid contact as much as possible.[3]
    • If you know someone sick with strep throat, encourage them to stay home, especially in the first few days when they are still contagious. If your kids or members of your family have it, you should keep them at home until you know they cannot infect anyone else (their fever has gone and they have been on antibiotics for at least 24 hours).[4] You should avoid going out if you have strep throat as well. You don't want to accidentally infect others at work or in public.
    • If your children attend daycare, keep them away for a few days if a child at their daycare has strep throat.[5]
  2. Wash infected objects. Once you know an object has been touched by someone with strep throat, you need to make sure you wash it. Because of the highly contagious and hearty nature of this bacteria, every object that has been touched is at risk of transmitting the bacteria to another host. In order to prevent this from happening, wash all the items an infected person has touched. These items include clothing, bedding, dishes (especially cups), straws, silverware, and anything else that may have been contaminated through touch.[6]
    • Use boiling water and bleach on items to get rid of the bacteria. If you cannot use these methods on them, the objects should be replaced. Use color-safe bleach on objects that could be stripped of color if regular bleach is used.
    • For objects that cannot be removed and washed, such as door handles and counters, you can either use a rag soaked in bleach or an antibacterial spray to eliminate the bacteria.
    • Toothbrushes should be disposed of after 2 days of treatment with antibiotics.[7][8] Never allow family members to share toothbrushes.[9]
  3. Avoid sharing. Sharing may be caring in most cases, but if someone in your family has strep throat, don't let them share with others. Don't drink from the same glass or eat from the same plate as the person infected with strep throat.[10]
    • Sharing of soft objects, such as napkins, handkerchiefs, towels, bedding, or soft toys, should also be discouraged.[11]
  4. Wash your hands. You can prevent the transmission of strep throat by washing your hands frequently, especially when in an area with an infected person. Given how frequently people touch their faces, noses, and mouths, it is easy to see how it may be transmitted. Wash your hands often with water as warm as you can tolerate for a period of 15-30 seconds. Use a good amount of soap and wash all areas of your hands, including in between your fingers and around your wrists.
    • Longer or more aggressive hand washing has been linked with increased transmission of bacteria infections because the protective skin barrier of the hands is damaged at a microscopic level, which allows the bacteria to get into your system. So only wash for 15-30 seconds so you don't get rid of needed layers of skin.
    • If you discover that you have come into contact with an ill person, avoid touching your mouth or nose and immediately wash your hands. If that is not available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.[12][13]
  5. Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough.[14] The CDC recommends that you cover your mouth and nose with a tissue, not just your hands. If you don't have a tissue handy, cough or sneeze into your elbow rather than your hands. This will help prevent people infected with strep throat from spreading germs by touching things.[15]

Boosting Your Immune System

  1. Rest. Your body requires rest to fight off an infection. People in your household infected with strep throat should definitely get adequate rest, but don't short your own sleep either. Getting enough sleep each night will help keep you strong and healthy.[16]
  2. Eat a balanced diet. Consuming foods high in vitamins and nutrients can help strengthen your immune system. Eat a diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, and lean proteins. If you aren't feeling sick, this diet will help you stay that way. If you're not feeling well, it will help you recover.[17]
  3. Consume more vitamin C and D. You should try to incorporate more vitamin C and D into your diet. Although there is no documented research that these vitamins prevent strep throat specifically, vitamin C and D enhance your immune function, which boosts your immune system and helps you fight bacteria that invade your body.
    • If your immune system is strong, there is a chance that, when exposed to strep, you might make an army of antibodies against the strep sufficient to prevent you from infection instead getting sick.
    • Despite this increased immunity, you should not expose yourself unnecessarily to the bacteria and should still follow all precautions.[18][19]
    • Good sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits, peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes. Other sources include kiwi, broccoli, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, and cantaloupe. Many beverages are also fortified with vitamin C.[20]
    • Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel are good sources of vitamin D. Fortified milk and juices will also help boost your intake. You can also stimulate your body to synthesize vitamin D by going outside into the sunshine (just wear sunscreen).[21]
  4. Get more zinc. Zinc is an essential element for the cells in your immune system. In order to build up your immune system, you should ingest more zine every day. It will provide the cells in your immune system with much needed nutrients to function. Eat more zinc-rich foods, such as seafood, lean red meats, poultry, beans, and fortified breakfast cereals. You can also get a zinc supplement that you can take every day.
    • Although getting enough zinc is good for you, getting too much zinc can actually impede your immune system. Try to aid for 15-25 mg a day. Make sure you do not overuse a supplement when you are getting plenty of zinc from your diet.[22][23]
  5. Ingest more vitamin A. Vitamin A helps boost the production of certain cells in your body that help boost your immune system. Vitamin A also helps fight infections. If you have a vitamin A deficiency, you are at an increased risk of getting an infections such as strep throat. Eat more vitamin A-rich foods, such as sweet potatoes, spinach, carrots, pumpkin, beef liver, cantaloupes, mangoes, black eyed peas, broccoli, and peppers.
    • You can get multivitamins and supplements that have vitamin A in them as well. You should have 650 mg per day if you are an adult male and 580 mg per day if you are an adult female.[24][25]

Understanding Strep Throat

  1. Learn how it's spread. Prevention is essential for strep because it is highly contagious. It is spread from person to person by coming into contact with contaminated secretions, from shaking hands with someone who hasn't washed her hands to kissing your baby. What typically occurs is an infected person wipes her nose or mouth contaminated with the bacteria and then touches someone or something. The bacteria can survive on objects for between for several days, although it may survive on dry surfaces for up to 6 months.[26][27]
    • In some studies, the bacteria is very hearty. For example, it has survived in ice cream for 18 days and in macaroni salad for a week.[28][29] Because the bacteria is so hearty and contagious, it can be spread even after treatment.
  2. Learn the incubation period. The incubation period, or amount of time the bacteria takes to show symptoms, is between 1-3 days. This means that you may not feel unwell or know you're sick, but you may expose others unknowingly.
    • Without antibiotic treatment, an individual is infectious for the period of the infection, which is 7-10 days, as well as an additional week afterwards.[30] With antibiotic treatment, the person is infectious for as little as 24 hours after beginning treatment.[31]
  3. Recognize the symptoms. The most common symptoms of strep throat are a severe and painful throat, painful swallowing, and a fever greater than 100.4 degrees. You may also experience swollen throat glands or headaches. Stomach upset and vomiting may occur in younger children.[32]
    • If you look closely at your throat, you may also see the characteristic red and swollen tonsils with white shaggy clumps of pus, or exudates, on the tonsils.
    • Occasionally, strep throat can lead to scarlet fever, an inflammatory illness which has the same symptoms of strep throat with the addition of a non-raised, sandpaper like rash that may be anywhere on the body. The rash is not itchy. Before the rash appears, there may also be stomach pain or vomiting, especially in children.[33]
    • Sometimes, the enlarged painful tonsils sometimes have an abscess formation just adjacent to the tonsil, which require surgical drainage. Sometimes this can be performed in your doctor's office, although it may need surgical intervention or your doctor may decide to treat it with aggressive antibiotics.[34]
    • You should seek treatment if you have the white shaggy pus pockets on your tonsils and a fever. These are readily visible to even the untrained eye.
    • If you have a fever that has not gone away for 2-3 days and you have a bad sore throat, see your doctor to be tested for strep throat.
  4. Diagnose the disease. Diagnosis is most often confirmed clinically, though you can typically guess what you have based on the characteristic white pus pockets on your tonsils. In recent years, rapid strep tests have made it easier for clinicians to diagnose strep throat definitively in the office setting, though typically the triad of fever, pus pockets, and severe sore throat in an ill-appearing individual is sufficient for diagnosis.
    • Other testing is available but usually unnecessary.[35]
    • Children will likely be tested using a rapid antigen test, which can detect antigens (substances that produce an immune response in your body) in your throat within minutes. Because children are more prone to complications from strep throat, your doctor will probably use the rapid test to diagnose first. If it is inconclusive, the doctor will order a throat culture, which takes a few days to process.[36]
    • There is also the option of a DNA test (called a NAAT or PCR test), which gives results within 24 hours.
  5. Treat strep throat. In the US, treatment with antibiotics for strep throat is common. Your physician will check you for strep throat and then prescribed you an antibiotic in the penicillin family, with the most common being Amoxicillin, although your doctor will prescribe different antibiotics if you are allergic to penicillin or Amoxicillin. These should be taken according to your doctor's directions.
    • Typically, you will begin to feel better within that 48 hour window. If not, you should seek further treatment from your healthcare provider as you may have an antibiotic resistant strain of strep bacteria or the beginnings of an abscess infection.[37]
    • You should always complete the full course of antibiotics prescribed by your doctor, even if you begin to feel better. Failing to do so can cause the remaining bacteria, which are stronger than the ones killed by the antibiotics, to become resistant to drug treatment. This makes the condition harder to treat and cure.[38]
  6. Consult with your doctor if you get strep throat frequently. If you're getting strep throat frequently, or if your strep throat is severe or difficult to treat, talk to your doctor. She may recommend that you see an ear-nose-throat (ENT) specialist about having your tonsils removed. While this doesn't completely prevent the recurrence of strep throat, it can help, especially in children.[39]
    • Severe strep throat shows signs such as a fever of at least 101F (38C), swollen or painful lymph nodes in the neck, and/or white pus on the tonsils.

Warnings

  • It's important to seek strep throat as soon as you suspect that you or your child have it. It can spread infection to other parts of your body and can also cause a variety of other inflammatory illnesses, including scarlet fever, kidney inflammation, and rheumatic fever. Children are especially prone to developing these complications.[40]

Video

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=46024&version=Patient&language=English
  2. ↑ Beth Choly MD, Diagnosis and Treatment of Streptococcal Pharyngitis, American Family Physician 2009, March 1, 79:5, 383-390
  3. ↑ Beth Choly MD, Diagnosis and Treatment of Streptococcal Pharyngitis, American Family Physician 2009, March 1, 79:5, 383-390
  4. ↑ http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/strep-throat.html
  5. ↑ http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/strep-throat.html
  6. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/strep-throat/basics/prevention/con-20022811
  7. ↑ Best, W, Graham, M, Leitner, R et al, Public Health Agency Of Canada, Steptococcus Pyogenes, Pathogens Safety and Data Sheet Infectious Substances, 2004
  8. ↑ Beth Choly MD, Diagnosis and Treatment of Streptococcal Pharyngitis, American Family Physician 2009, March 1, 79:5, 383-390
  9. ↑ http://www.cdc.gov/Features/strepthroat/
  10. ↑ http://www.cdc.gov/Features/strepthroat/
  11. ↑ http://www.emedicinehealth.com/strep_throat/page8_em.htm
  12. ↑ Best, W, Graham, M, Leitner, R et al, Public Health Agency Of Canada, Steptococcus Pyogenes, Pathogens Safety and Data Sheet Infectious Substances, 2004
  13. ↑ Beth Choly MD, Diagnosis and Treatment of Streptococcal Pharyngitis, American Family Physician 2009, March 1, 79:5, 383-390
  14. ↑ http://www.emedicinehealth.com/strep_throat/page8_em.htm
  15. ↑ http://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/protect/cdc_cough.pdf
  16. ↑ http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-boost-your-immune-system
  17. ↑ http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-boost-your-immune-system
  18. ↑ Best, W, Graham, M, Leitner, R et al, Public Health Agency Of Canada, Steptococcus Pyogenes, Pathogens Safety and Data Sheet Infectious Substances, 2004
  19. ↑ Beth Choly MD, Diagnosis and Treatment of Streptococcal Pharyngitis, American Family Physician 2009, March 1, 79:5, 383-390
  20. ↑ https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/#h3
  21. ↑ https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/#h3
  22. ↑ http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-boost-your-immune-system
  23. ↑ http://www.doctoroz.com/slideshow/zinc-grocery-list
  24. ↑ http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-boost-your-immune-system
  25. ↑ http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-HealthProfessional/#h3
  26. ↑ http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/lab-bio/res/psds-ftss/strep-pyogenes-eng.php
  27. ↑ Bernaldo de Quiros, J. C., Moreno, S., Cercenado, E., Diaz, D., Berenguer, J., Miralles, P., Catalan, P., & Bouza, E. (1997). Group A streptococcal bacteremia. A 10-year prospective study. Medicine, 76(4), 238-248.
  28. ↑ Best, W, Graham, M, Leitner, R et al, Public Health Agency Of Canada, Steptococcus Pyogenes, Pathogens Safety and Data Sheet Infectious Substances, 2004
  29. ↑ (The Committee of Infectious Disease, American Academy of Pediatrics. Severe Invasive Group A Streptococcal Infections: A Subject Review, Pediatrics, Vol 1101, no.1, Jan 1998, 131-140
  30. ↑ Best, W, Graham, M, Leitner, R et al, Public Health Agency Of Canada, Steptococcus Pyogenes, Pathogens Safety and Data Sheet Infectious Substances, 2004
  31. ↑ >http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/lab-bio/res/psds-ftss/strep-pyogenes-eng.php#note22
  32. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/strep-throat/basics/symptoms/con-20022811
  33. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/strep-throat/basics/complications/con-20022811
  34. ↑ Best, W, Graham, M, Leitner, R et al, Public Health Agency Of Canada, Steptococcus Pyogenes, Pathogens Safety and Data Sheet Infectious Substances, 2004
  35. ↑ Best, W, Graham, M, Leitner, R et al, Public Health Agency Of Canada, Steptococcus Pyogenes, Pathogens Safety and Data Sheet Infectious Substances, 2004
  36. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/strep-throat/basics/tests-diagnosis/con-20022811
  37. ↑ Stanford T Shulman, Alan Bisno, Herbert Clegg, Clinical Practice Guidelines for Diagnosis and Management of Group A Streptococcal Pharygnitis 2012: An Update by the Infectious Disease Society of America. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2012 Sept 9, doi 10.1093/cid/cis629
  38. ↑ http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/
  39. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/strep-throat/expert-answers/recurring-strep-throat/faq-20058360
  40. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/strep-throat/basics/complications/CON-20022811
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