strep?

[CherryBomb24]

Ok quick question here.
Strep throat - can that turn into Tonsilitis<SP>.
Just wondering because i found out this morning that i have strep throat and that my tonsils are so swollen they were wanting to put a tube in my throat in order for me to breath without struggling.
First off- i didnt know swollen glands would make it hard to breath?
So since my dr's appointment this morning i got to thinking, maybe i'm just being paranoid i dunno...But can strep turn into tonsilitis?

Thanks.
CB.

 

[danseperi]

nope, strep throat and tonsillitis are completely different...hope that helps lol

 

[LocaChica]

Cherry

Free MD has a good article I included some of it below. Hope it helps?


Streptococcal Tonsillitis Definition
Common names:

Infected Tonsil from Strep
Strep Tonsil Infection
Strep Tonsillitis
Streptococcal Tonsillitis
Tonsil Infection by Strep
Tonsillitis due to Strep

Streptococcal Tonsillitis Risk Factors
Risk factors for streptococcal tonsillitis include:

Air conditioning
Allergies
Chronic cough
Exposure to cold viruses
Heating without humidification
Living in a hot dry climate
Reflux esophagitis
Sinusitis
Smoking
Exposure to secondary smoke
Any condition that weakens the immune system, such as:
Diabetes
Organ transplant
Chemotherapy: The administration of medicines that kill cancer cells.
AIDS

 

[SweetErika]

From what I was told and experienced, people who have enlarged tonsils can get Strep more easily, and Strep can cause swollen tonsils.

I finally had my tonsils removed at 19 after getting Strep and other infections over and over (often 2-4 times a year) most of my life. My ENT surgeon said I was born with tonsils that were just too large, and that made for lots of complications in getting and keeping infections.

The tonsillectomy was the most painful thing I've ever experienced, but I've been Strep-free for almost 10 years now. I think I've only had bronchitis once since the surgery, too. So, that month of post-op pain (about 2 weeks of really severe, and 2 of moderate to severe) was totally worth avoiding the lifetime of strep throat and bronchitis I likely would have had without the surgery. I just wish my mom and doctors had insisted on removing my tonsils when I was a kid because even my ENT admitted it's one of the worst surgeries they can do on adults pain-wise.

 

[bailadora]

Can untreated strep throat lead to tonsillitis? The answer appears to be yes. From Mayoclinic.com:

Complications
By Mayo Clinic staff

Although strep throat itself isn't dangerous, it may lead to serious complications if left untreated. These complications include other infections, such as:

* Tonsillitis or a collection of pus around the tonsils caused by infection (peritonsillar abscess)
* Sinus infection (sinusitis)
* Ear infection
* Scarlet fever, an illness characterized by a rash
* Inflammation of the kidney (poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis)
* Rheumatic fever

But it's probably best to get the definitive answer from your doc.

My sympathies for your current illness. I'm the biggest baby when it comes to sore throats. For some strange reason, I don't seem to tolerate them well.

 

[CherryBomb24]

I've had many surgeries on my face / upper palet / nose so i know the pain in these areas really really sucks for surgeries. But i also know its worth it in the end.

I was born with cleft lip and pallet, which was pretty bad.
My sinus ducts werent formed completely, was missing about half of my upper pallet, upper lip was about half formed. And the bottom portion of my nose wasnt there.

I'm prone to sinus infections but surprizingly rarely get strep<Probably because as soon as i realize i'm getting a sinus infection i get on antibiotics right away.
But this time i thought i just had a normal cold. and i still think it was just a normal cold.

Could my deformed sinus's be the cause of this? and if it is, wouldnt i have to have a surgery to fix the ducts and not just take out the tonsils?



Yeah i get a lot of weird looks when i say "oh yeah, i was born without a face!" one of those things ya cant let drag ya down lol

 

[bailadora]

Could my deformed sinus's be the cause of this? and if it is, wouldnt i have to have a surgery to fix the ducts and not just take out the tonsils?

Do you mean are you more prone to infections due to your malformed sinuses? I think it's a possibility. As I understand it, the sinuses are responsible for draining the mucus that acts as a filter to trap the bacteria and viruses encountered in the air. If they can't drain properly, then they get infected. As for the best way to remedy your situation, I think that's best answered by your ENT. Best of luck to you CB.

 

[SweetErika]

I've had many surgeries on my face / upper palet / nose so i know the pain in these areas really really sucks for surgeries. But i also know its worth it in the end.

I've had sinus surgery too, but the tonsillectomy felt worse, like hundreds of times over.

I get the impression that it's incredibly painful for nearly every adult, but my pain was probably worsened somewhat by my larger tonsils and the fact that they had been infected (and really swollen) for well over a month before they were removed. The wounds were about the size of smaller plums, and that's a lot of sensitive tissue to be exposed and cause pain! You can live without putting pressure on a post-op limb, torso, nose, or face, but there's really no way to get away from using the throat!

On the bright side, there are better medications now than when I had my surgery. If you have to have this done, make sure you check out your doc's philosophy on pain control and have a really good plan in place for it. I don't know if there's a prescription form of Chloraseptic or not, but if there is, it'd probably really help. And make sure you have a constant supply of cold foods and small ice cubes to suck on.

Could my deformed sinus's be the cause of this? and if it is, wouldnt i have to have a surgery to fix the ducts and not just take out the tonsils?

Maybe (frequent sinus infections and antibiotic use probably do make you more prone to tonsil issues), but I agree with Bailadora's thought that these are questions for your specialist(s).

 

[shiny5437]

... my tonsils are so swollen they were wanting to put a tube in my throat in order for me to breath without struggling.

I'm curious. How have you gone from them needing to put a tube down to posting on here? Needing to be intubated = scary emergency stuff! If they were that worried surely you should at least be on IVs at the hospital?

Yeah the worries from tonsillitis are airway problems, difficulties managing secretions, and development of retropharyngeal abscesses (of which there are several vids on the net of being drained).

Strep throat tends to give you slightly different and more funky complications.

Get well soon!

 

[CherryBomb24]

... my tonsils are so swollen they were wanting to put a tube in my throat in order for me to breath without struggling.

I'm curious. How have you gone from them needing to put a tube down to posting on here? Needing to be intubated = scary emergency stuff! If they were that worried surely you should at least be on IVs at the hospital?


Get well soon!

i'm just telling you what the nurse told me. she asked me if i would be against it and i said yes because untill i absolutally couldnt breath i didnt want anything down my throat. they didnt have me on any iv's or anything, they just gave me some nice meds that i had a hell of a time trying to force myself to swallow and had me lay there till they kicked in and sent me on my way. dr's around here arent very smart. its actually a running joke around here that most of 'em got their degrees out of a cracker jack box.

 

[shiny5437]

I bet they made you swallow tablets too instead of a liquid.

 

[CherryBomb24]

I bet they made you swallow tablets too instead of a liquid.

yeah that i wasnt enthused about. went through a bottle of water trying to get that sucker down. finally toward the end of that bottle i just guzzled it as best i could hoping to force it down.

 

[Eilan]

My sympathies for your current illness. I'm the biggest baby when it comes to sore throats. For some strange reason, I don't seem to tolerate them well.

Same here. When I was a kid, I went through a period where I got strep probably twice a year, and I was at my doc's office for those nasty throat swabs much more often than that. My doc never considered a tonsillectomy, though.

When my oldest daughter was in kindergarten, she was diagnosed with strep and she didn't even have a sore throat! I suspected strep because she had a low-grade fever and a rash, and sure enough, the test was positive! A few days later, I came down with it, and my throat killed me!

Hope you feel better soon, CherryBomb.

 

[CherryBomb24]

thank you all for the words of sympathy, glad i'm not the only one thats a baby when it comes to getting sick lol
I'm feeling much better, have been taking the antibiotics religiously and tylonal pm to force myself to go to sleep, and surprizingly i've slept better in the past 2 nights than i have in a month. my throat is still sore, but at least now its tolerable and i can talk!!!!!!! apparently people loved it when i couldnt..... haha fuckers HAHA!!!!!!!!! LOL not you guys of course lol
<3

 

[SweetErika]

Same here. When I was a kid, I went through a period where I got strep probably twice a year, and I was at my doc's office for those nasty throat swabs much more often than that. My doc never considered a tonsillectomy, though.

Doctors and insurance companies have cracked down on tonsillectomies for many years now.

For mine to be considered and covered by insurance, I had to show I had a history of frequent strep infections, at least three tonsil-related problems in the past year, and get two different doctors to recommend the surgery.

And all of that because tonsillectomies were over done when my parents were growing up. It went from 'every kid should have a tonsillectomy' in the 50s and 60s to 'virtually no one should have one, and we're unlikely to do it, even if there are recurrent problems or a congenital defect,' by the 80s.

thank you all for the words of sympathy, glad i'm not the only one thats a baby when it comes to getting sick lol
I'm feeling much better, have been taking the antibiotics religiously and tylonal pm to force myself to go to sleep, and surprizingly i've slept better in the past 2 nights than i have in a month. my throat is still sore, but at least now its tolerable and i can talk!!!!!!! apparently people loved it when i couldnt..... haha fuckers HAHA!!!!!!!!! LOL not you guys of course lol
<3

I'm glad you're on the mend!

 

[Eilan]

For mine to be considered and covered by insurance, I had to show I had a history of frequent strep infections, at least three tonsil-related problems in the past year, and get two different doctors to recommend the surgery.

We went through something similar when my oldest daughter had ear infections so frequently. Apparently it's at least three ear infections per season or something like that, and she never got them "frequently" enough.

Fortunately, she seems to be outgrowing them. *knocks on wood*

 

[SweetErika]

We went through something similar when my oldest daughter had ear infections so frequently. Apparently it's at least three ear infections per season or something like that, and she never got them "frequently" enough.

Fortunately, she seems to be outgrowing them. *knocks on wood*

I bet she is outgrowing them. I had them all the time as a kid, often so bad that I often had to be hauled to the ER in the middle of the night.

IIRC, they became very infrequent once I entered my teen years. I think I've only had two or three since I hit 13 or so, which is pretty good considering my allergies and susceptibility to sinus infections. It seems like the ear problems have migrated to my sinuses , but hopefully your little one will get and stay UR/ENT infection-free!

ETA: I don't know what the current line of thinking on ear tubes is, but I seem to remember a study several years ago that determined they weren't all that effective, or that the benefits didn't outweigh the risks and expense, in most cases.

Hubby's mom insisted he get them because she thought he was having trouble hearing important things, like her instructions. In reality, his hearing was fine - he was just a pain in the ass with selective hearing.

 

[CherryBomb24]

In reality, his hearing was fine - he was just a pain in the ass with selective hearing.

that is a male thing my dear..it comes with having a penis not ear problems.
haha jk guys jk.