Myth 12 - You can tell if a child has strep throat just by looking at him.
This is a common myth that is propagated by doctors, but it isn't true.
While most parents are worried about strep throat when their child has a throat infection (tonsillitis), there are also many viruses that cause infections that look very similar to strep. If your child has a sore throat with fever and a red, swollen throat or tonsils with white pus on them, then he should be seen by his physician so that he can be tested for strep throat. If the tests for strep are negative, then your child's throat infection is caused by a virus and antibiotics will not work. Viral infections of the throat usually improve in two to three days without treatment.
Most studies have shown that doctors and other health professionals are only correct about half the time when they think a child has strep after just a physical exam. So if your child was treated everytime it looked like he had strep, then he might be overtreated or mistreated with antibiotics half the time.
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(c) 2001 by Vincent Iannelli, M.D. (http://pediatrics.about.com), licensed to About.com, Inc. Used by permission of About.com, Inc., which can be found on the Web at www.about.com. All rights reserved.
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