Why do some people consistently get strep while others never get it?
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Anonymous
| Even if I share a glass with a person who has strep, I never get strep. why is this? |
Anonymous
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Biologist here. You have had the bacteria many times, but not enough symptoms for you to worry about it. This means you can pass it on, and someone else may get enough symptoms to go to the doctor and get diagnosed with Strep. The surest way to be diagnosed with something is to rush to the doc every time anything is the slightest bit out of whack. But everyone is a walking sack of good and bad bacteria all the time. Trust me on this, OP 
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Anonymous
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My understanding of strep is that everyone gets over it without antibiotics. Usually in about a week or 10 days. But we take antibiotics for it because very very few people may go on to develop very serious complications without the antibiotics - in other words, antibiotics aren't for the strep but for anything bad that may come after it (i.e. rheumatic fever).
So it's totally plausible that lots of people have it lots of the time and it goes away and that's that. Adults have fever symptoms, so we probably don't always even notice. |
Anonymous
| My kids have never had strep or antibiotics even but my guess is they have had strep but I don't generally take them in for routine fever/sore throat type illnesses so they got over it. Maybe they are just lucky! |
Anonymous
| My son got it regularly - every 30 days for a year. The doctors said basically some people fight it off, other's have it there and it never really goes away. We had his tonsils removed and live is much better. I have had strep 3 times in my 47 years of life, once as a kid and twice as an adult. My DH has never had it. |
Anonymous
Please tell me you keep them at home when they're sick. Antibiotics help make it safer for the kids with strep to return to school. Not going to the doctor doesn't make them lucky, it might be making everyone around them "unlucky" |
Anonymous
Yes I keep them home when they are sick (fever or stomach issues)...which is almost never..less than 1 time per year. I meant if they truly haven't had strep they are lucky. Aside from an unusual concern, I take them in if they are not recovering by day 3 as recommended by my pediatrician. She says lots of things go away on there own in three days. |
Anonymous
I am someone who gets strep about 3 times each winter. It is totally insane. In a month or two, I'm probably going to come down with it for the first time, in fact. We have friends who have a Christmas party every year about one week before Christmas and it never fails: I'll have strep at that time. For real! That is usually my 1st or 2nd bout of it for the season. Then I usually get it once or twice more before the spring. I have no idea how people do not get it. I have always been verrry susceptible to it. 
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Anonymous
(NP) Or maybe they're unlucky because they have you as a parent who takes them to the doctor and gets the ABX, wiping out their good, strep-fighting germs making them more likely to get strep again?!!??? Hard to say. My kids stay home with a fever and diarrhea, that's it. We've been very lucky and no strep or ear infection, but I also don't run to the doctor over your run of the mill cold. They've probably had minor strep or ear infections. |
Anonymous
| Can;'t say. It's a magical sickness. My brother and I passed it back and forth for a year before he was chosen to get his tonsils out. After his surgery, neither of us have ever gotten it again. |
Anonymous
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1. Some people are more susceptible to infection (and being symptomatic) by strep A (or B as pregnant ladies can attest). This is likely genetic.
2. Strep is a very common bacteria. About 10% of the population is thought to be asymptomatic carriers for strep A. This means they constantly "have" strep -- and can pass it along to susceptible individuals. They also sometimes "flare" and have symptoms (like PP's son). Until or unless they have their tonsils out, they will harbor a colony. 3. Some of it has to do with microbiota and what you are already colonized by. This also probably ties into #1 -- your genetics and your "environment" for which bacteria thrive, partially genetic and partially environmental (what you eat, your hygiene, the anatomy of your throat, etc). My sister was an asymptomatic carrier and gave my other sibling and me strep every other month for years. It wasn't until my mother (based on a hunch) had us cultured when everyone was healthy that it was discovered, and she asked the pediatrician to schedule a tonsilectomy for my sis. After that, I've never had strep again. |
Anonymous
| Never had it in 42 years. Husband has had it probably 30 times in 45 years. Some people definitely susceptible. Have you ever heard of anyone getting just once? I haven't |
Anonymous
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Genetics play a role in how you respond to certain pathogens, making some more resistant to strep bacteria than others. In addition, my understanding is that a large majority of people (something like 90%) become resistant to strep after the age of 14 or so. Genetics are responsible for those who continue to be unable to resist it after that point (so I've been told by our doctor).
I've had strep only once and as a child, even though I've nursed my children through numerous instances, continuing so far into their late teens. My mother and sister get it at least once a year. |
Anonymous
This is true. Most people can effectively resolve a strep infection without antibiotics. But it can cause some severe complications, which is why it's treated right away upon diagnosis. |
Anonymous
You may want to see if he's a carrier. He might want to have his tonsils out. 30 courses of antibiotics can't be good for anyone, especially if it's preventable by a minor surgery. |