• Home
  • Shop!
  • Chat with us!
  • Tweets
  • Health
  • Parenting
  • Pregnancy
  • Household
  • Disclaimer & Mission Statement
  • FAQs
  • About

The S File ™ -- Health

Health - What I Wish I Knew Sooner... (in beta version 1.2)

Health The S File Logo Health The S File Logo Subscribe to our Newsletter Subscribe to our Newsletter Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Subscribe via RSS FeedBurner Follow us on Pinterest Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
  • Health Home
  • About
    • Resources
      • Influential Health Authors and Experts
      • Influential Health Books
        • The China Study
        • Disease-Proof Your Child: Feeding Yours Kids Right
        • Vaccinations
        • Healthy Child, Healthy World
  • General Population
    • Health Stats & Trends
    • The American Diet
    • The Power of Nutrition
      • Animal Protein
        • Dairy
        • Fish
      • Athletic Performance
      • Nutrition May Instigate, Accelerate or Reverse Disease
        • Mental Decline Does Not Have to be Inevitable
        • Broken Hearts
          • Advances in Heart Disease?
          • Surgery
          • The Research
            • Research of Dr. Dean Ornish
            • Research of Dr. Esselstyn
        • Cancer
        • Eye Problems
        • Kidney Stones
        • Multiple Sclerosis and Other Autoimmune Diseases
        • Obesity
        • Osteoporosis
      • Fertility
    • Western Medicine
      • Medical Physicians
      • Pediatricians
      • Antibiotics
    • Alternative Therapies
      • Healing Powers of Music?
    • Vitamin Supplements
  • Children
    • Children: Alarming Health Trends
    • The First Two Years
    • The American Diet: Children
    • The Power of Nutrition: Children
      • Childhood Illnesses: Prevention
        • Childhood Nutrition’s Critical Role in Cancer
          • Childhood Growth and Early Maturity
        • Heart Disease Starts Young
        • ADHD
        • Children and Diabetes
      • Nutritional Advice
        • Avoid Milk, Cheese, and Wheat
    • Antibiotics: Minimize Use
      • Allergies, Asthma, and Other Problems
      • Childhood Ear Infections
      • Crohn’s Disease
      • Strep Throat
    • Vaccinations
      • Vaccine Efficacy
      • Statistical Risk of Suffering a Severe Case of Vaccine-Preventable Disease
      • Statistical Risk of a Severe Vaccine Reaction
      • Vaccine Side Effects
        • Asthma and Allergies
        • Autism
        • Guillain – Barre Syndrome
        • Juvenile Diabetes
        • Other Potential Serious Side Effects
        • Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
        • The Hygiene Hypothesis
      • The Vaccine Industry
      • Minimize Vaccine Side Effects
      • Vaccine Safety Research
    • Avoid Toxins
      • Pesticides
        • Study: Pesticide Levels When On An Organic Diet
        • Study: Effects of Pesticides in Children
        • Study: Household Pesticides Linked to Leukemia
        • Are Pesticides and Herbicides Safe For My Lawn and Garden?
      • PBDE Levels Higher in Children’s Bodies
    • CHOOSING A CHILDREN’S CHEWABLE MULTIVITAMIN
  • Health Reinforcement
    • Diet Reinforcement
      • Want Help Minimizing Dairy? This Is Meant To Help
      • Want Help Minimizing Meat? This Should Help.
        • Notes on Animal Industry
    • How to Eat?
      • Avoiding / Minimizing Dairy? Read What Alternative Sources Provide Calcium, Protein and Vitamin D
      • Ten Super Foods To Use
      • Vegetarian Sources of Iron
      • Concerns of a Vegan Diet
      • Nuts and Seeds
      • Eggs — A Cheat Sheet
      • Flaxseed Oil for Omega 3s
    • Healthier Shopping
      • Safer Shopping Tips
      • Great Third-Party Pocket Guides
    • Shopping Lists
      • Grocery List of Staples
      • Grocery List of Indulgences
    • Recipes
      • Dessert
      • Simple, Quick Meals
  • Environmental Risks
    • Environmental Toxins
      • Chlorine
      • Food
      • Canned Containers
      • Plastic
        • Tips for Plastic in the Kitchen
        • Water Bottles, Food Containers, and Food Packaging
      • Vaccine Ingredients
        • Mercury
        • Animal and Human Tissues
        • Aluminum
      • Lead
      • Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Flame Retardants
        • Protect Your Chidlren From PCBs and PBDEs
      • Pesticides
      • Mercury
    • Cancer and Environmental Influences
      • Earlier Puberty
    • Babies Are Being Born Pre-Polluted
    • Dust
    • Medical Imaging: Radiation Risks
    • Wireless Technology
    • Radon Gas

Strep Throat

Pharyngitis, or sore throat, accounts for a significant proportion of antibiotic use today. More than 75% of those with sore throats are given antibiotic prescriptions by their physicians in spite of the fact that only about 10% are caused by bacteria in adults and about 30% in children. About half of all children with positive cultures showing strep actually have an acute infection; the other half represent a carrier state. Some children who always test positive for strep chronically “carry” a small amount of the bacteria, but it does not make them sick and they do not pass it on to others. If carefully tested to control for all children who are chronic carriers and always test positive, doctors would find that only 15% of sore throat patients have a strep throat worthy of treatment.

Although sore throats are self-limited and it is extremely rare to develop any long-term ill effects, physicians report that they prescribe antibiotics knowing they are not necessary. Doctors report that they do so in order to meet patients’ expectations, so as not to disappoint parents looking to give their child something…

Never give your child an antibiotic for a sore throat unless it has been tested for strep and came back positive. Doctors cannot tell by examining the child if a sore throat is caused by strep or not; it must be tested.

It is almost universally accepted practice to give antibiotics to all who are tested and found to harbor Group A beta-hemolytic strep. Diagnosing a strep throat is the major objective of the doctor visit when one has a sore throat, as it is thought that it is necessary to treat this type of sore throat to prevent dangerous aftereffects from strep, such as rheumatic fever or complications involving the kidney.

The question has to be asked, which is more risky to our children, treating strep throat with antibiotics to reduce the probability of rheumatic fever occurring later, or not treating strep throat because the possible long-term damage from treating so many with antibiotics exceeds the problems that might have developed if not treated? This is a difficult question to answer, and I do not claim to have the definitive answer, but nevertheless, we must consider the question, especially in light of the documented dangers of our present practice of raising our children on so much antibiotics.

… Seventy percent of all sore throats, most of which are not strep, are treated with antibiotics.

–Disease-Proof Your Child (2005) by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D.; pages 58 – 62

*****************

The information contained throughout this blog / website should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician / physician.

More on this topic can be found in Disease-Proof Your Child.

Share

{ 0 comments… add one now }

Leave a Comment

CAPTCHA Image
Refresh Image
*

Spam Protection by WP-SpamFree

  • The S File ™ Tweets

    Tweets by @TheSFile
  • All Posts

    • Environmental Toxins (25)
      • Radiation (2)
    • Groceries (15)
      • Wine (2)
    • Medical Care (2)
      • Medical Imaging (1)
    • Natural Remedies (24)
    • Newest Discoveries (6)
    • News (7)
    • Nutrition (20)
      • Animal Protein (6)
        • Dairy (4)
    • Philosophies (13)
      • Juicing (9)
      • The Raw Diet (10)
    • Recommended Books (11)
      • Creating Low-Toxin Environments (1)
      • Diet / Nutrition (10)
    • Restaurants (1)
    • Shopping List (29)
      • Cookware / Food Containers (4)
      • Food (11)
        • Butter (1)
        • Food Precautions (1)
        • Seafood (1)
      • Sun Safety (2)
    • Spirituality (3)
    • Uncategorized (26)
  • Shop!

Get smart with the Thesis WordPress Theme from DIYthemes.

WordPress Admin