WWYD? Strep exposure and first trimester..

[MamaChef]

Ugh, Im so tired of dealing with this issue. I swear it's easier to just feel over tired and not have any help then deal with all the issues that come with having someone come help with my kid part time. Every week it feels like something new.

Our very sweet neighbor who is 20 has been watching my dd 12 hours a week. Normally a couple afternoons and then a date night. Honestly, all I ever wanted was the date night, but any less hours and she really needs to have another source of income.. which I would be fine with, but she doesnt seem to have time to watch DD ever when she has another job so we figured we would commit to what we could afford and it would be worth it..

And it has in so many ways.

We have no family in a 1500 mile radius and very few friends with young children. I was molested as a child and unless I know a husband of one of our friends very very very well, I just dont want to expose my daughter to those possibilies so it is more comfortable for me to have an 18-20 year old girl watch our daughter in our own home.

Anyway, last week she posted on facebook, that her throat felt like it was bleeding and she was running a high temp. I messaged her and told her to rest and get better.. to which she replied that she was fine to work and really needed to make her insurance. I told her I just wasnt comfortable with her coming when she had described something as feeling so badly just 12 hours before. Long story short, she has strep.

Luckily, we arent impacted by this because her babysitting is just a perk, so we say, rest and we will pay you for the week in advance, we know you will make it up.

Well. That was all fine and good. But she never went and got seen, no antibiotics.. She called today and said she is feeling so much better and the white spots are disappearing, so she should be fine in a couple days. From what I remember of macrobiology and virology, Strep a can live on a carrier for WEEKS if they dont treat with antibiotics. Im not a super pro antibiotic person, but in this case I am. I had a friend almost die of rheumatic fever when I was young.

Normally, I'd just kinda chalk this up to life.. but Im pregnant, antibiotics are not something I want to be taking. I dont want a 2.5 year old with strep on top of the exhaustion and nausea of the first tri.

What would you do? How long would it take from onset of illness or resolution of symptoms for you to feel comfortable?

Should I try to find a walk in clinic and pay for her visit myself so that we can have peace of mind? Should I just let her figure this out herself and stand strong with no exposure? (DH thinks this is not our problem).

[HRJ]

First of all, I totally see your point. You don't have to justify that you are concerned b/c you are PG. Even if you weren't PG, you don't need your daughter getting strep. (We just had our neighbors in our yard playing with our 5 yr old w/ a daughter with a 104 temp which they did not tell us about until 5 days later. At which point, my husband talked to them and said my wife is 15 weeks PG, if your kids have fevers, they can't be here.)

Anyway, I would feel comfortable after she has 1) seen a doctor 2) had a strep test and 3) if she has strep, has been on an antibiotic for the amount of time she needs to be to not be contagious anymore - which I believe for strep is 48 hrs but you'd want to double check w/ a dr you trust on that.

ETA: I feel like it is not your problem either. In my opinion, she can find a way to get a strep test. Or you could just play it safe and not have have her sit for about 10 days. Most viruses last about 10 days. And I have had REALLY bad sore throats like she talks about and could swear I would have had strep just to have negative cultures. Either way, she's probably out some money either for 1) going to the clinic or 2) being without a sitting job for 10 days.

Also, I think colds are one things when preggo but things like strep, high fevers - not so much.

[~Demeter~]

Strep usually clears up on it's own within a week... you can have it last longer but really you are exposed to it in day to day life probably more than you realize.

If she doesn't have a fever and says she's feeling better I would think that the strep IS clearing up on it's own and probably wouldn't stress about it.

[Banana731]

My youngest just had Strep. It cleared up on it's own in a few days, my eldest had the beginning signs of it, but her immune system took care of it before it turned into something full blown. I got a runny nose a few days later. I am just leaving the first trimester.

We stayed away from others for a couple weeks until most of the runny nose was gone, but no one here went on antibiotics. By the time I realized what it was, she was obviously on the upswing.

I don't think you should take her to a clinic. I guess you could offer, but if she says she feels better it would be a little obnoxious for you to insist she needs to go.

Most people recover just fine from it in a few days, as a pp mentioned, serious complications (while reduced with abx) are still rare. And while you can carry it for weeks, it doesn't mean that you absolutely will. For me, if her nose isn't running and I know she's not going to be sharing spit in some way with my kid, and I know that she is practicing good hygiene habits- then I'd be okay with her near my kids.

But if your not, then by all means, tell her you want her to stay away for a couple of weeks, since she might be contagious. It's her prerogative not to see a doc or take abx, but it's certainly yours as well to decline her services for the time being.

[MamaChef]

Thanks, Ladies. I went ahead and called the midwife and she says that she would strongly recommend we dont expose ourselves to her until she either has a clear strep culture or has been on antibiotics for atleast 48 hours. If she doesnt do either of those things, she said that she would wait out atleast 14 days after everyone in her household was asymptomatic.

This is slightly complicated by the facts that
a. She has been symptomatic for over a week now and today is the first day she says she feels like her throat isnt closing up on her. She came to pick up her check today and she looked absolutely horrible.
b. She lives with her parents. Both of who still have it as well. Her father just started his symptoms 2 days ago. So even if her immune system did kick it, and wouldnt have carried it much longer, she will be continuously exposed until their illnesses resolve as well.

I am going to offer to pay for her doctor's visit and antibiotics if she would like. I guess 150 bucks is worth it when it's someone I really trust with my kid. ( I was never going to force her to go see a doctor. She originally told me she had been to a doctor, then today she told me that they didnt have money for the doctor. ) I know it could be other things, but evidently strep is going around right now at the local elementary and she came down with it within days of babysitting two kids who have had it confirmed.

If she doesnt want to go to the doctor, I think Im honestly going to have to tell her I'd need her to wait atleast 2 more weeks and then we can talk about the symptoms of the other people she is living with, and how long she herself has been asymptomatic.

Thank you for helping me to think through it.. HRJ, you totally helped me feel like I wasnt being a paranoid germ phobe. I totally agree with your last statement.. colds are one thing but strep and high fevers when my babe's brain is developing = not cool.

[HRJ]

Glad your midwife was able to give advice to you. The thing that I question though is if you pay to have her go to the dr, and the others aren't treated in the house . We have a very cool integrative medicine pediatrician who is actually on Dr Sears list of vaccine friendly doctors. When my son had strep, she told me and my husband to go get cultures b/c often it can be passed around the house. We did get tested and were fine, so we didn't do the antibiotic (just my son). But I'd think it would be pretty important for her parents to get tested, if she does in fact come up positive.