“Can strep throat become serious?”
I am a 36 year old female. I want to know if strep throat can become serious?
6 Answers
Yes . It can cause lung infections
Hello, All infections have the potential to become severe. The bacteria called group A Streptococcus (group A strep) that causes "strep throat" should be evaluated by a medical professional to develop the best care plan for each individual in order to help prevent diseases such as Post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (PSGN).
Most of the time, strep throat and other upper respiratory infections (URI) stay in the throat or sinuses. If they go lower, though, they can become pneumonia — strep pneumonia is more serious than strep throat.
Yes, if left untreated, strep throat can lead to scarlet fever, acute glomerulonephritis (kidney infection), rheumatic heart disease that damages your heart valves. If you have strep throat, I would highly recommend treating it with antibiotics right away and gargle with warm salt water. Follow up with lots of probiotics.
If treated, it generally is benign, and even when untreated it usually just runs its course. The concern about strep throat is not the actual throat symptoms, but syndromes that can occur AFTER the strep has gone away, including rheumatic fever, among other things. Rheumatic fever does not occur if the disease is treated properly, though. I would say, generally speaking, that strep throat does NOT become serious.
Randall Fisher, M.D.
Randall Fisher, M.D.
Serious as in death and severe consequences? Recurrent strep can result is frequent tonsillitis, loss of time from work/school, airway compromise, and frequent medical care. Strep can be a risk to those with valvular heart disease, kidney disease, and immune deficiencies. See an ENT.
