Strep throat symptoms and treatment?

Can someone actually explain this to me? How does one even acquire this—and is it considered some kind of major issue?...

That was actually my sister’s situation, though it showed up in her urine sample.
She isn't entirely sure where she picked it up—it could have been at a public restroom or somewhere similar...
She took some antibiotics and managed to clear it, but then it flared right back up after a while, because this thing is incredibly stubborn and has a tendency to resurface...
I also recall a friend of hers from work who was just getting ready to start trying for a baby, but her OB-GYN warned her that getting pregnant while dealing with an infection like this could be risky. I'm not quite sure why that is, though. I can ask my sister about it later tonight once she's off work, since she can't really talk while she's on the clock...
That’s pretty much all I can remember for now...

Yes, we're talking about urine here

Finding bacteria in urine isn't always a major issue. For some people, it just sits there in the urinary tract without causing trouble, while for others, it flares up when their immune system takes a hit—which happens a lot with chronic patients.
The real danger starts if that infection migrates upward toward the kidneys.
Either way, you'll need to stay on penicillin for ten days.

shree_kali said:so, what kind of symptoms are we talking about here?

for me, it all started with those classic UTI symptoms that just... totally spiraled out of control

i ended up doing this combo therapy—antibiotics paired with some pills meant to flush out the kidneys—and honestly, it finally cleared all that crap right up🙂div>

Has anyone else dealt with this bacteria? I saw my doctor today and she told me it's strep—so now I've been prescribed penicillin... which means I can't drink anything this Saturday!😁 I was actually looking forward to celebrating the end of this grueling week 😛
It isn't Fair Play...
Oh, right—does anyone know if it's safe to have just one beer? Or maybe even a juice-vodka cocktail while on penicillin? 🙏

I mean, who hasn't dealt with this bacteria at some point?😛 Just forget about the local spots while you're on penicillin!😁

...haha...I ended up needing them every single year for five years straight...and now they've finally decided it's time to go ahead with the tonsillectomy.👎 ...I probably wouldn't recommend drinking alcohol right now...😬

Nancy Campbell5 said:..ha...I dealt with that every single year for five years straight...and now they've finally decided it's time to go in and remove my tonsils..👎 ...definitely don't recommend drinking alcohol..😬

Just how long does one have to fight this strep? I've been on penicillin for five days already—no improvement whatsoever—and the coughing is actually getting worse... it's just terrible... 🙏 😠

I went through the exact same mess back in October. They had me on some penicillin-based antibiotics, and if my memory serves me right, it took about two weeks of feeling like garbage to finally turn a corner. They also gave me some kind of medicinal rinse to use for my mouth and all those other little things...
Honestly, the only way through was just lying around, sleeping, and zoning out in front of the TV or playing some mindless games on my computer—that was pretty much the whole routine. You just have to ride it out. I didn't go out for a single drink while I was sick, but the second I realized I was actually human again, I was out the door to grab a celebratory beer...😁

There are actually several different types of strep—my son caught the beta strain a few years back (the kind that can lead to meningitis, I believe)—it didn't respond to antibiotics, his fever spiked to 104, and he ended up in the ER for a 13-day hospital stay.

I wouldn't mess around with alcohol while taking antibiotics; it could easily backfire.

I've been going in for urethral swabs lately, and every single time it comes back positive for Group B Strep.
In the last year alone, I've downed more antibiotics than I have in my entire life (I'm
28 years old). I've cycled through Clavicin and most recently Amoxil. It’s gotten to the point where the strep is actually becoming
resistant to certain antibiotics.
The thing is, I don't even have symptoms or feel sick; this whole mess started because of some minor testicular pain
that sent me to the doctor. Now, that same dull ache tends to flare up whenever
I'm taking medication.
Anyway, does anyone have any advice? I'm sick of swallowing pills when I
feel perfectly fine!

Maybe try an immunity booster. Echinacea, Acidophilus... I guess it’s just harder to flush bacteria out of your system when your immune system is running low.

Honestly, if you aren't actually feeling miserable, I wouldn't bother swallowing anything at all. Aside from maybe making a conscious effort to stay hydrated and drink more water than usual, I personally wouldn't put a single thing in my system just for the sake of it.

Group B Strep hangs out in the genital area for both guys and girls pretty often. If you aren't actually feeling sick, there's no need for meds...

For pregnant women carrying Group B Strep, doctors usually suggest antibiotics during labor—just for those few hours—to help lower the risk of the baby catching an infection.

I’ve been battling this for a while now, and my immune system has just been completely shot lately. I noticed my hair starting to thin out during that first month when I dealt with a cold sore that wouldn't clear up for three weeks, then I had a yeast infection, and by the fifth month, everything just peaked when I had to have an appendectomy. Since that surgery, I feel like my immunity has dropped well below zero, because just three weeks after coming home, I ended up with what my doctor thought was cystitis. I took Augmentin for ten days, but two weeks later the symptoms returned, so this time I was on Nitrofurantoin for ten days, only to be sent for a urinalysis which revealed, surprise surprise, strep. I finished a ten-day course of E-Flex.
On top of all that, I've been taking an immunity booster regularly for about twenty days now.
But honestly, after going through all those different antibiotics, I think I've become hypersensitive to them because I developed an allergy, so now I'm constantly applying some lotion to my skin, using Maxitrol eye drops, and taking Rinolan in the morning.
I just went to Quest Diagnostics to drop off a new urine sample for testing, and while I really hope it comes back negative, I have a bad feeling it won't.
I also forgot to mention that I've had a kidney ultrasound and even saw a urologist who actually laughed at me when I mentioned that my urethra occasionally feels painful.

Given my whole medical history, I'm really wondering how to actually get rid of this strep or at least minimize the chances of it coming back.

Thanks.

Man, seriously though... like, how are you actually feeling? Do you have a fever, or did you get your blood work back yet to check your white cell count and CRP levels?

I can't help but feel like you’d start feeling a whole lot better pretty quickly if you just stopped leaning so hard on all those meds, especially when it comes to antibiotics.

I am somewhat unclear on what you mean by "negative immune value," but if your immunity is indeed compromised, reviewing your lab results is key. Check for anemia or issues with protein levels and electrophoresis—essentially, a full metabolic panel should give you a clear picture of where you stand. As for the strep, penicillin-based medications will handle that 😁 while frequent infections can often be managed by addressing the underlying imbalances causing your immune system to dip, alongside some preventative lifestyle changes. Furthermore, if a urine culture comes back positive but you aren't experiencing any symptoms, you might consider avoiding antibiotics altogether, especially if the bacterial count isn't excessive. Just focus on staying hydrated with plenty of tea and fluids, maintain healthy habits, and see how things progress

When I mentioned having negative immunity, I was just being descriptive, but the truth is my immune system really is quite weak right now. I haven't taken any antibiotics for two weeks now and I don't have any major symptoms, though I do get occasional discomfort in my urinary tract from time to time. I've been drinking cranberry juice constantly and I feel much better because of it, but if I miss even a single day, I immediately start feeling uneasy again.
I'll know the exact bacterial count once my lab results come back this Wednesday, but about twenty days ago, my levels were somewhere between 10,000 and 1,000,000.