Yesterday when I walked into my "local" (I use the term loosely since it's nowhere near my house... but is the closest one to me) Starbucks, I came into the middle of a discussion between one of the women customers and one of the young men who works there.

I've never seen her before - but since I am only ever in the place for all of 10 minutes tops on a busy day... that's not unusual. I like the people who work there, they're all terrific. This guy is very funny and always in "hyperdrive" he does everything at a million miles per hour. It's pretty funny - especially when there's no one else in the store waiting for a drink.

Yesterday he was not working the bar, he was doing background stuff - cleaning, etc. The conversation was in progress when I walked in. Apparently he had a sore throat that was pretty bad. A few days before he had called his doctor. The "nurse" diagnosed" him with strep - over the phone, by asking his symptoms. They didn't have him come in, simply called in a script to the pharmacy. (ARG!!! Wrong Wrong - Danger Will Robinson -Do Not pursue this action!)

Anyway, this being a young man - he was very happy to go pick up the meds and that was that. For some reason (maybe he knew the woman I dont' know) they were discussing this. She claimed to be an RN and then stated the following... 1) strep spreads like colds - through the air... 2) you are contagious for 72 hours after starting antibiotics...

Holy Crap - when did these things come about!!! Last I heard, strep was spread by direct contact, either with the person or with their saliva. And when did the time change on how long a person is contagious? I thought it was 24-48 hours... could they have upped that to 72 because of super infections and I didn't know it? I'm now feeling way out of the loop and it's rather disconcerting.

I didn't say anything to her about her "medical knowledge" because I hadn't dealt with strep in years (since my son was 3 years old - that's like 20 years ago) so maybe there have been changes I was unaware of. Or I was losing my mind and am to the point I can't even remember simple things like how bacterial infection is spread...

Last night I looked up Streptococcus which led to the Strep Throat entry:

The illness is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes and is spread by direct, close contact with patients via respiratory droplets (cough or sneezing). Casual contact rarely results in transmission.

In other words - he's not going to spread it by talking to you (which was her implication) or being in the same room. Although if she drank out of his glass, or he coughed or sneezed in her drink, or he wiped his mouth with his hand and then mixed a drink for her... now that could certainly spread it.

Oh yeah - and why do you NEED to see the doctor before using antibiotics?

Penicillins should be avoided for treatment of a sore throat if bacterial (swab) confirmation has not been obtained since it causes a distinctive rash if the true illness proves to be viral. This rash is harmless but alarming.

In other words - you shouldn't take meds if you don't need them.

Now for the time needed for the antibiotics to kick in and do their thing:

Most people with strep are contagious until they have been on antibiotics 24-48 hours. Thus, they should stay home from school, daycare, or work until they have been on antibiotics for at least a day.

Yeah, 24 hours is the minimum, 48 is better, 72 certainly is okay because it's important to rest when you're sick. But she was spreading some inaccurate information and scaring all of them needlessly. Next time I see him, I'll have to let him know.

I'm very glad that I hadn't quite lost everything I learned way back in the mists of time... but for a short while I was beginning to wonder if I should check out places that care for those with senile dementia. Whew!

Posted by: Teresa in Medical at 06:41 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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