Strep throat is a bacterial infection caused by the Streptococcus pyogenes (strep) Group A bacteria. You see it more in children than in adults, but adults do get it sometimes. This flu season may turn out to be one of the worst seasons for strep throat.

With strep throat, you'll see a fever and sore throat pain, usually with a headache (but not always) and sometimes a stomach ache. There might be swollen, tender glands in the neck, or sores around the nose. You might also see a loss in appetite and tired looking eyes.

Scarlet fever is actually strep combined with a rash, and there is also the sore throat along with some general symptoms, such as fatigue, and a red rash and skin blotches on the body (that feel like a rough sandpaper). If left untreated for one to two weeks, it can turn into rheumatic fever.

We normally encourage natural cures, such as oil of oregano, orange juice, vitamin C, colloidal silver, pau d' arco, garlic, and other types of natural cures you can find at the health food store. However, this flu season I did some checking around and found that (according to the opinion of my source) this latest strep is more severe and can hit a person really quickly... and that antibiotics are necessary in this instance.

This week my son got a sore throat one night. We just thought it was a cold... although his tongue was white and had a texture like a strawberry. We got him taking vitamin C and garlic caps. The next day his eyes looked really tired, he was lethargic and he had bumps on his chest and stomach. We thought the bumps were from laying directly on the carpet (that's what it looked like).

We decided to take him to the doctor and the doctor swabbed his throat and the results came back as strep and his rash was scarlet fever. Just the mention of scarlet fever made us cringe, then the doctor said it just means a combination of strep throat and rash. My son is allergic to penicillin, so the doctor prescribed Erythromycin. My son took his first dose and within about 6 hours, most of the rash was gone and he was feeling lots better.

I heard it's common for the strep symptoms to be relieved very quickly when first taking the antibiotics, although it's very important to finish the entire course of antibiotics that the doctor prescribes. If the doctor wants you to take the antibiotics for 10 days, even if you feel better after a day or two, don't stop the antibiotics. Keep taking them, and finish them according to the doctor's instructions.

Although we like to recommend the natural cures, this is the one season that if a person gets these strep symptoms they should see the doctor soon. If antibiotics are recommended, get them and take them all. You'll get very fast relief with antibiotics even as soon as a half day, and you'll minimize the risk of scarlet fever and rheumatic fever.

Copyright 2005. This information is not to meant replace medical advice. If you feel sick or have other related symptoms, see your doctor or other medical professional.

Jessica Deets specializes in information to help people and has a passion about helping people to not get ill. The website at http://www.bestfluinfo.com has news and information about the flu including avian flu (H5N1).