What’s Going Around: Strep throat

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - The end of the school year is just weeks away, there’s graduations, recitals, and vacations planned. However, there is one pesky th8ing slowing people down.

“We are seeing a pretty significant uptick in strep throat,” said Cindy Griessel, a physician assistant with Mercy.

Griessel said strep throat is usually something that peaks in the winter and early spring.

“We’ve had this crazy weather and I think a lot of recesses are inside and so we’re we’re seeing a little bit of sharing,” said Griessel.

Griessel said with seasonal allergies high right now, there are still ways to tell what your sore throat means.

“If you’ve got that lingering sore throat or feel a tickle in your throat for three to five days, it is likely not strep,” said Griessel. “Strep usually has an abrupt onset, it’s accompanied by fever, abdominal pain, some nausea, some vomiting.”

With strep throat, Griessel said, people are usually so miserable they’re seeing their physician to get an antibiotic.

“I always say, complete the course we give you for a certain amount of time to eradicate that bacteria, because, as I describe it to my patients, we quiet down that bacteria, but it’s still there.,” said Griessel. “It’s not eradicated until we complete that course of antibiotics.”

Griessel said it’s also important to sanitize those shared spaces too.

“It’s highly contagious,” said Griessel. “I always say, change out toothbrushes, if someone’s had strep throat, brand new bathroom cup, all those things that we use utilize individually, change those out as well because it does transfer pretty easily,” said Griessel.

In other parts of the Ozarks, at Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar, they’re seeing seasonal allergies, strep throat, and the stomach flu.

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