Pedemy · For parents
Strep throat — notes
Note the pattern below and bring your questions and current medicines to the visit. This record does not diagnose or choose treatment.
Use these notes with your child’s clinician. This tool does not diagnose illness, prescribe treatment or confirm that home care is safe.
Emergency help now
Call local emergency services for severe breathing difficulty, blue/gray lips, collapse, a seizure with failure to recover, or a child who is very difficult to wake. Do not delay to complete this tool.
Contact a healthcare professional
Get urgent help for drooling with inability to swallow, difficulty breathing, neck swelling, a muffled voice or inability to open the mouth. Recontact the clinician if symptoms worsen or are not improving after 48 hours of antibiotics. A baby younger than 3 months with a temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) or higher needs urgent medical assessment, even if they look well. Do not delay assessment to try medicine or complete a diary.
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Care reminders
- Sudden sore throat, fever and tender neck glands can occur with strep. Cough and a runny nose suggest a virus. A throat photo or symptom score cannot confirm strep; a clinician decides whether testing is needed.
- Confirmed strep is treated with prescribed antibiotics. Ask whether a negative rapid test needs a culture. Offer drinks and appropriate pain relief. Return to school requires no fever, feeling well enough, and at least 12–24 hours of appropriate antibiotics; follow local policy.
- Get urgent help for drooling with inability to swallow, difficulty breathing, neck swelling, a muffled voice or inability to open the mouth. Recontact the clinician if symptoms worsen or are not improving after 48 hours of antibiotics.