Rheumatic Fever

Question: Can my 4 mo old son get rheumatic fever or the faringites that originates it from me? Apparently, I have now rheumatic fever caused by a recent strep throat. How dangerous is it for my 4 month old son since most of the info online says that this disease develops more easily in kids between 3-15 years old? I am now using a mouth mask but I just started using after 2 mo I had the throat infection. Should I take any measures to make sure he is fine?

Answer: Infants rarely pick up strep, but it isn't unheard of. Have your son's ped do a strep culture on him, to put your mind at ease. They can also do a small blood test to determine if he is fighting anything off, if you think he might be getting it. Watch him for fever, abnormal fatigue, vomiting (more than regular spitting up), rash, or a change in voice. His ped might put him on antibiotics as a prophylactic (pro-fil-ack-tick) measure to prevent him from getting it. Discuss the pro's and con's with him. If you are being careful enough to wear a mask, I assume you are also making sure to wash your hands frequently and well, as well as your sons? ;) I thought so! Hope you are feeling better soon - and all remains well with your son!

Question: What does rheumatic fever feel like? I have a child who is recovering from having a high fever for many days, scarlatina and strep. My child is older,but not able to verbally explain all her symptoms well. If rheumatic fever is a possible symptom of scarlet fever/strep, etc...would a person be complaining about pain in their joints at the time? Would it be very obvious that a rheumatic fever is different from a regular fever?

Answer: The major symptoms include: carditis (inflammation of the heart) arthritis (painful joints) chorea (nervous system tremors) subcutaneous nodules (bumps under the skin) rash (some get this but, not all) The minor criteria include: fever joint pain (without actual arthritis) evidence of electrical changes in the heart (determined by doing a electrocardiogram, or EKG) evidence via a blood test of the presence of certain proteins in blood _______________ I have read cases where a child didn't necessarily have joint pain but, it is commonly a symptom. Rheumatic fever usually affects children between the ages of 3 to 15 years of age. Because specific testing is needed to diagnose properly, you should have your child evaluated by the Pediatrician to be sure.....especially since verbalization is not possible. Simple blood tests can rule this out quickly. This can be quite serious causing possible permanent damage, immediate attention is required. Get your son tested asap. Good luck!

Question: Can rheumatic fever cause chest pains and backaches? I have rheumatic fever and I was taken off my shots for sometime then I began getting some really intense chest pains..my back always hurt it use to even before I was taken off the shot.. any wayz even after I was put back on the shorts (injection..*penadur) I experiences chest pains but the pain is never as intense as it use to be. Sowhat do ou think?

Answer: Yes it can this is very common.I would rest maybe it will go away.

Question: Recently my Girl Friend is diagnosed with rheumatic fever. Is it OK to marry her? She is a very good girl. I love her very much. But her recent medical says that she has rheumatic fever. It is a very bad disease. She may not able to work properly in future and conceive properly. Though i love her very much , I am afraid our married life will not be happy.

Answer: There could be lasting effects from this, and there may be none. She should be able to work and have children. Do some research about the disease. She will not have it forever.

Question: Difference between rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease? I think that rheumatic heart disease is complication of rheumatic fever, but not so much clear about these 2 terms. If someone has rheumatic fever, and gets any heart valvular lesion so after 10-12 years he doesnt have fever but has heartvalvular problem so will this be called as the rheumatic heart disease, and if some patient 20 yrs old presents withbreathlessness for 5-6 yrs, on echo there is MR,MS, so how we know it was due to rheumatic fever in his childhood? Help needed for these scenerios Thanks

Answer: Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease which may develop after a Group A streptococcal infection (such as strep throat or scarlet fever) and can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. Rheumatic (roo-MAT'ik) heart disease is a condition in which the heart valves are damaged by rheumatic fever. Check out the websites below for more detailed information, and for help with your scenarios.

Question: can rheumatic fever be a disease that affect to dogs? I will adopt a small dog whose owner suffers of rheumatic fever and I scared to catch the disease.

Answer: It is caused by Group A streptococcal infection (scarlet fever). It is an inflammation of either the heart, joints, skin, and brain and sometimes is seen in more than one body part. I am not sure if dogs are immune to Strep A, but a good bath should rid it of any of the germs. Before you get rheumatic fever you get a sore throat that lasts a couple weeks. If you treat it with antibiotics it clears up and doesn't turn into the fever. My advice... make a phone call and ask a vet for advice and follow his or her advice very carefully as rheumatic fever is serious business and does some severe damage to the body which is generally permanent and in some cases results in death.

Question: Does anyone know a homemade remedy for rheumatic fever? My brother suffers from this fever and i was wondering of there was any homemade remedy that could help.

Answer: He needs to get to a doctor.

Question: If you had rheumatic fever what is the chances of rehumatic heart disease? I know that it can sometimes take 10 years to find out if there is damage to the heart from rehumatic fever. But is there anykind of statistics or numbers that show the likely hood of damage to the heart? linkz it you have them

Answer: Actually, there are not too many people who have rheumatic fever these days. But for those who have had it, it is a good idea to try to stick with the same physician, Keep good medical records that you can take with you if you move, and get regular check ups. The thing about rheumatic fever is that it can do a lot of damage to your heart valves. If you start out with a small murmur, they will monitor you. If it gets louder, they will order an echocardiogram to determine if your valve is beginning to fail. Catching the valve before it enlarges the chambers of your heart is crucial. They can fix it then. All of this is, of course, if you are one of the people whose rheumatic fever caused an issue with their heart. I believe it depends on the severity of the disease and the treatment of it. So don't panic. Just get the check ups, if the dr. says you have a murmur, ask for an echo. Good luck.

Question: Anyone have a child with rheumatic fever? My daughter just got out of the hospital with strep and rheumatic fever and I was hoping to find a parent thats been in this situation before.

Answer: Rheumatic fever is a nonsuppurative, acute inflammatory complication of group A streptococcal infection, causing combinations of arthritis, carditis, subcutaneous nodules, erythema marginatum, and chorea. Diagnosis is based on applying the Jones criteria to information from history, examination, and laboratory testing. Treatment includes aspirin or other NSAIDs, corticosteroids during severe carditis, and antimicrobials to eradicate residual streptococcal infection and prevent reinfection.

Question: Can you donate a kidney if you had rheumatic fever in the past,,? Can you donate a kidney if you had rheumatic fever in the past,, also what if you have herpies or if you are an alcoholic?

Answer: I think it all depends on who's doing the screening. Really, if you want to donate a kidney, you should go through the tests and let the doctors make the call. I know in some places they aren't too picky, because there is such a shortage of donors, I've witnessed a brain-dead alcoholic smoker who was still a candidate for transplanting a heart, liver, kidneys, eyes and they were even considering the lungs. Organs do have some regenerative properties so they consider them. Again, if you are serious about donating, make an appointment.

Question: rheumatic fever? hello, what are the chances of an adult getting rheumatic fever if a strep throat infection is not treated? how long before the fever strikes after the strp throat appears? thanks

Answer: A rheumatic fever can be cause by a Strep throat infection which has not been treated for about two to three months, It is rare to get rheumatic fever, but if your have a strep infection an over the counter cold medicine will help to prevent it. Read all lables before you take a medicne, because it may interfere with any medications you are taking for any preexisiting conditions. if symptoms persist, you should consalt a doctor.

Question: I had rheumatic fever at the age of 9 in 1959. What long-term effects can I expect? I led a normal life, with some rrestrictions, ever since. I played 2 years of high school football and served 4 years in the Navy.

Answer: Rheumatic fever can involve the heart at the time of the infection but it doesn't always. Long term damage would typically involve the heart valves and began to become evident about 20 years after the acute problem. If you are healthy, have no cardiac symptoms and your doctor has detected no heart murmurs or valvular problems chances are good that you are home free.

Question: How long till rheumatic fever damages the heart? How long does it take from the time of the initial strep infection (the sore throat) till the continuing infection causes significant damage to the heart?

Answer: There is no exact answer to this, since the manifestation of rheumatic fever varies from case to case, with some patients showing a high rate of disease manifestation during the infection while some patients manifest the rheumatic fever symptoms way later after the infection even receded. In any case, two factors that contribute to the manifestation of the disease itself is the release of antigenic proteins of the Streptococcus organism (most likely Streptococcus pyogenes) and the antibodies released by our immune system to the antigens. The antigen (M protein if I recall correctly) released by the bacterium mimics the endocardial protein of the heart, which can be recognized by our immune system, whereupon antibodies are made for these antigens. There is no problem, at least to some degree, when the antibodies to the antigenic proteins are perform opsonization in the bloodstream; autoimmune disease, however, results in the case where our antibodies cross-over to the endocardium of our heart (since the antigenic proteins and the endocardial proteins are similar), causing damage within the heart itself. You probably know the sequence of events for the pathogenesis of rheumatic fever...the kinetics, however, which you inquire is varied in a lot of ways, since antigenic proteins could or could not be released by the bacterium, which could depend on a number of factors; the same thing with the anti-bodies...our immune system is efficient enough not to release antibodies that would damage our own cells/tissues (recognizing "self" from "non-self" as one hallmark of the immune system). Also, some rheumatic fever cases vary in their own degrees as well, since some have greater damage than the other, but they are all dependent on the chemical factors that are involved in the disease. Hope this helps in some way!

Question: Is rheumatic fever transferable from mother to child? Is rheumatic fever transferable from mother to child?A woman rheumatic fever damaged her heart;she live to see her 35th birthday;and bore two children a boy and girl.The boy after attaining the age of thirteen he was diagnose with rheumatic fever.Could you shine some light on this!

Answer: Rheumatic fever is caused by the strep virus.The one that causes strep throat. It also causes scarletina and the more viralent scarlet fever.

Question: How are rheumatic fever, streptococcal pharyngitis, and an anaphylactoid reaction related?

Answer: An infection of the throat (pharynx) by steptococcus pneumoniae gives you steptococal pharyngitis, or strep throat. Unfortunately, a particular streptococcus variant has a surface antigen that "looks" a lot like surface proteins located in the heart muscle and heart valves. If a step infection goes untreated by antibiotics, the body will make antibodies against this surface antigen. Consequently, these antibodies can turn against the structures in the heart and heart valves. In severe cases, the heart and it's valves can be damaged. Additionally, a body-wide rash can develop, also as a result of antibody function, giving rise to the term 'scarlet fever'. Bottom line? Treat streptococcal infections promptly. And anaphylactoid reaction? Not sure of the connection.

Question: How many people fall victim to rheumatic fever? and on a scale to 1 to 10 how dangerous is it

Answer: Rheumatic fever is not common, but over three million people in America fall victim to it each year. Incidence (annual) of Rheumatic fever: 12 per 1000 (NHIS95) Incidence Rate: approx 1 in 83 or 1.20% or 3.3 million people in USA Incidence extrapolations for USA for Rheumatic fever: 3,264,000 per year, 272,000 per month, 62,769 per week, 8,942 per day, 372 per hour, 6 per minute. How dangerous it is depends upon the patient, and how severly the react to the disease.