??? ABOUT...Tonsilitus (SP?)

mckayleesmom wrote: Ive never had it or known anyone that had it personally. I forgot to ask the doctor too. Is it contagious??

jacobsmama replied: Yes, Once they are on antibiotics for 24-48 hours and no fever then they no longer are.

mckayleesmom replied: Thanks...I was just curious because Mckaylee and Russell have a habit of trading sippy cups...So I will have to make sure they don't.

jacobsmama replied: Yep, you would have watch them so she doesn't get it...isn't that terrible. I really hope he gets better soon.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Absolutely contagious, so we've been watching our 2 older kids, since Emilie has it and Zach does not - but the hospital doctor that saw Emilie when we took her in last week told me not to worry about Naomie getting it - because breastfed infants are excluded - they will NOT catch tonsilitis if they are exclusively breastfed.

Interesting, huh?

mckayleesmom replied:
Really...I just remembered that I should have known the answer to my own question. When I had Russell....dh got it and they didn't let him near the baby for 24 hours after having antibiotics......Are you sure breastfed babies are imune? I just recall that they didn't want him near the baby at all and Russell was breastfed.

mckayleesmom replied: Oh wait...Im wrong....I just called him and he said it was Strep that he had....

holley79 replied: From what I remember it was contagious. Strep is also.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: I'm pretty sure it's not contagious. I think you should all be okay. If you are at all concerned though I would call you doctor. I hope Rusell feels better soon.

kimberley replied: i had chronic tonsilitis as a child and it is not contagious.. at least not back then lol. strep is totally contagious. i was off school for a month every winter because of it and finally got my tonsils out at 16yo i hope your little man is better soon.

2whippets replied: I had tonsillitis in December. Doctor said it’s not contagious as it is the result of an infection. The infection was likely bought on by the fact that I had strep and didn’t see the doctor in time before it took on a life of its own. Hence, you can have strep (a virus) and develop tonsillitis but tonsillitis isn't a virus. This is why it’s so important to see the doctor when you have strep. Be careful though, having tonsillitis once could open the doors to having it again, some people or more susceptible than others to developing it. It can take a while to get rid of it too.

redchief replied: Tonsilitis = viral or bacterial infection = contagious. Antibiotics will work on bacterial tonsilitis, but not viral. Hope that helps.


Edited for poor typing.

2whippets replied:
Interesting, so is this like the difference between bacterial and viral pneumonia, same condition, different causes? For instance, if you develop pneumonia as a result of bronchitis, it's not contagious, but if it a viral pneumonia, than it is.

redchief replied:
Exactly!

Both forms of tonsilitis are contagious though. It's just that antibiotics don't fight viral infections.

Scootie replied: I also had chronic tonsilitis growing up. I was told it was not contagious. But then again I had it due to severe allergies.

2whippets replied:
Thanks, that's a good piece of info to have!

I wonder my my doc told me mine wasn't contagious? ........kind of scary!

CAMSMOM1 replied:

Ewwww...STREP...is not good! I get that every year. And I've had tonsilitus a few times too. They wanted to remove my tonsils when I was younger, but my Mom refused. So I'm very suseptiable to it.

Strep is really, really contagious. Like they said, if they are running a fever and are not on antibotics for 24-48 hrs, then they have a great chance of giving to others. Same thing for tonsilitus.

The only thing that comforted me was drinking lots of fluids, because my throat was so dry, sore & hurt. And soft foods because it was hard to swollow.

I hope they feel better soon.

My2Beauties replied: Ummm.... since when is tonsilitis contagious? I've had it a million times and they've always told me I was never contagious. I didn't take antibiotics for it neither. Anyways, strep is contagious however.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: I think being contagious has to do with whether you have pus on your tonsils. Emilie had lots of white pus on hers... and she had a fever.

MyBrownEyedBoy replied:
Just a heads up, Strep is not a virus. It's a bacteria. Just a memory from microbiology class.

redchief replied:
The viral form of tonsilitis may or may not be contagious. It depends on whether or not you have an active cough or sneezing (that's how those little germies get around), and the extent of the viral infection (more germs, more likelyhood of being contagious). Bacterial tonsilitis is a precursor to strep, and is definitely contagious. Doctors can't tell by looking in your throat whether you're contagious or not, though some think they can. Viruses and bacterium are not visible with the naked eye.

Dr. Greene explains here:
http://www.drgreene.com/21_1209.html