Diagnosis

If a skin rash develops during a streptococcal infection with, for example, sore throat, it should be shown to the treating family doctor. In most cases it is a harmless side effect that disappears when the disease subsides. However, the doctor should exclude an allergy, which can look very similar, when antibiotics are administered and closely monitor the patient in order to recognize an overreaction of the immune system in time.

A number of different tests for the diagnosis of streptococcal diseases are available on the market. These are usually rapid tests, which are relatively inexpensive in the unit price. However, the characteristic of these tests is that they only examine for a specific streptococcal group. Thus there are tests for group A streptococci and tests for pathogens of the streptococcus B family. At this point the editorial staff recommends the following article: Streptococcus Rapid Test This test should, however, be performed by medical personnel in order to draw the appropriate conclusions and take the necessary measures depending on the results.

Treatment

The focus is on causal therapy, i.e. the elimination of the cause, in this case the elimination of the pathogen. For this purpose, the treating physician has various antibiotics at his disposal, which are used depending on the type of streptococcus and the resistance situation. In addition, a sufficient fluid intake should be ensured and the symptoms of the infection should be alleviated by means of painkilling and antipyretic medication.

The immune reaction responsible for the skin rash is usually not treated directly, as it recedes as the disease subsides and can hardly be treated causally. Therefore, the elimination of streptococci is usually sufficient. Cortisone creams and the like should be avoided, but there is nothing to prevent the use of moisturizing lotions to regenerate the skin. In rare cases, when the over-stimulation of the immune system causes other symptoms in addition to the exanthema, the patient should be monitored in a hospital to avoid possible complications.