Incubation period

The incubation period begins after the pathogens have been recorded. This describes the period of time that elapses until one notices the first signs of symptoms after infection and would describe oneself as sick. The incubation period for tonsillitis is about 2-4 days with some exceptions. It is important to know that the patient is already contagious during the symptom-free incubation period. There are then already many bacteria or viruses in the body detectable, which can infect other people via the above-mentioned droplet infection.

Risk of infection when kissing

If one is ill with tonsillitis or suspects that one might have been infected, many people ask themselves whether safe kissing with their partner is possible or should be avoided. Since even the smallest droplets contain a sufficient amount of pathogens to be contagious, the risk of transmission is very high when kissing. If you are aware of the fact that kissing involves direct contact with comparatively large amounts of saliva from close proximity to the tonsillitis, it is advisable to refrain from kissing during the infectious period.

However, as described above, the risk of infection is very low one day after taking antibiotics. If one decides to cure the inflammation without medication, one should refrain from kissing with a certain safety margin of about two weeks. Parents on the other hand often ask themselves whether and how far away tonsillitis is contagious for the baby.

First of all, it is important to know that babies do not yet have a fully developed immune system. This makes babies in general particularly susceptible to infectious diseases and thus also to tonsillitis. This is also given by the special circumstances in close everyday contact with the mother.

Close contact with the baby, be it while breastfeeding or changing diapers, is unavoidable. If the mother or father is ill, for example, care must be taken not to use the same cutlery. Special hygienic precautions should be taken when there is closer contact with the baby.

Regular disinfection of the hands can be helpful. However, the probability of preventing infection in this particularly close environment is extremely low.The baby is quite likely to be infected, but this is not an uncontrollable problem. A visit to the doctor and the alleviation of the symptoms as well as the observance of a sufficient fluid intake are indispensable, especially for babies.

If mother and baby are still breastfeeding, breastfeeding is still possible and sensible. On the one hand, the pathogens are transmitted via the droplet infection described above, on the other hand, certain defense proteins, the so-called antibodies, are transmitted from mother to baby with the breast milk. These can fight the pathogens and to a certain extent serve the child’s immune system as a template for its own production.