Exposure to strep possibly?

    • Gold Top Dog

    Exposure to strep possibly?

    My stepdaughter was over last night and she was really coughing her head off.  She tends to get strep throat quite a bit, which concerns me since I am pregnant.  I have a natural immunity to strep but the baby may not.  We have her this weekend and so I've made arrangements to stay with my parents if she winds up with strep or is running a fever.  Problem is, if she was already coughing around me, have I already been exposed?  Is there any point in trying to protect myself? 
    • Gold Top Dog
    Are you meaning Group B strep? This is the one they actually test most pregnant women for, it is quite serious. Diferent than strep throat.
    [linkhttp://www.strepb.ca/English/fondation.htm]http://www.strepb.ca/English/fondation.htm[/link]
     
    I didn't catch ANYTHING while I was preggers and I was around plenty of sick people. My immune system was like super strong then. I'd simply avoid direct contact and wash hands, etc. If you get it or think you have go to your doc...
    • Gold Top Dog
    No, I mean strep throat, not the baddie group B stuff.
     
    My immune system is normally rock solid, but right after I found out I was pregnant, I got a terrible headcold with cough and congestion that lasted nearly 3 weeks - it was awful and I was absolutely miserable.  My doctor told me that my immune system is ultrasensitive and easily weakened because I am pregnant and to avoid sick people as much as possible.  Last week, my boss was ill and coughed a few times around me when I was in his office.  Two days later I was home with a sore throat and a head that felt like a brick.  I'm still dealing with it.  I was at my doc last week for an appointment and he said my sore throat wasn't strep.  I'm just concerned about fetal exposure - I may be immune to it, but my baby may not be. 
     
    It doesn't worry me so much if all she has is a headcold.  I do NOT want to contract something that's going to cause me to run a fever. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    Now...unless I am mistaken...fetal blood and maternal blood mix (hence that test to ensure you guys don't have a diferent blood type)...unlike with dogs. So by that token she already has your immunities, I would think.
     
    eta: checking around..."some" of the stuff in your blood does mix...but not the blood itself. It looks like one of the things is antibodies...which is a good thing in this case.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Are you taking anything to boost your immune system BTW? Aside from the prenate vitamins? Like that Danactiv/Activia stuff or similar? Maybe Callie knows some other stuff...you might PM her in case she doesn't see this...
    • Gold Top Dog
    I'm just taking the prenatal vitamins right now - trying to supplement naturally with vit C rich foods.  Though last week when I drank tea and OJ for two days it did nothing to help my sore throat!!! 
     
    Edited to add: maybe I should start eating some of the probiotic I'm giving my dog!!! LOL