Strep. throats

6 months ago my son had 90% of his tonsils removed along with the adenoids. He also had a nosebleed fixed. When we came home I noticed his nostril was closed off, well it did not get any better. It is like it was welded together. The Dr. said the scar tissue attached itself to the other side of the nostril. But I think it is something the Dr. did on the day of the surgery. Because it was like that on the same day. Also he has had Strep 4 time since then. Is there anything that I can do to prevent him from having strep so often?

When any part of the body is operated on, it swells. Swelling is a part of inflammation which is the body’s response to any insult such as injury or infection. Thus, the initial blockage was due to this swelling. The swelling would be long gone by now. The attachment now could have happened as the surgeon said although I have never seen such a case. One can function quite well on only one open nostril.

As regards the Strep. throats, penicillin or amoxycillin are very good at treating them. However, your son may be a carrier – when the bugs live in the throat area but do not cause disease. But if he has a virus infection in the throat, like a common cold, this changes conditions in the throat in such a way that the Streps can multiply and then they cause disease. I had some success in getting rid of the carrier state by giving an antibiotic called lincomycin (or its close relative Dalacin-C) while the patient is well.

If the Strep. throats continue, consideration would have to be given to removing the last 10% of the tonsils.

By the way has your doctor proven that the sore throats are due to Strep. by swabbing the throat for laboratory investigation? It can be difficult to tell the difference between a viral throat and a Strep. throat.