Remicade and sore throat

[xmdmom]

If you have a sore throat, feel otherwise well and don't have a fever, should you call the doctor, get a throat culture, see a doctor?

My son, a college student, is new to Remicade with his first sickness. He really isn't sure what to do. The GI previously said if you have a fever see your primary doctor (who is in another city...).

Please let me know what your doctor advised and what you've done in a similar circumstance. Thank you!

 

[Lisa]

I have had some throats on and off, but don't bother to see the doctor unless I have a temperature, swollen glands, or an obvious sign of strep such as white spots in the throat....

To be on the safe side it may be a good idea to check in with the doctor's office, in time your son should start to recognize what may be something that is an annoyance versus something that should be seen.

 

[Clash]

Same here, as long as there is no fever or obvious sign of infection then we just carry on. If your son is concerned could he just run to the university center clinic? My daughters friend has AS and is on humira and if she's in doubt about a sudden cold or what not she'll drop by the university clinic, get them to do the strep tests, etc before her next injection.

 

[xmdmom]

I told him to call University Health Services and he spoke to the doctor on call (since it is Sunday) who told him to call his GI doctor...

 

[Maya142]

He should definitely see someone in the university health clinic on Monday. With my older daughter (who is away at college) if she has a bad sore throat she calls or emails one of the nurse practitioners who fits her in as soon as possible.

It's a good idea for someone in the clinic to know his situation - I have found that they're very accommodating with my daughter, they let her come during appointment times instead of walk-in hours because they say there are too many sick kids and germs in the waiting room during walk-in hours. We met the medical director of the clinic before school started and explained the situation to her and it's really nice to know that there is someone watching out for her.

 

[Clash]

I was going to say the same. Before she made the clinic aware of her illness she would get a lot of "call your specialist". But once she came in and spoke with them and made them aware with a letter from her rheumatologist they would get her in to ensure no flu, strep, or infection so she could get her humira injections in a timely manner.

 

[Tesscorm]

Similar to abv - GI told S any fever or coloured phlegm, see a dr to rule out infection.

As for university clinics, S's clinic 'should' hv been aware of his dx since I sent th a letter from his GI when he started school. However, last year, he had a bad sore throat and thot he had a fever, he went to the walk-in and they told him they were too full to take more patients. I called the clinic, asked to speak to the supervisor and explained that, being on remicade, he needed to be seen today. Once they actually looked at his file, they were very accommodating and saw him right away. Turned out he had strep.

We all hate being 'helicopter' parents but, the reality is, our kids (even at 20ish) aren't always given the acknowledgement/respect they should rcv.