Cippenham mother whose son caught strep A gives advice to other parents

A mother from Cippenham whose child contracted strep A is passing on the details of a 24-hour diagnosis ordeal so that other parents can learn how to identify symptoms and seek appropriate medical advice.

It comes after a Frimley doctor offered advice on how to spot the symptoms and what to do next.

Vina Kaushal Sharma collected her son from an after-school club on Friday, December 2, when she noticed that he ‘wasn’t quite himself.’

“He was very tired and complained of a headache,” she said.

Thinking it may have been COVID-19, the family went home and did a rapid response test that came out negative.

“I then checked his temperature. It was 38.7 [degrees Celsius]. I gave him paracetamol and for the rest of the evening he was very lethargic,” said Mrs Kaushal Sharma.

At 6.15am the next morning, her son had developed a worsening set of symptoms that included a ‘severe headache, shivers and a high fever of 39.5.’

“At this point I knew something wasn't quite right,” Kaushal Sharma said.

Advice from a call to 111 said to contact the family GP and to continue monitoring her son.

But Mrs Kaushal Sharma reported that her son’s temperature was coming back higher, despite giving her son ibuprofen at this stage.

Unsure of what to do next, the mother of two phoned a private GP digital service who advised taking the young lad to A&E as she ‘couldn’t safely assess symptoms online.’

A nurse who triaged Mrs Kaushal Sharma’s son at Wexham Park Hospital explained that there was a long wait ahead of the family but they were not deterred as they felt that something still ‘wasn’t quite right’.

The family were seen at 10.20pm that night by a doctor who praised the family for coming to A&E because the symptoms showed something quite severe.

“When he was doing his observations he said, ‘How long has he had this rash?’ and I jumped from my chair and said ‘That's goosebumps, that's not a rash.’

Mrs Kaushal Sharma’s son's arm with 'goosebumps' which turned out to be a strep A rash - and with 'strawberry tongue', another symptom.

“The doctor went on to tell me that it was scarlet fever and he had developed strep A, too,” said Mrs Kaushal Sharma.

“My heart was racing and I started to feel I'm a bad mum for not knowing the difference between his normal skin and a rash.

“[The doctor] agreed that his temperature was extremely high and that it was his body's way of telling us he's fighting a kind of infection.”

For darker skin, a rash can be hard to spot - the skin may not look red but will have a 'sandpaper' feel.

Further adding to the pressures of this late Saturday evening, Kaushal Sharma's son is allergic to penicillin and amoxicillin.

A prescription of azithromycin was required, which could only be found from a pharmacy following a frantic family-wide search.

Speaking two days after the event, she said in a 'Burnham Village' Facebook discussion group: “Now we are approaching 48 hours of my son being on antibiotics and today he's turned a corner – thankfully.

“I think there are a lot of worse-case-scenarios in the news and it is very frightening to watch and read.”

Mrs Kaushal Sharma’s advice for other parents is: “Please, if your child is unwell, their temperature does not subside with medication and they are not themselves, I urge you to get medical attention. As parents, you know your child best.

“Being Asian and having darker skin, the rash isn't easy to spot. If in doubt, get it checked to be on the safe side.”

Still feeling some shock over the whole situation, Kaushal Sharma said that it was ‘vital’ to share this information with other parents.

“I’m not trying to frighten anyone but I am saying ‘be vigilant’,” she said.

“If your child just has a low-grade fever and snotty nose and no other symptoms, they are likely to have a common cold/viral which is normal for this time of year.”

For more information on what to do if you suspect a case of strep A, visit our guide, What should I do about the rise in strep A cases?