Scarlet fever

During the physical exam, your health care provider will:

Look at the condition of your child's throat, tonsils and tongue

Feel your child's neck to determine if lymph nodes are enlarged

Assess the appearance and texture of the rash

Throat swab

If your health care provider suspects strep is the cause of your child's illness, your provider will swab the tonsils and back of your child's throat to collect material that may have the strep bacteria.

A rapid strep test can identify the bacteria quickly, usually during your child's appointment. If the rapid test is negative, but your health care provider still thinks strep bacteria is the cause of your child's illness, a strep throat culture can be done. It can take longer to get the results of this test.

Tests for the strep bacteria are important because a number of conditions can cause the signs and symptoms of scarlet fever, and these illnesses may require different treatments. If there are no strep bacteria, then some other factor is causing the illness.

For scarlet fever, your health care provider will prescribe an antibiotic. Make sure your child takes all of the medication as directed. If your child doesn't follow the treatment guidelines, treatment may not completely eliminate the infection, which can increase your child's risk of developing complications.

Use ibuprofen (Advil, Children's Motrin, others) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) to control the fever and minimize throat pain. Check with your child's health care provider about the right dosage.

Your child can return to school after having taken antibiotics for at least 12 hours and no longer having a fever.