St. Vitus Dance- My son a sufferer.

Many things come to mind when you here the name St. Vitus Dance..
A medieval dancing mania, a song by Black Sabbath,a Christian saint.
It is an old term replaced by a new one for the same illness.
St. Vitus Dance, is now known as Sydenham's Chorea.
en.wikipedia.org...

Frequently children get ill with a cold or flu or some other illness going around.
Strep throat is no exception.
Although common and easily treatable with antibiotics..left UNTREATED, it has dire consequences.

St. Vitus' dance, is a disorder that occurs in children and is associated with rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever is an acute infectious disease caused by certain types of streptococci bacteria. It usually starts with strep throat or tonsillitis. These types of streptococci are able to cause disease throughout the body. The most serious damage caused by rheumatic fever is to the valves in the heart. At one time, rheumatic fever was the most common cause of damaged heart valves, and it still is in most developing countries around the world. Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease are still present in the industrialized countries, but the incidence has dropped substantially.

arthritis-symptom.com...

The incidence of Sydenham's chorea is rare, but can be devastating to a child and family for months or years.

This little girl walks just like my son did, after being bedridden for over a month...

It's like walking your best buddy home after closing the bar at 2am...
This boy mimics the movements while laying down.


Iam posting this because I want other parents to be aware of how dangerous Strep A can be. My son went undiagnosed because he never had strep throat, it affected his tongue instead which is so rare nobody but infectious disease experts at a special hospital for children were able to identify it.
My son will be on penicillin till he is 20 years old...and he is only 9.
He has a neurologist and cardiologist that must monitor him the rest of his childhood.
Another bad case of strep throat could attack his heart and damage it or worse.
I just spent the past 2 1/2 months looking after my 9 year old boy, who had the capabilities of an infant. I fed him, bathed him, carried him to the washroom, carried him up 2 flights of stairs daily. Held him while he cried out of frustration, and kept my tears back so he didn't see me upset.
I don't wish my nightmare on anyone.
Right now, he walks unaided...and I let my tears of joy show that day. He can dress himself, feed himself, and is up to about 70 % what he was.
But long term...
He now has some obsessive compulsive tendencies...and his behavior is still more childlike than previously.
Strep A is a very common thing...and very dangerous.
en.wikipedia.org...
Usually, Iam the mom who preaches against main stream medicine...give me a naturopathic cure any day....not this time.
If you even SUSPECT your child has strep throat, get them tested IMMEDIATELY.
A simple course of penicillin for 10 days could have prevented what happened to my son had he been diagnosed right away.

My feelings are with you and your family. I hope he will get better soon.

Very interesting by them way. I've never heard of this disease before. Thank you for sharing this with us.

In a way your son is lucky, not every kid has a great mom like you to care for them.
I really think you're a great mom.


I wish you all the best. Take care.

~ Sinter

First Id like to say that your obviously a great mom, and I'm glad to hear that he is a bit better, so keep up the good work, sometimes a mom just needs to hear that she's doing her best, it can go a long way.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Its something that I will share with other parents as well.

Take care, and keep your head high.

Peace to you...

Actually..the only words I wished to hear were..
"Just a case of strep throat...give him penicillin for ten days and he'll be right as rain."

Thank you so much for your post. My heart goes out to you and your family. I have twin boys - one who would always get strep throat, one who rarely got it. We found out that the one who didn't always get it was a carrier. We had his tonsils taken out, and the doctor said that the BACK of his tonsils were incredibly infected. He had never shown any symptoms, and because the infection was behind the tonsils, the doctor never caught it.

After his tonsils were taken out, neither child has had strep throat. So, if you have a similar situation at your home - one child constantly having it, and one child not so much - might want to check it out.

~Lollie~