Rheumatic fever

How rheumatic fever is treated

If you or your child are diagnosed with rheumatic fever, you'll have treatment to relieve the symptoms and control inflammation.

You may need:

• antibiotics
• painkillers – given as tablets, capsules or a liquid you drink
• steroids – if your pain is severe
• medicines to treat severe jerky, uncontrollable movements

Getting plenty of bed rest will also help with your recovery.

Ongoing treatment for rheumatic fever

If you've had rheumatic fever once, it's more likely to come back, so make sure to get sore throats treated early.

You may also have to take antibiotics for several years to help stop it returning.

It's less likely that it will come back if it's been 5 years since you last had an episode. The younger you are, the more likely it is that rheumatic fever will come back.

It can also cause permanent damage to your heart (rheumatic heart disease). This can take years to show up, so you may need regular check-ups and further treatment when you're older.

Always ask a doctor what ongoing treatment you may need.

Symptoms of rheumatic fever

Symptoms of rheumatic fever usually appear 1 to 5 weeks after you've had a bacterial throat infection.

They can include:

• a high temperature
• pain and swelling in your joints (arthritis), usually ankles, knees, wrists or elbows – your joints may also look red, although this may be less obvious on brown or black skin
• pain in your chest, breathlessness and a fast heart rate
• jerky, uncontrollable movements in your hands, feet and face
• tiny bumps under your skin
• pale-red patches on your arms and tummy (abdomen) – these may be harder to see on brown or black skin

Causes of rheumatic fever

Rheumatic fever happens after a bacterial throat or skin infection. Most people who have an infection will not get rheumatic fever.

It's not caused by the bacteria itself but by your immune system fighting off the infection and attacking the healthy tissue instead.

It's not known why your immune system can suddenly stop working properly. But your genes may make it more likely that you'll get rheumatic fever.