[thedoc (OP)]

WIM asked the Naked Scientists:
   
I had rheumatic fever of the heart and had to take penicillin for 8 years.

A.Is there more kinds of rheumatic fever?

B.How could I have got this ?

What do you think?

[wolfekeeper]

Rheumatic fever is an infection of the heart by a family of bacteria called streptococcus.

You can get it in many ways, but dental infection is one of the ways, the bacteria can get past the teeth and into the bloodstream and then reaches the heart.

Some types of streptococcus bacteria are normally found in the mouth anyway, it's one of the bacteria that causes tooth decay. There are many different types and strains of streptococcus though.

[cheryl j]

Its usually from an untreated case of strep throat. Its caused by the bacteria Strep pyogenes aka Group A strep.

[leojoshrun]

Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease, if streptococcus infects heart then the we get rheumatic fever. It is caused by antibody cross reactivity.

Leo

[gretchenhill]

 Rheumatism or rheumatic dysfunction is a non-specific expression for health problems disturbing the joint parts as well as connective muscle. The research of, as well as restorative interventions in, these kinds of issues is known as rheumatology. The expression rheumatism remains employed in colloquial dialogue as well as traditional contexts, however may not be widely used in healthcare or even specialized books; there is no longer any specific identified problem merely referred to as rheumatism.

The standard expression deals with these kinds of a variety of various issues that to ascribe signs and symptoms to rheumatism is not to say too much. However, sources working with rheumatism are likely to concentrate on joint disease. Nevertheless, non-articular rheumatism, also referred to as local discomfort disorder or soft muscle rheumatism, could cause considerable pain as well as problems.

Moreover, arthritis and rheumatism between these cover up at the least two hundred distinct situations. The phrase "Rheumatic Diseases" is employed in MeSH to denote connective muscle diseases. Palindromic rheumatism had been theorized to be a kind of rheumatoid arthritis.
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