How many episodes of strep throat should a child have in a year before considering removing tonsils? my son has had strep 5 times in a year

Varies: Most would consider 5 episodes, documented with a positive strep test worthy of a consultation with an ENT. Degree of morbidity while ill and other factors must be considered.Some (5%) of kids carry strep year round and do not have positive antibody tests, meaning their illness was viral but they tested + at the time.Tonsil removal does not end strep throats in susceptible kids.

2 or 3 at the least: in the 'old days' we used to withhold tonsillectomy unless children had many antibiotic failures in a row, but based on the age of your child( you didn't tell us the age