Sunday, November 2, 2008

We're seeing spots

My 5yo is sick. :(  He has a high fever and now a rash.  Poor little guy is so miserable.  Here are some pictures of his rash.

Last night as the rash began to spread


Stomach last night



This morning



His stomach this morning



His back this morning

Anyone have kids that had spots like this?  We're guessing it's one of the many viral rashes you can get.  It doesn't fit any of the "known" rashes in it's presentation.  He still has high fevers, it's itchy (but not miserably itchy), he has no spots in his mouth, but there are some on his palms and soles today. 

Wouldn't you know we went to the Peds yesterday morning to rule out strep (neg on the rapid and we'll hear about the culture tomorrow).  Too bad the rash hadn't manifested at that point.

Being pregnant, hubby wants me to stay away from him as much as possible.  We're praying that tomorrow, when he goes back to work, our little guy will begin to show signs of getting better.

13 comments:

muslimokie said...

Thats terrible do you have one of those cool symptom dictionaries?

Could it be Fith Disease?

Healthwise Handbook: A Self Care Guide for You (13th edition) says "Another common childhood illness that causes a rash is erythema infectionsum, or 'fith disease.' The main symptom is a red rash on face that looks like slapped cheeks, and a lacy pink rash on the backs of legs and arms, torso, and buttocks. There may be a low fever. The rash may come and go for several weeks in responce to changes in temprature and sunlight.

This illness is most contagious the week beofre the rash appears. Once the rash has developed, the child is no longer contagious.

Home treatment for fith disease is simply to keep the child comfortable and watch for signs that a more serious illness is present (fever ove 102* F; child seems sick).

Fifth disease is harmless in children, but poses a slight risk to developing fetuses. Pregnant women should avoid exposure is possible. If you are pregnant and are exposed to a child with fifth disease, or if you develop a fifth disease-like rash, contact your obstetrician."

Or is it measles? fever, runny nose, hacking cough, reddend eyes, spotty red rash (that symptom is a yes for sure) on entire body did he get a MMR vaccine?

Jen Unsell said...

Those pictures sent chills down my spine. Poor little guy. That must be miserable!

LeslieN said...

Poor little guy!!! I have no ideas on what it is, but am praying you will find out quickly and that it will heal quickly too!


Love and hugs,

Leslie

bearsmom said...

I really pray your little guy is well real soon.

Sally/diamondsintherough said...

Hi Linda, my daughter had something that looked identical to this. Your first commenter hit it, I think. Our doctor diagnosed Alison with "erythema multiforma", which sounds like a broader diagnosis than the one above. Same thing -- fever, spots, itchy but not terrible. I can't remember how long it lasted, but it was harmless. Hope your little guy is back to normal soon.

Sally

Anonymous said...

These rashes are the strangest things. I first had one exactly like this at the age of 8. The dr. told my mom it was fifths disease. However, my understanding is that once you get it, you are immune to it. Well, not in my case...so it is very possible it was not fifths at all. I am now 38 and I still get it. The strange thing is it only appears when I am going to be full-blown sick with some type of infection. If I just have a plain cold, it does not appear. In my case, it starts like a heat rash like under the arms, around my waist and the inside crease of my elbows. Within about 24 to 48 hours (especially overnight) it will peak from my neck down to my feet. Rarely do I see any on my face. Once it peaks, it will disappear within another 24 hours. It is at that point that I usually start feeling better. The best diagnosis any doctor has given me is that it is my body's way of fighting infection and I get the added bonus of having a visual indicator of what's to come. Mine does get mildly itchy at times but not always. I have taken Benadryl but it really doesn't make it go away any faster but does help when it becomes itchy.

Good luck, hopefully you won't have to deal with it again.

Anonymous said...

My daughter currently has "Slap Cheek" or "Fifths Disease" as well, and it looks just like this. I am ALSO pregnant, and have advised my midwife. It shouldn't be a worry for the fetus, but keep an eye on it. Hope it gets better soon!

Anonymous said...

My name is Kristin. I was googling rashes as my almost 3 yr old woke up with one on his abdomen. It looks exactly like your son's did in the beginning. I was wondering what the dr finally said it was. Seeing that today is Saturday and the dr's doesn't open until Monday, I am hoping that I may be able to somewhat diagnose it and treat him. If you want, you can email me at jkcl04@aol.com and let me know. I so appreciate this. Thanks.

Kristin D.

Starlady said...

I'm commenting on this blog post, many months later, since I'm getting an incredible amount of traffic based on this picture. I did mention what he had in a later blog post, but if you came to my blog through just this picture, you'd never know.


He was diagnosed w/ Valley Fever w/ pneumonia. His rash and symptoms were "textbook". He took some anti-fungal medication for a couple of months and, as of Feb., received a clean bill of health from his pulmonologist.


Hope the rest of you searching for childhood rashes have as good of an outcome as we did w/ our guy.

Starlady said...

I'm commenting on this blog post, many months later, since I'm getting an incredible amount of traffic based on this picture. I did mention what he had in a later blog post, but if you came to my blog through just this picture, you'd never know.


He was diagnosed w/ Valley Fever w/ pneumonia. His rash and symptoms were "textbook". He took some anti-fungal medication for a couple of months and, as of Feb., received a clean bill of health from his pulmonologist.


Hope the rest of you searching for childhood rashes have as good of an outcome as we did w/ our guy.

Stephanie said...

if he has a high spiking fever, and the rash changes daily it could be STILLS DISEASE. or Systemic on set JRA, please ask your doctor about this, its a rare disease and often goes un diagnosed! it took our doctors over a year to figure out that this is what my daughter has, her rash was identical!


email me if you ahve any questions, my name is stephanie.

ianswife@gmail.com

Stephanie said...

I forgot to mention that we had many wrong diagnisis, stills disease often retreats. It can show no symtoms for months, before returning. Never hurts to do a little reading.

Mom of 2 toddlers said...

I have two boys. One just turned 3 recently and the other will be 2 in a couple weeks. Last week they both got the standard flu shot (Not the H1N1) and they both developed this rash. They have both had this several times in the past. The 2 pediatricians told me its just a viral rash and not to worry. They both said if they have no temperature and if they are playing as usual its not a problem. So far, its always gone away on its own within a couple weeks. Don't worry. Its nothing. If he's anything like my boys, he will get more to come. By the way, does he have any food allergies? My oldest has a severe peanut allergy along with a mild allergy to milk, wheat and corn and a moderate allergy to soy and sesame. He is also highly allergic to cats and grass.