Monday, April 2, 2012

G's got Scarlet Fever.

For the past 19 months, G has been the picture of health.  Aside from a cold or two and a diaper rash here and there, we've been pretty lucky in the illness department.  ((knocking on wood)) I attribute Grace's good health to up to date vaccinations and her OCD Mama, but Saturday night - we got our first real scare.  

Grace has had a rash for the past few weeks, starting in her diaper area and gradually spreading to her back/legs/chest.  I took her to her pediatrician a day or two after the rash presented itself and was told it was viral and to wait it out.  Over the next 10 days, it got a little better and what rash remained didn't seem to trouble her too much.  We assumed she was on the mend. 

Saturday, after a grueling 12 hour workday,  I arrived home to a seriously broken out little girl.  A sand-papery rash covered Grace's entire back and stomach and had moved onto her face. She was running around as usual and wasn't showing any other symptoms.  Her neck and back were red and her face was pretty startling too.  Ryan had to work that evening, so Grace and I were on our own.  We headed to my parents house and were met with a pair of very concerned grandparents.  At first I was hesitant to take Grace in, assuming that it wasn't anything serious, but after a brief Google session it became clear that Grace's rash looked a lot like Scarlet Fever.  In the moment, I didn't think to take a picture of what G's rash looked like - but here's the image that sent us on our way.


  At 9:30pm, we were off.  Pop, Grace and I headed to urgent care. 

The wait was brief and Grace was cheerful.  Every person that came in or out of the waiting room was greeted with a red faced smile and a jovial "Hi!".  By the time it was our turn, Grace knew she was in for it.  Grace HATES the doctor lately, and this visit was no exception.  After a thorough examination and a strep screen, we were on our way with Penicillin on tap for the next 10 days.  

Grace is doing great and is already improving after only 4 days of medication.  Grace's symptoms were not those of the classic strep throat presentation.  She had no fever and there was no indication of any throat infection.  We think that G's diaper rash progressed into Impetigo, a skin strep infection, ultimately leading to Scarlet Fever.  

As I said, Grace seems no worse for the wear.  Our little girl is a trooper and we're so happy we caught this before it got worse.  Looking forward to a nice Easter weekend, scarlet fever free. :) 
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3 comments:

  1. I had Scarlet Fever when I was a kid...our whole family had to be quarantined! Things sure have changed! Glad Grace is getting better. It is so scary when they get sick!
    ~Linda :)

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  2. Oh no! I hope she is feeling/looking better. It probably sounds naive but I didn't even know scarlet fever was around anymore.

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  3. Mallory, that makes two of us. The first thing I thought of when we discovered it was "OH NO! That's what the girl in Little Women died from!!". Turns out, it's still around, but a whole lot less serious now that we have Penicillin readily available!

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