Holy Roseola!

Though we did get over 2 feet of snow dumped on us this weekend, we’ll wait until the next post to showcase the “snowmageddon” pictures. It seems like every other post we do these days is about illness in the household. The culprit this time- roseola. Apparently, most children get this lovely virus by the time they’re 2 years old. It is highly contagious and spreads just like a cold. Gotta love those daycare germs!

So on Wednesday night, after his post-daycare nap, I picked Curly up from his crib and noticed that he was burning up. His temperature was just over 103. This was the first time he’s ever had such a  fever. We promptly administered ibuprofin and monitored his behavior. He wasn’t acting any differently than normal- still playful and smiling. Drank a decent amount of his bottle, but not the whole thing. We took his temperature again an hour later and it had dropped 2 degrees. Since it was responding to the medicine and there were no other symptoms to worry about, we put him to bed and he slept through the night. In the morning, his temperature was just above 99. He drank his whole bottle and seemed fine. We gave him another dose of ibuprofin and brought him to daycare.

Picked him up from daycare and he had no temperature. The daycare providers had no concerns with him throughout the day. So we considered the fever just one of those strange things. Until his bath later that night. We noticed tiny pink spots on his chest. They were so light that we didn’t know if it was because he had been sleeping on his tummy or what (he’s got such a light complexion that red marks are common regardless of the cause). He again slept through the night. The next morning, those pink dots had crept up to his face and covered his torso. The mommies freaked out.

Click the link below for more of the story and pictures. Be warned- the rash is quite graphic and shocking, but we thought it would be helpful for other parents to see…

Curly on Friday morning:

Because of the impending snowstorm, my work was canceled on Friday. If it hadn’t been, I would’ve taken off for Curly’s sake. He was now acting cranky, had much less of an appetite, and of course, was Spotty McSpotterson. He ran a slight fever, hovering around 99/100. Our research efforts led us to believe that it was roseola- characterized by a sudden high-spiking fever, and then when the fever breaks, a massive viral body rash that does not itch and is not painful, just looks awful.

And man, awful was just the tip of the iceberg.

Curly on Saturday:

The spots were everywhere- from his earlobes down to his toes. In many places, they coalesced into big red patches. We had to try and force-feed him his bottles and were lucky if he would take 19 or 20 ounces of formula (he usually takes 28). He would awaken in the night crying because he was hungry, but he’d drink only enough to abate the hunger and then refuse any more. We had 2 nights like that before things started to improve.

By Sunday, the rash had moved down to his legs and was mostly gone from his upper body.

And today he is almost all better. Much better appetite for formula and solids, and the rash is nearly gone from his legs now.

Eating breakfast this morning:

So that was the roseola ordeal. Scary, but it ran its course and he should have immunity from getting it again. Now can he please stay healthy for the rest of the month??