Fifth Disease

David woke up this morning with red cheeks.  I know he did not get a sunburn yesterday, so this was odd.  I questioned him if he had eaten anything before I woke up.  "No."  And I asked if he had touched anything strange (i.e. cleaning products, etc.).  "No."  I was concerned maybe he was having an allergic reaction to something, or if he got a chemical on him.  Now, just so we're clear--all of the chemicals are on the highest shelf in the farthest room, with the exception of Windex which is kid-locked under the sink.  But hey, sometimes a soap can cause an allergic reaction.  Regardless--his answers were "no."

His cheeks became more red when we were outside.  The phrase "slapped cheek appearance" popped into my head.  I remembered that phrase from a book.  Then I remembered my cousin telling me years ago that her son got Fifth Disease, which causes a rash.

I pulled out What to Expect the Toddler Years.  Sure enough, The symptoms (so far) matched the fifth disease description exactly.  "Slapped cheek appearance."  found the phrase that I had read a couple years beforehand.  I guess it usually "strikes" kids his age, usually in the spring.  There may be a fever or joint paint, but the "disease" (such an ugly word) is not serious.  No treatment is needed unless the child responds badly to the illness, which is almost always only those with auto-immune deficiencies or auto-immune disease.

The 2nd day the rash usually shows up on the back of the legs.  So I guess I should know for sure tomorrow if my assumption is correct.

I called the pediatrician and told him what I thought then asked how contagious it is.  He said that once the rash appears, the child is no longer contagious.  oh, good!  Tomorrow is Father's Day and we are suppose to be around my nieces and nephews.  It is contagious before hand, so they were probably exposed to it when we all went to the Splash Pad a few days ago.

My next question for the doctor...  Our church is putting on a VBS Soccer Camp this week.  It will be his first year, and he is pumped for it.  "Can he attend soccer camp?"  "Yes, that's fine."  Yay!  So glad I didn't have to break that little boy's heart!  

Obviously, if the rash is different tomorrow or different symptoms occur, all previous exultations are null and void, and we will be seeing the doctor.