This past weekend my future SIL and BIL took my son (Who is almost 20 months) camping with them and their 4 children so my fiance and I could go to my aunt's visitation and funeral without the added stress of a toddler running around. My SIL uses a bug replant/sun screen combination that is safe for toddlers. She used this stuff on my son, all 4 of her kids, herself, and her husband. She said that Friday night, all day Saturday, and Saturday night he looked fine. No mosquito bites. When they went to bed all of them were all still covered with the bug repellent. She says that she was very vigilant about keeping the tent closed during the day so the minimal amount of bugs got in there, and she says that when they went to bed she didn't notice any mosquitoes or bugs in the tent. They were all sleeping in the same tent, and my son was on the air mattress with my SIL and BIL. When they woke up, my son was COVERED in what looks to be mosquito bites. His arms and legs have at least 20-25 per arm/leg. His poor feet are a little swollen. No bites on his tummy or back. However, his face and neck has more bites than his arms/legs combined! No one else in the tent got bit! Not even one mosquito bite! My SIL and BIL feel HORRIBLE.
Anyways, I thought it was pretty weird from the get-go for these to be bug bites. They all look like mosquito bites, with a white head and a red rash surrounding each one. Then last night I went to go put lotion on him to help with the itching and a few on his leg were oozing a clear liquid. My fiance says that is normal, but I have never had a bug bite leak liquid so I am obviously a bit concerned. The nurse that I spoke with over the phone couldn't tell for sure if it was mosquito bites or something else.
I have a job interview for a nanny position later this afternoon and my son is supposed to come along (And I don't really have anyone else that can watch him). The woman I am having the interview with has an infant in her home. If these marks are actually chicken pox or some other kind of infection, I definitely don't want my son to pass it along to her infant.
I made a doctor appointment for my son about 2 hours before the interview. I want a doctor to tell me that these are just mosquito bites before I risk bringing him near an infant. My fiance thinks that I am way overreacting by bringing him to the doctor. I have to admit that if I didn't have this job interview today, I would probably agree with him... But I do, so I don't.
What do you think?
And the final diagnoses is... Hand, foot, and mouth disease! I have no idea where he got it from (He's not in daycare and the only kids he has been around lately (My nieces and nephews) aren't showing any signs (Or at least they weren't before this weekend).
I'm so glad I took him in!
You are right to take him to the doctor. The doctor may tell you it's a normal bug bite and not an issue....no harm, no foul. The doctor may tell you it's an infection, in which case you've protected an infant who could be seriously harmed if he caught it. There is no downside to taking the kid to the doctor except the possible cost of the visit, which is worth the peace of mind.
Last time my husband said I was over reacting, my son was hospitalized with pneumonia.
When there is puss oozing out always take kids in.
Sounds like mosquito bites to me. But a Dr can give you some prescription strength hydrocortizine cream. I'd mostly be worried about infection.
I think you are doing the right thing. Hope they are just mosquito bites. Better safe than sorry. Hope your son is fine and all the best for your interview.
You are right, your Fiance is not.
AND, there is no way to diagnose this, until you take your child to the Doctor.
Mosquito bites, do not look like that... with a white head and a red rash surrounding it. That is not, typical Mosquito bite appearance. So my "guess" is, is that is it NOT Mosquito bites.
PLUS your child's feet are/were swollen.
Or he has an allergy to some kind of bug bite.
Geez, why is your Fiance so cavalier about it?
This is a Doctor situation.
It is.
So yes, TAKE your child to the Doctor.
Im glad your taking him in just to be safe, I hope your right and it is just bug bites.
I have two kids who are allergic to mosquito bites and it sounds like what their bites look like after a couple of days. They get bigger with time and more red and swollen and actually get kinda a red ring around them. Then they get a head on them and will ooze clear fluid out of them.. all of them. It looks horrible and I feel so bad when they get bit up no matter how hard I try to keep them off of my kids.
Dr definitely.........it doesnt sound like bug bites to me to be honest......hope he is ok.
Take him to the doctor, just to be on the safe side. You're not overreacting at all!
No opinion on what the bites could be, but I do think you're an uncommonly kind, gracious, lovely person for not seeming to have any anger or resentment toward your BIL and SIL.
You are not over-reacting. That is what i think. : )
Good luck!
You are doing the right thing. Thats ALOT of bug bites. I am also wondering if its an alergic reaction to the spray or something. It cant hurt to have him checked out. This way you will know for sure how to best treat your son, and good for you for thinking of the safety of the family you are interviewing with. :0)
taking him is good. could it be a reaction to the repellant? hives? it's not like it will hurt taking him and then it looks good to a future boss that you were thinking of her baby
If you were in Texas, I would say they sound like fire ant bites... but.. no fire ants in Minnesota!
I agree..... you do need to find out what this is.
As a funny/interesting story, I was just starting a new position in the school district... and it was going to be my first day on the job..... as I was getting my son ready for Kindergarten, one of my older daughters said... "Wow, Nick sure has a lot of fire ant bites on his back!" I took a look... and he had broken out in Chicken Pox! (This was before the vaccination was available.) I didn't even know how to call in sick that day. Fortunately, hubby was able to take the day off, and I made arrangements for hubby and I to take turns watching him.
Are you sure it is not chicken pox?
I'd have the doctor check it out.
Could be bug bites or chicken pox, or poison ivy or a reaction to the bug repellant.
Allergies can pop up anytime.
I'd want to know the best way to treat it and how to help him be comfortable.
You may have to cancel your interview, but I'm sure the person will be grateful to not have her child exposed.
V.:
No you are not over reacting. he may have chicken pox as well. I'd take him in.
If no one else has the "bites" - it may very well be chicken pox or a strain of chicken pox.
It could also be an allergic reaction to the bug spray or something else. Take him to the doctor, I think your instincts are right on this.
I don't think you're over reacting because you don't know what they are. My first thought was sand fleas, but then you described them as having white head and oozing puss - that sounds like chicken pox to me!
Take him to the doctor so you can be sure. If it is chicken pox, even if you find a sitter you shouldn't go to the interview because you may bring the virus with you and infect the infant.
Well chicken pox is more than just the spots, fever is also involved.
Now my first thought is poison ivy or ants .
I would take him in.
I'd also give him an oatmeal bath.
I agree with all the advice below. I would go to a dr. to have it checked out.
Best of Luck, Jilly
Isn't it always "better safe than sorry" with our kids? I would never consider NOT going to the doctor with what you're describing. It sounds like an allergic reaction or chicken pox, or maybe even a staph infection, which could be really nasty. Either way, your son needs to be seen and maybe needs meds.
You are right, your fiance is wrong.
Glad you went! Poor little guy, I hope he's back to normal soon!
It doesn't sound like anything contagious to me. Sounds like he got eaten up by mosquitos though. I would take him in to the doctor anyway, just to see if there is anything they can do/prescribe to help him be more comfortable. That is a LOT of mosquito bites.
No bites on tummy or back means that it isn't a "disease"... or he would have them there too. Those areas were likely covered better so he didn't get bites there.
my vote is chicken pox, allergic reaction, or poison ivy/oak.
I think you know, deep in your heart, that it's not mosquito bites. :)
I am very familiar w/ mosquito bites. This does not sound like mosquito bites; they don't have a white head to them or rash surrounding them. I would definitely take him into the doctor.
If it was one or two bug bites, but what you described is a lot! I would take him in too. Good luck!
HTH,
A.
Are you sure they are mosquito/gnat bites? He could be allergic to the sunscreen and bug repellents they used on him, and they could be hives.
I was at a water park once with my daughter and a friend and her son. We forgot to bring our sunscreen, so my daughter and I elected to borrow the sunscreen our friend was using, which was a spray-on. I also suffer from cold hives, and the day we were at the waterpark was cool, overcast, and sometimes, downright chilly.
Within half an hour to an hour, my body was covered with huge, huge hives, some as big as small plates. I had to quickly scrape together some change so that I could buy some Claritin at the Waterpark store. To this day, I have no way of knowing if the hives were from the sunscreen or from the cold; I suspect it was the two of them together. I had to get dressed and couldn't do anymore swimming for the day.
Ah! Now I saw your What Happened section: hand, foot, and mouth disease, huh? (The leaking fluid could also be if he is allergic to mosquito and gnat bites, like my daughter is; if he scratched enough, the bites would ooze pus/clear liquid.). Glad to know you figured out the problem.
this sounds like chicken pox to me. I would take him and get him checked out.
I've never had a mosquito bite ooze anything.
Sounds like chicken pox to me. It also sounds similar to an infection I got once after sitting in a hot tub :(
I'd take him in before exposing him to the infant, just to be on the safe side.
I would go. If it is chicken pox you seriously need to stay at home, as does hubby. If either of you come into contact with a pregnant woman who has not had them or the vaccine it could be passed on to her fetus. Chicken Pox are not a simple childhood illness, they have actually killed people.
I would have had him there first thing this morning walked in.
It is an airborne virus so he could have gotten it anywhere really. This nasty virus is making the rounds! So glad you took him to the dr and didn't take him near the infant.
Did you get the job??
I would take him in just to be sure. If it was chicken pox though, it would be on his tummy and back too, not just his arms, legs and face like you said. Could it maybe be an allergic reaction to the bug spray? Did she spray it on his tummy too? If he only has a reaction to where she put it on him, then it could just be an allergy. My daughter is allergic to banana boat sunscreen and I am allergic to coppertone. My daughter had a reaction that sounds like your son's. I will say though that when I get mosquito bites, they do sometimes ooze stuff. So, it's good that your going to get it checked out. I hope he feels better soon!
Chicken pox usually starts on tummy and back. Could maybe be spider bites, One night i got several bites in a tent, and later saw a spider, didnt bite anyone else. spiders are not flying around like mosquitos. I would give him Children's Benedryl or Zrytec and see if it improved.
Mosquito bites are an allergic reaction. Two of my kids react significantly worse to bug bites than the rest of the population--my oldest has scabs and welts from his bug bites. We finally took him to the doctor one summer when his hand doubled in size. She suggested children's Claritin, which we give him when he has a zillion bug bites, because it provokes a systemic response, making him crabby and irritable. Anyway--it seems odd to me that he would be the only one covered in bug bites. I have had mosquito bites ooze liquid, but not always. I would be concerned about why he got so bit, and, if he's reacting a bit more than normal kids, what you can do about it, given that he's 20 months (my daughter, who is 17 months, had bad allergies and my doc was reluctant to prescribe anything for her that young).
My first thought when reading this was hives. My son had a full body breakout and it looked like he was covered in mosquito bites. If they are oozing, I am going to say chicken pox.
Good job taking him in! I would have called his ped the day I got him back. Nothing sounds ok or normal about this situation. A doctor was MORE than warranted. Good mommy instincts.
They do not sound like any mosquito bites I have ever dealt with...the oozing pus made me think chicken pox. (has he has the vaccine for that?? or do they give that one after 20 months??)
Does he have a fever is he tired and worn down? Do they itch?
Please let us know in the What Happened!!
Yes, take him in. I get bitten even when everyone around me thinks there are no bugs, but those don't sound like bug bites to me. Poor little guy! I hope you get your answer, and he gets some relief, soon.
PS- thank you for being so conscientious about the infant. Sometimes its hard to see beyond own kids' best interests, and you are really seeing the bigger picture here, while taking care of your son. Thanks for being so caring.
Good for you for going with your instincts! That also shows good judgement in a potential nanny. I hope the family was understanding.
If you could look up webmed or mayo clinic site they show pictures of rashes and bites and you might be able to tell what it is but the doctor is the best judge of something like this. Take him in and always listen to your maternal instinct on something like this and don't feel bad even if it's 'nothing' after the doctor checks him.
Yeah, I would take him in. This happened to me when I was a kid. Came home from Missouri thinking I had a ton of bug bites...nope, I had chicken pox!
