My 9 yr old daughter came down with a 104* fever 2 days ago. gave ibuprofen and fever disappeared within hours and hasn't been back. The next morning she got ready for school and started complaining about being itchy. 5 minutes later her whole body swelled up and skin turned red and then the 'splotches' appeared. At first they were only on her legs, buttocks, arms and hands. Gave her Benadryl thinking it was an allergic reaction, which is what her doctor said via phone as well. Swelling, redness and splotches disappeared within hours. Later that afternoon, once the Benadryl wore off, the splotches and swelling came back but not redness. This time the splotches were everywhere except back, chest, neck and face. Benadryl again. This morning she was fine - clear actually. She got dressed and went to school thinking allergy gone. School called and this time the splotches are on her face, neck and everywhere else. Any suggestions???? What is this???
Went to the doctor and found out that she has a virus (blood work was done). It is common but not widely known. In fact there are a lot of kids down with this right now. It starts with a light to mild headache that lasts for 4 or 5 days then a high fever that lasts for 24 hours then the "splotches" start and last for 2 to 4 days. The only time she was contagious is during the fever stage. They aren't sure what causes this little bugger but this is the symptoms for it. Heads up parents! The only thing you can do is treat the symptoms which Benadryl is doing. Heat will cause the splotches to show. We are supposed to keep her comfy and just treat if the itching or swelling gets to be too much. Only thing to watch for is if there is throat swelling.
Take her to the doctors. She probably has one of the childhood diseases--chicken pox, rubella, etc that we usually don't see. He needs to take a look. In the mean time, keep her away from other kids.
Dear K.:
Your daughter had the normal Advil/ibuprofen reaction. Ibuprofen is way to strong for children which has been a secret for years. European countries will not give ibuprofen to children until the age of 18.
The Benadryl does help with the reaction by suppressing the enzyme that helps detox the ibuprofen. This is not a good idea, because the liver is trying to get the drug out of the body.
It usually takes 48 to 72 hours for the drug to detox out of the body and clear the rash. Topical products can only be used to comfort her as long as they do not block or suppress the skin pores.
Hot bathes and showers will speed up the detox, as hot as she can handle.
If you need help with topical products or internal ones she can use, please start a new request for assistance.
Good Luck
S. L.
K.,
First, check your thermometer- make sure the 104 wasn’t a false reading.
If it’s not a bad reading, I STRONGLY suggest you call a doctor. Fevers of 104 is REALY high. When a high fever and a rash occur together, it could turn VERY serious.
Medications are designed to mask symptoms while your body fights the issues, so the symptoms going away does not necessary mean she's ok.
Please seek immediate help. I’m fearful of meningitis, which can be contagious & deadly.
It often presents with a high fever, rash and stiff neck. It’s best you check her out.
Good luck!
R. Magby
I don't know the situation in detail but it might have been the "Fifths Disease." Don't worry, it isn't as bad as it seems...It will all go away like the flu or a cold. But it is contagious.
I would recommend next time to leave the fever alone. It is there as the bodies natural infection fighter. If it last longer than three days, I would then suggest making an infusion (stuff a tea bag or ball packed full) of dried yarrow or elderberry flowers then place it in a pot of boiling tea. Place that "infusion" in a luke-warm bath and have her bathe. It will naturally bring the fever down and help restore the bodies natural immune defense. It has been a miracle "back yard" cure for me and my twin sons for the 9 years of their lives.
Of course, I am not a professional (wish I was) so go see a doctor to be sure...but the advice I offer is safe and will not cause side effects or tax the body. Unless she is allergic to either of the flowers...good luck, I wish her well.
I just read what happened when you went to the doc...so you can ignore my advice or save it for next time!
It could be the '5th disease', could be measles... but the fever first, splotches, itch.... keep her home. Go to the doctor. If they're thinking, they'll have you sit some where other than the waiting room, as you're contagious or should be treated as if you are.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery!!
Hi K.,
When my daughter had a fever that lasted a few days, I took her into the doc. Her doc said that she has seen a lot of people with the same symptoms as my daughter: fever, lethargic, loss of appetite. What she had been seeing was that the symptoms lasted about a week, then a rash appeared as the fever went away. And that's what happened with Alyssa. She got light red splotches all over her body, then was back to normal after another day or so. Good luck!
~J.
i am sure it is cleared by now, but the red spots might have just been the way that a virus manifested itself...this is what happened to my 7 month old a few weeks ago...
Kinda sounds like hives. I've only had them a couple times, but I tend to break out where my body contacted the offending thing. Then they spread to the rest of me. Benedryl is the only thing that has helped me if I have hives, but please check with your doctor again.
I was going to tell you no need to worry, its just a virus, but I see you already went to the dr.
Two out of my four children had this and I too freaked at first, same thing high fever for 2 days then the rash. Same thing major workup on my first when she did this and nothing. The rash will go away and your child will be fine.
If I were to guess, I'd say it's a fever rash. If it doesn't go away in a day then you may want to take her to the doctor. I used to get a rash after having a fever when I was a kid. Mine were generally hundreds of small raised bumps all over my legs, my trunk, neck and arms. It could be that she just has so many of them that they lump together to looks like big splotches. They should just go away if that's what it is
How are her eyes? Any redness there? Has her skin started to peel? My daughter had Kawasaki's disease earlier this year and it started similar to that but with red eyes as well. Just something to consider. Good luck.
huh.
One of my kids had a similar reaction this summer that was pretty clearly an allergic-type reaction--same deal went down with Benadryl, came back a couple of times.
As far as I could eventually figure out, it was an inflammatory response that I accidentally made worse by tossing him in a hot shower (thought there was a topical skin irritation to wash off, forgot that hot showers aren't so great when you've already got inflammation), triggering the body to repeat the state it was in ...
(I do use hot showers to help the kids' fevers, though, so who knows.)
Anyhow, look into the meningitis thing for sure. The ibuprophin advice was interesting and jives with my personal distrust of that medicine since I had kids (just one of those instinctual/energy things). If your daughter generally copes with immune responses well, then what happened to my son is probably not her problem (body misprogrammed easily : P ). If you have always suppressed her fevers with medicine, her body may not have all its coping mechanisms in place for inflammation, and the shift in symptoms may be just that--a shift, as she (her body) tries to finish responding to whatever was the original trigger.
(Because my son has a history that makes me cautious about his body-learning, once the children's Benadryl didn't work, our naturopath prescribed a low-level internal steroid to suppress the faulty hiving for enough days that the body would 'forget' to keep up that pattern. Next summer we'll see if the same set of circumstances sets him off again--but I don't think it will, because he's growing in his development quickly and well now.)
God bless with your daughter!
My oldest son had a similar reaction (though it continued to get worse and worse over the course of 3 - 4 days and then took almost 2 months to completely get rid of). For him, it was an allergic reaction to penicillin.
My guess is that it is an allergic reaction to something that she's continually being exposed to, which would explain why it's coming and going like that. The fact that the Benedryl helped also suggests that it's an allergic reaction to something. (I'm not a doctor though, so this is just a guess based off of my experience.) I do know that allergies can suddenly arise that were not there before at any time in life. Often that happens when something else occurs in the body and throws things off balance enough to change the body chemistry. It could be anything from something environmental, to something that's on the skin (body soap, laundry soap, lotion), to something she's eating, or possibly a medication/supplement she's taking(?).
I suggest going to an allergist and getting some tests done asap. NW Allergy & Asthma is often recommended for these things, though there are different kinds of tests (not available at NWA&A) that show things that people are sensitive to (not necessarily allergic), that still cause reactions, that "allergy" test don't show a positive for. (We got these test done through our Naturopath.)
I hope you figure it out soon. It's definitely a scary thing with something so unknown happens to your child. I wish you all the best!!
**********************
Ah, just read your "What Happened". I'm glad you took her to the doctor and got it all figured out! Thanks for the heads up. It's always good to know what to look out for.
Might be roseola. My son had this when he was 1. check online to see if it is.
N.
Wellness Coach
