Red Blotches and Rashes on My Child's Face and on His Upper Torso

S.,

Hi it could be strep. my kids now 22 and 18 would get rashes after they had fever and I know that strep can cause a rsh. Also there's a virus called fifths disease which produces a red rash on the face and also on the body, but strep can definitely cause a rash.

L.

I was shocked to learn that strep throat causes toddlers to vomit. But low and behold both my kids threw up and both tested positive for strep. Lesson learned.

Sounds like fifth disease to me. My daughter had it a few years ago.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/skin/fifth.html

If you can't get him in to see the pediatrician I would find another one. To me this sounds like Scarlet Fever, which produces a rash on the torso like that. I had this as a child after a bout of untreated strep throat, which is often how kids get it. My pediatrician would not see me because there was a cold going around that gave kids a sore throat so the doctor did not believe my mom that I had strep. So a few weeks later I came down with Scarlet Fever and I had to get antibiotics. My mother is a nurse so she knew what it was. She was so mad at the doctor for not taking me in before that she switched me to a new doctor. You should definitely get this checked out.

you do not want to mess with strep. take you child to the doctor tomorrow first thing. strep has lots of serious side effects, particularly for children, and if you pediatrician suspects this, i don't understand the fuzzy logic of a wait and see approach. "pull rank" and see whomever in your pediatrics practice has time tomorrow a.m. if it is strep antibiotics must be started immediately!

Bring him in for a throat culture. The rash was the only indicator that my daughter got when she had strep. She would feel fine and she would develop a rash which would get worse in the late afternoon when her body temperature would raise slightly.
mm

If your child has a rash, I would insist on being seen by the doctor. Could be roseola or scarlet fever....

Hi Stacey, Has anyone mentioned Roseola? The rash on upper body and fever sounds like that. Also his age is about right. The rash is usually preceded by a few days of listlessness and loss of appetite, I am not a doctor but a mom of 5 and even though they range from 42 down t 25 I remember this illness well. One of my sons had such a high fever that the doctor was testing him for scarlet fever (scared the pants off my husband) Hope your boy is well soon. I would still take him to Doctor for a checkup of his throat (and yours too)Many blessings, Grandma Mary

I suggest you to see pediatrician right away or see another pediatrician for a second opinion but not to ER where they keep you waiting for hours or even up to half a day before a nurse may have a chance to come over just for taking your child's temperature. You may consider making an appointment with pediatric allergist just to be on the safe side, and sometimes you need a referral from your primary pediatrician.

It sounds like Roseola or Fifths Disease. Neither one is serious and both of my kids got both. You should ask your doctor about it. You can go online to something like web md to see pictures of the rash and the symptoms of both.

Hi S....

You should both get tested for strep at least to rule it out. If it is strep they will give you antibiotics which will help to make you both feel better. A few years ago, my daughter had a stomach ache and headache, no fever and was not complaining of a sore throat. I took her to the dr. anyway and she tested positive for strep.

I would try to get him an appointment ASAP!!!! :) And if you're not feeling well, you should go to the doctor too to make sure you get well. It's hard being a Mom when you're not feeling well too...take care and I hope you're feeling better soon!

Sue

My son had the same thing. He kept complaining that his tummy hurt, for a couple of weeks! I know, it seems like a long time, but, he is in the middle of potty training and wasn't pooping, only every 3 or 4 days, so we just thought his tummy ache was because he had to poop. Well, after I got strep so bad I ended up on 2 antibiotics and an oral steroid, he developed a fever. Took him to the Dr's, they diagnosed him with scarlet fever...which is strep that is bad enough a rash develops. The rash is rough (sandpapery), pin-prick type red spots, mostly on the trunk of the body. One of the main symptoms of scarlet fever is abdominal pain! When they looked at his throat, sure enough, red, swollen, etc. Rapid strep test came back positive. Gave him antibiotics and everything went away in a few days. I wouldn't wait to take him to the Dr's. the sooner he takes antibiotics, the better he will feel.

Dear S.,
Reading your comments, I would be concerned that your son could have scarlet fever. Strep throat may not necessary cause a sore throat, but does result in a rash on the skin, albight scarlet fever. The best symtom to reveal this, does he have bad breath? A sure sign of scarlet fever. I suggest you get attention right away. It may be nothing, but I would not fool around.
Best wishes, W.

Yes, I have heard that strep can present rashes in some. If left untreated it can be very serious. Make an appt with the ped's office asap. They will do a rapid strep culture. Results will take about 5 minutes. Good luck.

It sounds like it might be rosieola( I am not sure how to spell it)

My son just had the same exact thing. The doctor did a strep culture to rule out Scarlet Fever and it was negative. He said it was probably viral. The rash went away in about 4 days. I would go to the doctor to rule everything out.

Hi S.,
Yes it can be strep. I have definetely heard of the rashes before. My kids have strep right now and this is when they start to get it. I have also heard that the rash on the face could be fifth's disease. This is nothing major. It is also common. It tends to look like someone slapped them in the face. Just wait and get a strep culture on Monday.
Good Luck!!
J.

Strep rash.... a hint to help you identify strep rash, if you run ur hand over ur childs torso strep rash feels a bit like sandpaper...The Rosy cheeks you are discribing sound like Roseola. I am attaching a link about Roseola so you can judge for yourself. Hope this helps.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/skin/roseola.html

Hi S.! My prays and sympathy regarding your Mom, it's one of the hardest things to deal with in life is the losing of a loved one. One of the other is dealing with sick children because we would love to take away their sickness but depend on Doctors, some of which I have to tell you with seven children and having lived all over the country, we've experienced our share of those, shall we say, we'de rather let them "practice" on someone else. I'm not saying your Doctor follows this line but I do wonder why he/she is not asking you to bring him/them in for a throat culture to at least rule out strep! Strep is NOT something to play with and can do a great deal of harm. I'm not a doctor nor state to be but I have a great dis-like for Doctors who treat their patients with less than at least some compassion, let alone concern for instead of just another billing. The rash that you spoke about my oldest is currently experiencing, tremendous outbreaks across his chest and back, even his arms and they can happen it seems, almost instantly, cause him to want to scratch insanely, and then it seems to just go away. We KNOW it is some king of alergic reaction to something, just haven't pinpointed it yet. We did take him to a Doctor that specializes in allergies and when they shot him up and down both of his arms (52 all together), he came back being allergic to just about everything there is, (ie. pollen, dog/cat hair;saliva, weeds, rodent etc). So personally if I was you I would start with having the Dr. at least do a throat culture on all of you. Obviously if you all do have it Amoxicilin is in your future. If your son with the rash comes back negative I would ask for a referal to a specialist in allergies. Also, regardless if you are poitive or not, whenever you have a sore throat or upset stomach, stay away from citrus and dairy products, they both increase your pain and symptoms. Be blessed and I pray you all get healed quickly.

If its strep doesn't he need antibiotics?? Did you ask about that?

Does the red on his cheeks look like someone slapped him? When my twins were under a year old they got 5th disease which is on and off high fever and super red cheeks that come and go. There's no treatment; just has to run it's course but you have to stay away from anyone who is pregnant.

Hi S.:

I would recommend asking your doctor if it could be roseola. My son had the same symptoms a few months back and that's what it turned out to be. Harmless and goes away in a few days on its own. Good luck!

yes, it can be strep. it can be a yeast infection. it can be roseola if the fever stopped and then the blotches came out. let the dr. do a rapid strep test.
lastly, sounds like you need a new pediatrician.

Dear S.,

I have seen the strep rash before and also vomiting and a stomach ache can also be signs. Untreated strep can go into scarlet fever so I wouldn't wait to long with out making sure and treating it. Strep virus untreated can be dangerous and is also painful. Make sure you see a doctor as soon as you can and if it is strep and antibiotic will be necessary. I was always told to try not to give foods to hot, try to stick to non acidic drinks as well.