snowger
I have not taken her to the pd yet but her symptoms over the last week suggest roseola. She now no longer has cough and cold symptoms and the fever is gone. The rash developed only yesterday and is only on her body and face but it is not bothering her at all. She is behaving more normally than she has in the last week when she was irritable and lost her appetite. She is now more or less back to her usual self. Thank goodness for that! cos when she was irritable and 'throwing tantrums' for a few days, I started doubting if I want to have another kid. Now that she's back to her sweet self, the doubts I had are more or less erased. Here's some info I got from
http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/commoninfections/a/roseola.htm
Such a coincidence that echo's emma has the same problem, otherwise I would be panicking by now! Her fever also started on the same day!
Roseola is a common viral infection of early childhood, mostly infecting children between the ages of 6 and 24 months.
Symptoms
Children with roseola usually just have a high fever. About three to seven days later, once the fever breaks, kids with roseola get a red or pink raised rash all over their body. This rash usually lasts a few hours to a few days, begins on the trunk and then can spread to the child's arms, legs and face. Unlike many other rashes that kids get, the rash of roseola is not itchy.
Some children infected with the virus that causes roseola do have other typical viral symptoms, such as a runny nose, cough, swollen glands, irritibility, and diarrhea. Other symptoms might include febrile seizures or a bulging fontanel (soft spot).
Even more common is to become infected with the roseola virus and not have any symptoms at all. The AMA reports that 'in about two thirds of these children the infection is asymptomatic.'
Diagnosis
When a child just has a fever, diagnosis is difficult. It is not until the rash begins and the fever has stopped that you can make the diagnosis, and by then, the child is already better.
Although it is easy to suspect roseola when a younger child has a fever, keep in mind that other infections can also cause just a fever. To rule out these more serious infections, including blood and urinary tract infections, a blood and urine culture may need to be done, even if your Pediatrician suspects roseola.
No specific testing is usually required, but a complete blood count might show a low white blood count (leukopenia).
Treatments
There is no specific treatment for roseola and most kids recover without problems. Fever reducers, such as acetaminopen or ibuprofen, are helpful while your child has a fever.
