Lauren got Roseola
As a frequent reader of my blog, you may saw that Lauren has recently recovered from her first cold/fever.
Well, she got sick again no long after.
I guess you experienced parents out there knew this already, but I didn’t know that once baby starts to get sick, they then get sick so often. I actually read up on it, it seems that between the ages of 6 months and 1.5 years, babies get sick quite often because the immunity they get initially from their moms simply run out, and their own immune systems are not mature enough (not enough signatures created for the various diseases to defend against them).
But I digress.
After Lauren recovered from her cold and fever, she was again back to her happy self, giggling all the time. We were having a great time. However, on the night of 09/13, I noticed that she wasn’t eating her yogurt. It was one of her favorite food, and she usually licks the spoon clean. We tried toys, giving her water, and singing to her, none of which worked.
I thought that was odd, and touched her forehead with my hand to make sure she’s not ill. There was a definite temperature difference between my hand and her forehead, and she felt warm overall.
We then measured her oral temperature using one of those pacifier type thermometers. She had a fever of 101.8 F. It was not really a high fever. Add to the complications, I was between jobs, and my wife’s health coverage for Lauren doesn’t start until 10/01. JY and I decided that I should call the doctor’s office just to make sure our daughter’s ok. I called, then after all the questions, was told by the RN that Lauren should be fine, it may be some type of infection. I called the doctor’s office first thing the next morning and scheduled an office visit on the same day.
By the second day, Lauren had a temperature of 101.2 at around noon, and we can sense her getting better.
After her pediatrician examined her, he told us that it’s infection in her throat, and that there is no need for prescription medication. I asked him about other possibilities, especially a disease called Roseola Infantum that I read on the AAP book, and was told that her temperature wasn’t really high enough to be considered for Roseola.
I left with some doubts in my mind, I thought babies do not have a fever from a simple sore throat (but I’m no doctor).
Anyway, one of the symptoms of Roseola is that the patient will develop rashes on her trunk after the fever recedes. That’s exactly what happened to Lauren. She got much better on Friday, then ome Friday night, she started to have rashes on her trunk, then later it spread to parts of her neck and forehead.
We had a birthday party to attend on Saturday, and originally thought of letting Lauren swim in a real pool (with her mom by her side of course) at the birthday boy’s place. But because of her rash, she couldn’t swim, and had to look at the children playing in the pool with envy.
She recovered nicely, actually did not scratch her self at all indicating that the rashes were not irritating, another sign of Roseola.
I didn’t have the energy or desire to call Lauren’s pediatrician back and tell him that he was wrong.
JY and I are both grateful it was Roseola instead of some other types of rashes which are much more severe.
Now that Lauren is back to her normal happy self, we are happy as well.
Please keep her and my family in your prayers.
Here are couple of Lauren’s recent photos.
