Last week I was reading some message boards, (imagine that), and I ran across a really nice mommy asking questions about Scarlet Fever and I decided right then, I needed to post about this.
What is the first thing you think of when you hear the phrase “Scarlet Fever”? Do you think about all of those books set in the 1800’s where people died from Scarlet Fever? Do you think of Helen Keller? Do you think of that relative who often says “I had Scarlet Fever when I was a kid and almost died”? (My ex, the dirtbag, is notorious for spitting out this little tidbit). If you’re a mom and a doctor mentions Scarlet Fever while examining your young child who is obviously very sick – high fevers, horrid rashes and icky looking throat, then I bet you think of one of those things.
Being the mom you are today, you’d head for the leading source of reliable health information on the web – WebMD and you’d search for information about Scarlet Fever, wouldn’t you? And what would you find out? You’d find out it is strep throat with a rash. Huh? How can that be? Tons of people died from that! What about Helen Keller? What about Denise’s dirtbag ex? How can it just be strep throat with a rash? There must be something that WebMD (and my doctor) isn’t telling me, right?
Wrong. Scarlet Fever IS strep w/ a rash. It’s also something that really does need to be treated and not allowed to run its course or it could develop into a more serious issue. That’s what we all need to wrap our brains around. Scarlet Fever, treated, is not serious. Scarlet Fever untreated, is.
Doctors need to explain that part to mommies when they mention Scarlet Fever. WebMD should do a better job of acknowledging that we’ve read those books, we know Helen Keller’s history and we all have a relative like my dirtbag and address our fears up front so we don’t have to worry and fret that somebody is not telling us the whole story!
Now do you know what’s sort of funny here? I planned this blog piece more than a week ago. This morning, I mentioned on a message board that it was one of the things on my To Do List for the day. And guess what happened – Michelle was diagnosed at the ER in NJ today with Scarlet Fever. I’m not kidding you!
She called me yesterday from Great Adventure to ask me if I was sure she wasn’t allergic to something because she had a horrible rash and Benadryl was not helping. I said she wasn’t, that I knew of, and asked her all of the normal rash questions. (And I considered having her take a photo of her rash and email it to me; I will admit this though my co-workers will spit out their coffee when they read this). I suggested she stick with the Benadryl, grab some anti-itch lotion on the way home and watch it for another day. Apparently this morning she woke with a 104 temp and felt like death warmed over so her sister took her to the ER (no sign of her dirtbag father).
Yep, strep w/a rash. Life is funny. And luckily, I’ve already done the research so I’m not fretting and thinking about all of those folks who died back in the day, or Helen Keller or my dirtbag ex – well I am, but I know those are unreasonable fears that all moms have.
I WAS JUST LOOKING FOR INFO ABOUT SCARLET FEVER BECAUSE MY 6 YR OLD SON HAD TO GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM LAST NIGHT. HE HAD A HIGH FEVER AND A TERRIBLE RAH AND HIS WHOLE TONGUE WAS WHITE. THEY SAID IT WAS STREP THROAT, AND THAT IT HAD ALSO BECOME SCARLET FEVER. APPARENTLY ONLY A FEW CHILDREN ARE SENSITIVE TO THE TOXIN FROM THE STREP BACTERIA, WHICH IS WHAT CAUSES THE RASH AND WHICH CAN CAUSE FURTHER COMPLICATIONS IF NOT TREATED. A BIG SHOT OF ANTIBIOTICS , AND HE FELT BETTER THE NEXT MORNING. IT IS HARD TO TELL IF THEY HAVE IT UNTIL A RASH OR WHITE SPOTS SHOW UP, BUT IF THEY DO, THEY HAVE TO SEE THE DOCTOR. WHEN I GOT HOME FROM THE ER., I LOOKED AT MY 8 YR OLD, AND HE HAS IT TO..SO BACK TO THE ER. BUT THEY ARE BOTH BETTER THIS MORNING, THANK THE LORD. AND 24 HOURS AFTER STARTING THEIR ANTIBIOTICS, THEY ARE NO LONGER CONTAGIOUS, THE DR. GUARENTEED ME. SO JUST WATCH THEM IF THEIR THROATS START TO GET REALLY SORE AND THEY HAVE A STOMACH ACHE (THAT’S HOW IT USUALLY STARTS) THANKS , KELLY