Do you know what this prickly pinpoint-spot rash could be?

[Gloworm]

DS is 4 and woke up with a rash this morning.
Its on his neck, belly, groin (not on back or arms/legs).
He is covered in very very small pinpoint spots. They are raised slightly and very close together.
They are not very bright, you have to be close to him to see them.
They disappear with glass.

He also said he had a sore head. His head is cool but his body and legs are quite hot. He looks a bit "peaky" though.

He is feeling OK and happy and playing. He said he felt well enough to go to preschool (although whrn DH said he would pop in and pick up the shamrock he made yesterday he was happy to stay at hope and admitt he didn't feel very well!)

Any ideas anyone?

we are in Ireland so dont have one of you NHS phonelines. Doesnt seem serious enough to drag 2 kids to the GP to sit in a waiting room for over an hour. If its still there tonight we will phone the out-of-hours helpline, or go to GP tomorrow.

Thanks

[Eve2005]

i know it's an odd time of year but could it be heat rash? if he had an overly hot bath last night or his room was too warm it's possible and would explain the headache too.

in ireland too by the way, try bringing him to pharmacy, they're trained in identifying lots of symptoms.

[Gloworm]

we generally live in quite a cool house, rarely use the centeral heating, just a small fire. So we're fairly sure its not heat rash(although he has had that in the summer).

No bath last night, but a coolish one this morning...so not that either!

No point in going to the chemist, there is only one in town and he is cr*p (please excuse!), not just my opinion as I have only ever been in there for the odd bottle of calpol, but have heard from a lot of people that he gives appalling advice sometimes and is VERY profit-motivated in his advice!

Thats for you suggestion though

[Eve2005]

sorry i can't be more help pet, hope you don't end up having to do the gp haul though, such a nightmare!

just noticed, you said it's his front it's on, could he have spilt something on himself thats causing a reaction, or crawled through some poisonous plant on the ground?

[muma3]

viral rash probably . my dd2 gets it every time she has a bug in her system , sometimes she gets ill with it rarely she doesnt. in my case its her bodies way of letting me know something isnt right. im not medically trained though just have a low immuned child who gets every thing
HTH

[Rhubarb]

He's got what dd has got! She had this rash on her neck, under her chin and on her chest last night. I wondered then if she would be ok. She got up last night with a temperature and today she is quite poorly. She's hot and cold, she has a headache, feels sick but doesn't have tummy ache, her face is pale but her cheeks are bright red.

Mine is in bed atm. I'm keeping an eye on her. Poor thing just said that she won't look at the walls because everytime she does her friend keeps racing her and he gets all the dots to me before she does! High temp obviously! Poor things!

[Gloworm]

thanks everyone. dh has just got home from work. I phoned the GP who said he would have a look at DS during his lunch break...so we wouldnt have to queue. dh has taken him there, ds is very excited!

must go, will probably be back on here tonight!

[Rhubarb]

Let me know what doc says, saves me going with dd!

[williamsmummy]

sounds like slap cheek or fifths disease to me.
IF it is, got to get this confirmed by doc as is dodgy for pregnant women.

[Gloworm]

GP said it was probably a viral infection, he had a temp of 102, sent him home with a container to pee in(which ds thinks is hilarious ) and to just take calpol and keep an eye on him, then take him back in again at 5pm to check him again. (this was after hours again so no queuing, lovely doc!)

They went back in at 5, his temp had come down, his urine was clear, rash has not got worse.
She said just to keep an eye on him and rush him in immediatly if he gets worse or sick or starts feeling unwell. Said the rash will probably disappear in a few days.

DH was very impressed with the doctors attitude, didnt make him feel like we were silly over-reacting parents.

rhubarb, hope your dd is feeling better.
we are plying ds with manuka honey and echinacea and will let you know how he gets on.

[Rhubarb]

dd is still unwell and still has a temperature. Don't know what her temperature is as the back of my hand hasn't developed so far as to give me figures yet! She's eaten a little bit and the rash comes back when her temp is raised. She hasn't been sick though. Will keep my eye on her too.

Hope your ds gets better too! Tell him that a little girl in France is suffering with the very same thing! It hopped from him all the way over the English Channel!

[muma3]

thought it would be viral gloworm. glad its not too serious and i hope he gets better soon xx

[Cadbury]

I have had a rash similar this last week or two while I have had a virus thing. Mine wwas mainly on my hands and developed into tiny blisters when they came to the surface of the skin.

[Gloworm]

rhubarb, how is your dd doing?

ds is much better. he still has a rash, but its fading a bit. He has no temp, no aches or pains, and generally feels fine again, although a bit tired.

thanks again everyone, great to get the MN opinion (not that I dont trust the doc's opinion }