Slapped cheek disease

[Monkeyandanimal]

This is going round at my son's nursery apparently. Yesterday he was running a temperature and was very pink cheeked, no appetite, and took himself off to bed in the afternoon; today he seems a lot better....could this be the start of slapped cheek disease? He is nearly 4.

And should i keep him off playschool tomorrow, even if he is fine and has no other symptoms, and wait for a rash to appear? I could be waiting for nothing if it's not actually slapped cheek.

And if/when he gets the rash, is it necessary, advisable or in any way helpful to take him to the doc to get it confirmed?

Opinions please, parents!

[DeWe]

I would do if it's going round. It's hard to confirm without a blood test, so the Dr almost certainly will say "probably, but not definitely".

It's dangerous to pregnant women in the 2nd tremester, so best not to share it around. Also some children can be very ill with it, child I looked after was hospitalised because she was fitting.

[Gileswithachainsaw]

I kept my dd off. However she just had a red face, no cold, no temp nothing. And no progression of the illness either, no rash at all anywhere

I'd keep him off just in case.

[Monkeyandanimal]

Thanks for the replies. For how long should i wait until i send him back? He's off today, and on flying form, but i could be waiting another week for a rash to appear couldn't we? Which may never appear? And in the meantime, he's fighting fit and getting cabin fever here.

Also, does anyone know if my EBF 9 week old baby will be protected from the virus due to the BF?