Slapped Cheek Syndrome

[topsi]

My DS 4.5 came home from nursery yesterday with bright red cheeks. At first I thought he was just hot then I thought it may be because I had forgotten to put sun cream on him yesterday and it was quite a hot day.
His cheeks are still red today. He had a very mild cough but other wise seems fit and well.
The reason I am concerned is that my sister is pregnant and she did have contact with my son at the weekend. I noticed that you can be infectious one week before symptoms become apparant.
My sis is very anxious about her pregnancy as it is an IVF pregnancy and she has had come complications from the treatment.
My son doesnot seem at all unwell but I am worried about my sister as the effects during pregnancy can be worrying.
Could it be worth a trip to the GP??

[topsi]

he seems to have a mild rash on his fore arms as well

[Imnotaslimjim]

Slapped cheek can present with just the red face and a mild fever. So it does sound likely. Tell her to contact her GP and find out if she had it as a child, if she has, she'll be immune. If she hasn't or there is no record of it, he'll advise her on what she needs to do

[Imnotaslimjim]

Ok, I've just read this cheek in pg and she needs to go the dr and ask for a blood test, there is quite a few scary risks to baby :(

[topsi]

I know its not good. I just don't want to cause undue anxiety in her as she is really bad with it. I think I maybe need to take DS to GP first before I worry her.
Oh god DS is fine he is busy in the garden with the dog at the moment and appart from a couple of coughs during the night does not seem unwell.

[Rosa]

WIth DD2 sounds exactly the same she was warm but not calpol level red cheeeks and like you a very mild cough ..almost searching for symptoms. It happened over Xmas and a neighbour is a GP so we just asked her to be sure so we avoided public places etc.

[DeWe]

It does sound like slapped cheek, exactly the same as dd1. However the dr. did say it could be mimicked by an allergy, so it isn't definite.
Most people have had it (some so mildly they don't realise) by adulthood, so the chances are she's had it. Child I nannied had it when I was pregnant with dd1, and I didn't catch it, even though I'd had close contact for a few days.
The risk in pregnancy is highest in the second tremester. Not sure if a blood test at this point would be helpful, if she's already had it as a child she'll have antibodies fine, but if she's caught it off him she might already have produced some antibodies, so I'm not sure you'd get a definite answer.

[topsi]

Thanks everone, I am waiting for GP to call to give me advice. Have not said anything to sis yet as don't want to worry her.

[geminigirl]

Hi...I had Parvovirus (Slapped Cheek) when i was just pregnant..I only realised I'd had it (thought I had the 'Flu) when my son came out in the rash...exactly as you described it...I thought he was teething until I spotted the redness on the tops of his arms-it looked like sunburn.

Anyway, I went for a blood test to check immunity and what my titre levels were. It confirmed that I was now immune however this was from recent infection...ie, the 'Flu I thought I had. I was referred to one of the consultant obstetricians and had a scan every 2 weeks for the first 10 weeks following confirmation of the Parvovirus infection. This was to check for fluid in babys chest or abdomen which might have been caused by infection which had crossed over to the baby.

I've been told that the chances of baby being affected were quite small but that while the risk was there, I had to be carefully monitored.

Definately tell your sis to go for the blood test, OK, she might worry but it's better to have her do the right thing. BTW, my little one was born at 41 weeks with absolutely no ill effects.

I really hope that all will be well xxx

[topsi]

Thanks gemini, she is feeling unwell!! Sore thoat and head ache. She has a blood test today but has been told the results will take 2 weeks to come back! Can you remember if this was the samw with you?
My son now has the rash on his lower arms so I am pretty sure it is SF.
It is such bad news as she has taken so long to get pregnant and has had complications from the IVF which have put her in hospital.
I feel that the results should be back sooner so they can start monitoring her asap.
I am so glad that every thing went well with your pregnancy. How many weeks were you whe you got parvo? I know it is worse if you are under 20 weeks which my sister is.

[geminigirl]

Hi Topsi...haven't been on here for a while...Yes, the result generally does take 10 working days to process and report on....it's bloody awful waiting for it...I hope she has had some news by now....hope you see this post ...please let me know how she gets on.

It's so hard for you too, hope you're ok....I was just 5 weeks when i had parvo so I went from elated to devastated within days but thankfully the chances of anything untoward happening were very small. Parvo is so much better managed nowadays and carefully monitored so try not to get yourself too stressed, it's good that you recognised it and acted on it. Good luck....hope to hear some good news from you