Scarlet fever worry

[notsofunfever]

Hi all.

DD (11) came out with a rash at the weekend that looked exactly like hives. We thought it was stress as she showed no other signs of illness and she’s been going through a hard time at the moment.

Today my son has come out with the exact same rash, only with red cheeks and a strawberry tongue. Pharmacist confirmed scarlet fever for both of them. Called GP to get antibiotics but they told me they are over capacity today and to call at 8am tomorrow. She said to call 111 if they get a lot worse.

Daughter has since started to feel poorly/grotty and she feels hot to the touch. Son has a sore throat.

Question is, will they be okay to wait until tomorrow for their first dose of antibiotics? I might not even get a GP phone appointment until mid-morning. I think knowing they need antibiotics but not being able to get them yet is making me feel anxious and we’ve never dealt with this before so I’m not sure how quickly it escalates. Would you call 111 in this situation and try to get antibiotics tonight? Or is that overreacting?

Would really appreciate some advice/opinions, as I’m second guessing myself 😔

Call 111 who will help you. It is urgent.

I'm not a medical professional this is just based on my personal experience. When my daughter had scarlet fever about 7 years ago the GP sent us straight to hospital so she could be given anti biotics immediately. not sure why he didn't just prescribe them but I remember at the time being surprised at how quickly they treated her / how seriously they took it.

Yes and no.
My kid is prone to it and has had it 15 times +. You wouldn’t want to leave
it untreated but 24 -48 hours will be fine. A normal strep test to confirm scarlet fever takes 72 hours to come back and antibiotics don’t get started until then. As my Gp has said many times lots of kids have it and it’s thought to be a viral rash so they never get treated with antibiotics and are fine. It’s definitely not an a@e job if you can get antibiotics from a pharmacy tomorrow at some point.

If they're really very unwell with it I'd find another way of seeing a GP and getting the antibiotics started today. (Walk in centre or call 111).

Also keep on top of the fever with paracetamol (obviously following the dosage on the bottle).

I had it for a few days until diagnosed and was fine just felt awful until I got the anti biotics. If your worried just call 111 and they could try get you an appointment elsewhere