Help, mystery rash!

[GeorginaA]

Ds has had a nasty cold for what seems like ages now (then again it could be two on top of each other). The last couple of nights have been very disturbed and yesterday he ran a slight temperature easily controlled by calpol (around 38.2 deg C)

Anyway, today he's been very whingy this morning (although at the moment he seems okay with himself). However, I noticed while I was getting him dressed that he seems to have very bumpy blotchy skin (very tiny "dots", almost a "proto-rash" all over his body but concentrated on his back and around his nappy area. I think it's slightly itchy as he's been scratching the top of his thighs.

It's weird though, the more I stare at it the harder it is to see, if you know what I mean. I wonder if I'm just being paranoid which is understandable as I'm about 12 weeks pregnant.

A friend mentioned that apparently you sometimes get a rash at the tale end of a virus (which would tie in - the temperature is gone now, and he seems to be getting better) but I don't know if I'm just being hopeful and clinging onto easy explanations! A bit loathe to phone the doctor or midwife yet until it develops into something a bit more "obvious".

Any ideas?

My children tend to get virus-rashes and I think it is pretty normal. Sometimes they have been completely covered in little red spots, but it hasn't seem to bother them in the slightest. I have been to the doctor about it several times. If you are worried, I would go to the doctor just for piece of mind.

Georgina - Yes it sounds like a viral rash. And since he seems to be getting over a viral infection I really don't think you have anything to worry about.

Thanks ladies, that's reassuring!

Any ideas how long a viral rash normally lasts? Not that I'm getting desperate for ds to go back to nursery after an interminably long half term, oh no...

From a couple of days to weeks. I am sure DS had a rash for weeks once. I still put him in nursery though. If I kept him home evertime he had a rash or a virus, he would never be in nursery

GeorginaA, although it sounds like a viral rash (I used to get them with every cold as a child, didn't get any for 30 odd years and have just started getting them again after having my dd), since you are pregnant, I would take him to the doctors for your sake to make sure its nothing you shoudl be worrying about.

Well the rash is much fainter today (you can barely see it though still feel "rough skin" if you run the palm of your hand along his back) although he did have a bit of a sleepless night last night. I'm inclined to think that by the time I get a doctor's appointment there's going to be nothing to see.

He seems happy in himself (the cold finally seems to be abating) so I'm going to send him to nursery this afternoon. Partly because he's given me the cold and I feel absolutely foul - going to try and get some sleep. Hope I'm doing the right thing

Sounds viral to me - dd and ds have both been coughing this past week and had similar sounding skin.

it might have been roseola infantum? My dd had this in the spring - fever before the rash appeared and then the rash took a few days to go down. Nothing I could do or give her, just a lot of tlc. And I wouldn't worry about going to see a doctor/midwife as you are pregnant and that should come first before wasting their time ! Hope he's better now.
hana