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Original poster

As any one else children caught Scarlet Fever

32 replies

Overrun · 09/01/2007 21:47

My ds1 has been diagnosed with it, and is having antibiotics, just interested in any perspectives, as its quite rare now I believe. I certainly don't know any one who has had it, although some one must have given it to ds1

OP posts:

SSShakeTheChi · 09/01/2007 21:50

Mine has had various strains of it, at least 30 x so far. We didn't pass it on to your ds though! We're overseas.

I know tons of kids who get it. The ones who do seem like dd to get it a lot. It's horrible for the kids but they seem to feel better very quickly once they're on antibiotics. I can recognise it easily these days with all the practice we've had. Dd gets a certain smell on her breath like boiled cabbage and I race her to the doctor before it's completely broken out. They're always saying: oh well it may not be scarlet fever and I say: oh it is, I can smell it. It always is

Original poster

Overrun · 09/01/2007 21:52

wow, ssshakeTheChi, I can totally relate to the cabbage breath, it is so offensive, I knew he had a nasty infection even before the rash appeared. He does seem to be responding to the antibitotics and his fever has broken already, so its not so bad.
Thanks for answering.

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worleygig · 09/01/2007 21:54

my ds1 had it when he was 3 (now 8 - so it wasnt him) he was at nursery but none of the others had it so dont know where he got it from either? didnt know where he picked it up from...

Matonic · 09/01/2007 21:54

The son of a friend had it before Christmas. I was amazed when I heard the diagnosis - sounds very old-fashioned, doesn't it? I think the boy was under the weather for about a week in total, but once prescribed, the antibiotics kicked in very quickly.

Original poster

Overrun · 09/01/2007 21:56

the gp told me, that most children would just have the really bad sore throat, and only some would develop the rash that is SCARLET FEVER!
I can joke about it, because as you say the antibiotics seem to be kicking in nicely. I got a bit of a shock when the gp said it though

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Tiggiwinkle · 09/01/2007 21:57

My DS3 had it some years ago (he is 18 now!) I think it is quite rare in this country now. The first doctor we saw did not recognise it and said it was a virus. I was not happy and took him back and scarlet fever was diagnosed. It is important that antibiotics are given as there can be serious complications if it is not treated.

chocolatekimmy · 09/01/2007 21:59

My daughter had it last June, was shocked when I heard as I thought it was a 'redundant' disease from the dark ages!

GP suggested no antibiotics unless she started to go down hill and feel ill with it - she only really had the rash and felt just a bit poorly. The rash started on the face and worked its way down the body and then faded in the same way.

He said that it comes in cycles of about 60/70 years and usually its serious one cycle and not the next, this current one isn't serious apparently (whereas the previous epidemic caused lots of death).

I don't know anyone else who had it. My 2 year old didn't catch it and it was no risk to me being pregnant.

ValnBen · 09/01/2007 22:07

My DS (4.5) had it before xmas too not too bad ? evil breath and general unwell smell, a bit down for a couple of days, no rash ? boy in his class was dx?d about 2 weeks before ? apparently didn?t get out of bed for 10 days!!! Been at least another 5 dx'd in his school since then.

I hadn?t even connected DS?s illness with SF until speaking to the other boys mother and going through some of the symptoms ? it was the peeling hands that caused the penny to drop with me.
Got an appt with the docs the next day ? he took urine and blood samples ? spent an entire LIFE TIME listening to his heart!!!!

Was put on Penicillin V, which is absolutely VILE to take?goodness knows how he did it ? I only tasted a tiny drop that spilt on my finger and nearly vomed [blugh]. Bless him, the little darling said ?don?t worry mummy, you?ll soon get used to it? . Got a phone call this eve from doc saying his bloods had come back neg for protein so all should be ok. [relief]

Troutpout · 09/01/2007 22:16

Both of my children caught it the summer before last. It was undiagnosed in ds (8 at the time) untill dd (2 at the time) got it . By then ds's feet and hands were peeling. They swabbed dd and caught it in her. Dd seemed to look worse with it...sandpaper rash face (sort of all swollen too)/ strawberry tongue...but ds was definately more poorly.Bless him he was delerious.
He had a blood test after to check that everything was ok...(i think mainly because he had lost so much weight)

Troutpout · 09/01/2007 22:20

set him back for a bit growth wise too..

Original poster

Overrun · 10/01/2007 09:40

thanks its all really useful information. Ds1 seems somewhere in between, he also hates the medicine. But so far is suffering it.
He is bad at night, very restless, I am wondering does the rash itch, or it probably hurts to have your skin in that condition. He is squirming and crying out a lot in his sleep

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expatinscotland · 10/01/2007 09:43

DH had it as a child.

I thought it was only still around in developing nations.

I got it in Venezuela in the 70s.

Original poster

Overrun · 10/01/2007 09:45

One of the sad side effects of this, is that I have decided that it is better that I don't go down to see my new niece who is probably being born right now. Not worth the risk, but I'm disapointed

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SSShakeTheChi · 10/01/2007 09:54

We're in Germany expat, seems to be rife here! But for some reason, not every dc exposed to it seems to catch it. Dd has very large tonsils and I wonder if that has something to do with why she catches it so often.

LadyTophamHatt · 10/01/2007 09:55

Ds3 had it over xmas, GP gave him a 10 day(2 bottles) course of Anti-b's which seemed to go on and and on and on.

He seemed better before we finished one whole bottle so I didn't complete the whole 10 day course.

He wasn't really that ill with it TBH, his voice sounded funny and he had the scaley rash but apart from that he was fine.

No idea where he caught it from and he hasn't passed it on to any of us.

Original poster

Overrun · 10/01/2007 10:02

ds1 has huge tonsils too, so maybe there is a link. Ladytopham, thats very naughty of you, the gp and the pharmacist told me that it was particularly important to finish the course. From your post it sounds like your dc didn't suffer a relapse though

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magicfarawaytree · 10/01/2007 10:43

do the hands peels excessively? or are they just a little over dry? dd has been poorly but says that her throat does not hurt anymore but her hands do look a little scaly on the palms not all over but in patches.

lisasimpson · 10/01/2007 11:17

is swelling of the face also a symptom? as when my ds was in hospital before Christmas SF was suspected and he had all these symptoms with alot of swelling around the mouth and eyes..
The rash was very itchy all over and he had what looked like impetigo around the mouth.
It re-occurred a week or so after he stopped taking the penicillin.

Original poster

Overrun · 10/01/2007 12:28

I don't know about swelling, but as for the peeling I think that comes after the rash, and it seems pretty noticable.
Ds1 has flourescent red cheeks, and a rash all over his body which is rough to touch

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puddytats · 10/01/2007 12:36

Ds hd it, he ended up in hospital for 5 days as the drs would not believe that he was ill. He is still not completly himself now, nearly 5 months on

foxinsocks · 10/01/2007 12:38

ds apparently had it (though we were v late to go to the docs as I assumed it was just a virus ). He had a v long course of antibs and it took his skin AGES to get back to normal.

LIZS · 10/01/2007 12:42

overrun - it is the same bacteria as cause Strep throat, a highly contagious form of tonsillitis. Occasionally it laso causes the Scarlet Fever rash as a reaction to the bacterial infection. ds had it a 4 but was fine within a few days.

Original poster

Overrun · 10/01/2007 12:47

Thanks LIZS, that was how my gp explained it to me. I think that I took him to the doctor quite promptly, so am expecting/hoping that he will recover quickly.
Sorry to hear that your dc's was so ill puddytats and Foxinsocks, I very nearly didn't take ds1 yesterday thinking that it was probably a virus, but as I said the rash was pretty impressive

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foxinsocks · 10/01/2007 12:49

oh he wasn't that ill (although he is my well child unlike his sister so he probably was sicker than we gave him credit for!) and like you, it was the rash that had me suspicious

we kept him very well moisturised and that seemed to help - we used diprobase (because we have some lying around with everyone's eczema) but if he has normally non-problematic skin, you can just smother him in aqueous cream on his very dry bits.

Troutpout · 10/01/2007 18:14

dd's bout of it also put paid to her tonsils and adenoids...they were useless and apsolutely huge thereafter and never went back to normal size. She developed sleep apnoea and could hardly breathe at night. She had tonsils and adenoids removed this summer.

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