Measles, anyone know how to diagnose? Worried...

[Flllightattendant]

Ds2 has had a bad cold, high temp for about 4 days. Yesterday his temp went back down, but last night he was up all night crying and obv in pain. He started pawing at his forehead, top of head like it hurt and then I noticed a rash on his front and back - it fades thank goodness...
Anyway off to a&e for the out of hours doc at 5am, who said his ear was red, throat looked sore too, but rash was just heat rash - he hasn't been hot though.
Have got antibiotics but am afra\id in case it is something else, why would he be touching his head if his ear hurts - the other side ear is the one that was red.
He's had calpol but is still in a lot of distress and crying.
rash is now all over hed and nek, behind ears etc.

I am just scared in case it is a complication or something, the brain can become inflamed can't it with measles?

I can't bear seeing him in pain.
Thanks for any ideas, it was a gp we saw whom I know was disciplined/deregistered a few years back? So unsure if I can trust him iyswim

sorry typing with 1 finger as ds on lap

Dh took him to the docs cos i was at work so i don't know what he said but dh hasn't said the doc said to stay in iykwim. We noticed the rash on Wednesday so thats 5 days today. Just looked and the rash has pretty much gone today actually

I'd go out

There are only so many days one can go without cake.

(our cake situation is poor)

FA, I thought my DS had measles before Xmas as did the first young (on call night) GP I saw. I was beside myself.

I went to my own GP (having made special arrangements to not sit in waiting room etc) and it was German Measles - the problem being that GP's (luckily) just don't see it very much anymore.

My GP was absolutly sure, she also said that he would have been MUCH sicker if he had Measles. He had been really unwell temps of 40+ in the run up to the rash (which did start on head, behind ears and neck and worked it's way down his trunk) but once the rash was out it dropped down slowly and he was obviously feeling better 48hrs after the rash started. Although he had red, runny eyes she said they would have been red raw if measles.

My GP had seen him the morning before the rash as it was so unlike him to cry and be so unwell and she couldn't work out what was wrong and was testing pee and poo as a last reort in case some kind of infection.

I sincerely hope babyflight is feeling better soon.

Thanks Marmaduke. That's really interesting, I am sat here wondering as well now...what was the rash like? Babyflight's is quite sort of brown, like he's been painted with tea or something...it is on his forehead, not his cheeks really, the top of his head, neck, behind ears, tummy and back. Not on legs yet or arms (haven't looked actually at arms for a while)
It sounds similar to your Ds's illness though, as he was ill for about 3 days and now seems much improved. I thought German measles was much milder, without much of a temp etc.
Did they test him at all? I am really surprised German measles can be so bad.

This is what I thought was German measles. What your ds had sounds serious enough to have been measles, imo, but I am not a dr!!

Children and Adults: symptoms include low grade fever,
sore throat, rash, and lymphoadenopathy. In extremely
young children there is usually no prodrome. The rash, if
it occurs at all, occurs after the incubation period and
begins on the face, lasting between 12 hours and 5 days.
People are usually infectious one week before the
appearance of the rash to one week after the rash
disappears. Adults can also get arthralgia and sometimes
arthritis. Rare complications can include encephalitis in
less than 1/5,000 cases, neuritis, orchitis, and panencephalitis.

DS didn't ever get spots on his arms and legs, although it was the weekend before Christmas and I was a little distracted - maybe one or two.

DS' rash started as individual spots and then they spread out and touched each other in the background still with raised spots on the top iyswim. You could feel he had a rash, as spots were raised. It was more rosy than brown (I think) but DS has very translucent skin as part of his disorder - so it could be diff colour on 'normal' skin.

He has a suppressed immune system (as has rare genetic disorder) so EVERTHING he catches makes him very unwell. He was ill with a cough, cold and the odd vomit, v high temp in the week/10 days leading up to going to the GP (Weds) took in samples thurs am, saw emergency gp Thursday night saw my GP on Friday, by Monday it was hard to tell he'd been il tbh.

Poor mite
It sounds horrid whatever it was. The rash sounds the same though, Ds's is raised and pinky but with browny splodges underneath.
(interesting!)

Glad your Ds is well now. It is so nice when they come out the other side and you can relax a bit, isn't it!
Thanks for your helpful info x

ds1's german measles rash started as a heat rash type thing then got splodgier. Comparing it to measles pictures there was a lot less of it and it was paler.

But you can get bad german measles and mild 'proper' measles so they might klind of run into each other.

The rashes come up in a different order.
One starts behind the ears, one on the forehead but can't remember which is which! And no koplik's spots in german measles. Without a swab the best way to confirm measles is the koplik's spots.

FA, so glad to hear oyur ds is feeling better.

The girls rash started behind the ears, then under the eyes and very quickly spread to all over their bodies. It started as tiny red spots and all joined to look like an all over body heat rash, it was never brown just very pink/red. Mine also started on my face though I'm not sure where and also spread all over to look like sun burn.

We had no mouth or throat spots.

I didn't notice the rash till I put him in the bath, he has long hair so forehead, ears and neck not visable.