Experience of slapped cheek syndrome

[Lnix]

Hi

My daughter started to get a rash on her cheeks last Sunday. By Monday they were bright red, itchy, warm to touch and slightly bumpy. One looked blotchy or 'lacey'. Having used sun cream on her face, we actually assumed it was a reaction to that, or maybe heat rash. However the rash persisted longer than I would expect heat rash or an allergic reaction to hang around. After some googling and having had a GP friend look at the rash in a photograph, slapped cheek has sprung to mind. However she had no viral symptoms whatsoever in the lead up to the rash appearing and no rash on her body. It has been a week now and her cheeks are still a little more rosy than usual but much less angry looking.

What is your experience of slapped cheek in children. Can it be this mild?

I am not sure about how it manifests in children, but I had it as an adult and I felt really ill, like a bad flu. I also had some post-viral issues of tiredness and joint pain for months. I imagine I caught it from one of my children, but they never had any noticeable symptoms.

It’s the thing with childhood infections. They can be very mild in children but usually nasty for adults.

Aw that sounds horrible. It definitely seems to be milder in children. The rash on her cheeks looks exactly like any pics that come up on the Internet. Just not sure if there can be absolutely no other symptoms.

I live in fear of finally getting chickenpox!

DS was always under the weather before the rash came out with slapped cheek. Tired and cranky, a bit off his food, that kind of thing. Then the rash would appear and the penny would drop.

@delilahbucket

DS was always under the weather before the rash came out with slapped cheek. Tired and cranky, a bit off his food, that kind of thing. Then the rash would appear and the penny would drop.

Yeah this is what the NHS website suggests but it says some people MAY have...then lists the symptoms. Assuming maybe that means some people may not! I don't know!

Hi OP. Im pretty confident my son had it when he was perhaps 11mo. He had the typical rash and he was super grumpy and off his food for about a week. Recovered well enough though.

My kids had it. I'm fairly certain it was slapped cheek as one had it after the other. With the first DC I just thought it was a reaction to something, but when the second one had the same thing a few days later I realised it was probably slapped cheek. Neither of them seemed unwell and the rash cleared up within a few days.

Thank you both.

Seems to be a mixed bag of symptoms.

I have a 7 month old baby too so will watch this space - however I read that it is no longer infectious once the rash appears, which was a week ago now. He seems fine at the moment. Time will tell.

DH has come down with some viral symptoms today so wondering if perhaps he is getting it. Hope not! It's possible I am immune as I have been teaching KS1 for years so most likely been in contact with it/had it before.

DS2 had it at around 20 months. I caught it from him (human parvovirus) and it took me down! He was fine! I had an 8 month long autoimmune response. My feet swelled to the point where I couldn't wear shoes. I had to take my rings off because my fingers were like sausages. Every joint in my body ached and every gland was swollen. It was one of the scariest experiences ever. Hand on heart, I thought I was going to die, I was so acutely unwell with it. After 4 months, things improved. And although it dragged on for several months, I definitely got better over time. That said, I was so unwell for months, I was plugged into the rheumatology clinic and followed up for a couple of years.

DS is 7 now and I've remained 'autoimmunish'... I have 'incomplete' lupus (Lupus is hereditary in my family- dad and aunt had it, so the parvovirus probably kickstarted the fun!).
It was hell on wheels and it's not uncommon for adults to get completely taken down by something that kids just seem to bounce back from.

You're probably fine, OP, having worked in a school as you mentioned. My reactions were extreme and rare. It's likely that your DH will be a bit unwell but will recover quickly. But if he is a bit jointy and swollen and achy, that is a typical response. Hopefully, he won't get the full package with trimmings!

I have a recollection of my now 24-yo having this. Her 4 siblings did not have any symptoms.

It lasted for weeks and was more prominent when she was out in the heat.

She also had it on her arms and legs - redness with a Lacy edge.

She wasn’t ill.

@TheVanguardSix

DS2 had it at around 20 months. I caught it from him (human parvovirus) and it took me down! He was fine! I had an 8 month long autoimmune response. My feet swelled to the point where I couldn't wear shoes. I had to take my rings off because my fingers were like sausages. Every joint in my body ached and every gland was swollen. It was one of the scariest experiences ever. Hand on heart, I thought I was going to die, I was so acutely unwell with it. After 4 months, things improved. And although it dragged on for several months, I definitely got better over time. That said, I was so unwell for months, I was plugged into the rheumatology clinic and followed up for a couple of years.

DS is 7 now and I've remained 'autoimmunish'... I have 'incomplete' lupus (Lupus is hereditary in my family- dad and aunt had it, so the parvovirus probably kickstarted the fun!).
It was hell on wheels and it's not uncommon for adults to get completely taken down by something that kids just seem to bounce back from.

You're probably fine, OP, having worked in a school as you mentioned. My reactions were extreme and rare. It's likely that your DH will be a bit unwell but will recover quickly. But if he is a bit jointy and swollen and achy, that is a typical response. Hopefully, he won't get the full package with trimmings!

This sounds absolutely awful, you poor thing!! Glad you eventually improved but so hard it kick started other issues. As you say, can be the case that childhood illnesses are more severe in adults. Hope DH is OK 😷

@CraftyGin

I have a recollection of my now 24-yo having this. Her 4 siblings did not have any symptoms.

It lasted for weeks and was more prominent when she was out in the heat.

She also had it on her arms and legs - redness with a Lacy edge.

She wasn’t ill.

Yes my little girl's is flairing up when she's in the heat or jumping on trampoline etc. It isn't angry anymore but quite distinctive with the lacey edge. No rash on her body yet though. She's in sparkling form, full of energy as usual and no symptoms before the rash appeared. All a bit of a mystery but the rash does look very similar to photos on nhs website.

My daughter had this when she was 3. She got a cold with it and effected the top of her lip too. It lasted about 2 weeks (the cheeks stayed red once the cold had gone). However any cold/cough/hot weather she experienced about 3/4 months after would flare the inflammation on her cheeks and lip back up.

I'm really not sure where those angry red emojis came from 😆 but rather appropriate in the circumstances.

DollyTots thanks yes this seems to be happened to my daughter. One minute it looks like it is lots better, then later that same day it flairs up a bit.

DS had this at about 8 years old. At first we thought it was a reaction to something he'd eaten. We saw a gp (we were on holiday at the time) and it was diagnosed as slapped cheek. Apart from a slight worsening when he got hot, it didnt cause any issues and by the time we came home from holiday it had cleared.

Thanks. Yes we thought allergic reaction or heat rash first too. But it has hung around too long for that now. Hoping it will disappear soon - she has very fair skin (red hair) so when it flairs up it's quite prominent even now - but nowhere near as bad as a week ago.

@Chemenger

I live in fear of finally getting chickenpox!

@Chemenger you can pay to be vaccinated against it.