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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

slapped cheek - freaking out

13 replies

keepingfingerscrossed · 12/09/2017 22:54

My two year old has suspected slapped cheek and I am 28 weeks pregnant today. I know I don't have any immunity to slapped cheek as my eldest had a suspected case at his nursery (which didn't turn out to be slapped cheek) early on in the beginning of my pregnancy and my doctor tested me.

I will be honest I am totally freaking out about it. I know the NHS website says that it's more of a concern pre 20 weeks but I've read some medical journals tonight that make it clear that there can be serious problems post 20 weeks. Does anyone have any experience of slapped cheek after 20 weeks? Would be grateful for any information. So worried about this. TIA

OP posts:
Original poster
keepingfingerscrossed · 13/09/2017 07:25

Anyone? Feeling terrified currently.

OP posts:
user1471440709 · 13/09/2017 07:39

Ring your doctors/midwife. This happened to me and they were able to check for immunity.

fluffywallow · 13/09/2017 07:59

I had a scare at 15 weeks and fortunately I was immune but if you know you are not I would get in touch with your midwife and see what they suggest - from what I remember (from my extensive panicked research) is that they'll probably keep testing you over a number of weeks to see if you've contracted it (just because you're not immune doesn't mean you'll get it) and then if you have got it they'll do scans to check baby.

I calculated the actual chances of there being a problem and it's really very very small so try not to worry. You are aware of the issue and are going to seek help - from what I read it's when women don't realise they've got it that it's more likely to cause a problem as treatment doesn't happen.

I know how worrying it is so you have my sympathy and I'm sure everything'll be ok Flowers

Original poster
keepingfingerscrossed · 13/09/2017 08:33

Thank you for your comments . xx Currently sat in doctors waiting for urgent appointment to see my GP.

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cherryontopp · 13/09/2017 08:55

I was exposed to it when i was 8/9 weeks and I was beside myself. Lucky the chances are really small of anything seriously bad happening and I was given the all clear in the end. They need to scan you and monitor you.

xflipflopx · 13/09/2017 09:45

I caught slapped cheek at 15 weeks pregnant and had no immunity.
Cue regular scans every two weeks for 10 weeks and fortunately for me no problems at all and was able to progress with normal pregnancy.
Now currently 34 weeks.
It was scary but so nice to see how baby changed every two weeks.
(Obvious would have rather not been there)
Hope this helps

Original poster
keepingfingerscrossed · 13/09/2017 15:42

Thank you everyone and sorry to hear about those of you who also had to go through this stress.

Flipflop- thanks so much for your post. Honestly that's the most straightforward answer I have had all day. The GP I saw clearly knew very little about it and essentially said I just needed to cross my fingers and hope for the best in a very blunt way. Said as I was having regular growth scans (once a month she thought they would do little else). Was very upsetting so I spoke to a midwife (not my normal one - seeing her tomorrow) and they said id just be scanned more but only once they knew I had the infection. I went for a blood test this morning but I think the chances of it passing to me at this stage are slim as my little one has only just got the red cheeks and rash hasn't appeared yet.

Does anyone know how long it typically takes from exposure to developing it? And how do they tell if it has crossed the placenta to the baby and they have it. Is it just from scans?

Thanks so much for your comments. It's helping so much xx

OP posts:
xflipflopx · 14/09/2017 20:48

I went for a scan within 3 days of developing the rash and was told that it wasn't likely to show any problems then but the most crucial one was 4-6 weeks after exposure as that's how long it takes to cross to placenta but they scan before and after as a precaution.
They can tell pretty much straight away if anything is wrong they look for swelling on the baby's heart and brain and could tell me within 30 seconds if they thought something was wrong. (Don't know if that's true for everyone obviously)
If they see something they don't always act asap as it can go on it's own if baby is strong enough to fight it.
A lady who had been in before me her baby had developed hydrops but went back to see if there was any changes and they had gone so it's not always as scary as it first seems.
That's why I'm on Mumsnet now as I was searching everywhere for answers.
Please keep us updated wishing you all the best.

GreenGoblin0 · 14/09/2017 21:53

Hi OP sorry to hear you are going through this. my DD1 has slapped cheek at mo although not pregnant (dd2 is now 5 months). once the rash appears on the face you are no longer contagious and I don't think the rash on the body always appears. from what I understand you can be contagious for around 2 weeks before the cheek rash appears

Original poster
keepingfingerscrossed · 15/09/2017 00:49

Thanks Flipflop for the information - so helpful and again so much more useful than anything I've gleaned from any medical
professional so far. They all agree it's a horrible position to be in and I basically just have to hope for the best but to be honest that really doesn't help me!!

Thanks too Greengoblin for your information. That's really helpful to know because he hasn't got the rash yet (and GP didn't say he might not get it) just the red cheeks which seem to flare up and flare down.

How did they diagnose your little one with slapped cheek? Was it just a clinical assessment or a blood test? My GP can't (or won't) even categorically say it is slapped cheek so I'm thinking I might need to get my little ones bloods done so at least we know for sure what we are dealing with. I really don't want to but at least that way we know if we have to be so concerned. So stressful. Can't imagine those of you who have been through this while in the really vulnerable period of 9-20 weeks.

Thanks again for all the info. It's really helping me xx

OP posts:
GreenGoblin0 · 15/09/2017 03:44

they just did a clinical assessment. we noticed the cheek rash and the body rash at the same time but the body rash was so subtle I am not sure I would've noticed on its own (ie without the cheeks). the cheeks do flare up and flare down. interestingly baby has no sign of having it so far DDs cheeks came out a week ago now. I've also read that sometimes adults don't get the rash at all. info here

beta.nhs.uk/conditions/slapped-cheek-syndrome/?WT.mc_id=organic_split

SaraLouise88 · 29/06/2018 16:41

Help! I’m a teacher and some pupils in my class have slapped cheek. I’ve just called my doctor and the duty doctor said slapped cheek poses absolutely no risk to the baby. It’s a virus so there’s nothing they can do, if I do catch it then I should just take paracetamol and stay hydrated....

Original poster
keepingfingerscrossed · 15/08/2018 12:35

@saraLouise88 - I'm so sorry I've only have seen your query. I'm sure it's all moved on a lot from the end of June but just in case anyone else is searching for slapped cheek info anywhere as they have been exposed (which is what I did) then the advice you @sara got is really very bad and completely untrue. It absolutely can harm the baby and you need to liaise with your midwife/Gp straight away. Bloods will be taken with an interval of (I think) a month in between to see first if you are immune and second if you have then caught slapped cheek. In my case I was very lucky as it turned out my child didn't have slapped cheek. Good luck to anyone who is going through this as it is a scary time xx

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