Scarlet Fever has struck the Spontak house. Crazy huh? I didn't know people even still got this disease. As far as I was concerned it was something people died from in the 1800s and my personal experience with it stopped at being sad when the boy from the Velveteen Rabbit had to have all his toys burned. Apparently it is still alive and well in the 21st century and Hannah and I both have it! Who would have thunk it? It all started Sunday morning when I awoke with an awful sore throat. I went to urgent care and was informed I had strep throat. I did my best to keep my germs from Hannah and Kyle and began taking my antibiotics. Then Monday night Hannah had a mild, but funny looking r
ash on her chest and tummy, but no other symptoms. Today however she started running a high fever after preschool and the rash spread to pretty much her entire body. This freaked me out so I called her doctor and he was full for the day as were all the other doctors in his office. So, I shuttled her off to urgent care and was told she had Scarlet Fever and was asked to show my belly. As odd as this sounds, apparently Scarlet Fever is another manifestation of the same bacteria that causes strep throat. Since I had not complained of a rash ,the urgent care Dr I had seen on Sunday stopped at the diagnosis of strep throat. I didn't even know I had a rash, but the Dr informed me that mine was in the very beginning stages and that it was possible to feel it before it could be seen and that it usually starts on the belly. Because I was already on antibiotics before my rash really got a chance to get started I was told that my rash might not get as bad as Hannah's, but that I shouldn't get too cocky about that. Mine is now visible on my stomach and hips and can be felt on my face. 
According to the doctor people used to die of Scarlet Fever because there weren't antibiotics around yet to treat it or drugs like Tylenol or Motrin to reduce the fever so it often progressed into rheumatic fever. Since the invention of penicillin Scarlet Fever has become more of a nuisance than a deadly threat. So, it looks like we will be staying in for a few days to let our antibiotics kick in and render us not contagious anymore. Hopefully Kyle will be spared from all of this, but I'm not making any bets on that. He's already been exposed so it will just have to be up to whether or not his immune system is strong enough to fight it off or not.
ash on her chest and tummy, but no other symptoms. Today however she started running a high fever after preschool and the rash spread to pretty much her entire body. This freaked me out so I called her doctor and he was full for the day as were all the other doctors in his office. So, I shuttled her off to urgent care and was told she had Scarlet Fever and was asked to show my belly. As odd as this sounds, apparently Scarlet Fever is another manifestation of the same bacteria that causes strep throat. Since I had not complained of a rash ,the urgent care Dr I had seen on Sunday stopped at the diagnosis of strep throat. I didn't even know I had a rash, but the Dr informed me that mine was in the very beginning stages and that it was possible to feel it before it could be seen and that it usually starts on the belly. Because I was already on antibiotics before my rash really got a chance to get started I was told that my rash might not get as bad as Hannah's, but that I shouldn't get too cocky about that. Mine is now visible on my stomach and hips and can be felt on my face. 
According to the doctor people used to die of Scarlet Fever because there weren't antibiotics around yet to treat it or drugs like Tylenol or Motrin to reduce the fever so it often progressed into rheumatic fever. Since the invention of penicillin Scarlet Fever has become more of a nuisance than a deadly threat. So, it looks like we will be staying in for a few days to let our antibiotics kick in and render us not contagious anymore. Hopefully Kyle will be spared from all of this, but I'm not making any bets on that. He's already been exposed so it will just have to be up to whether or not his immune system is strong enough to fight it off or not. 
3 comments:
Hope you are both feeling better soon!! Glad to see some new posts..I think of you often.
Hope you both get better quickly.
My mom had scarlet fever as a child in the late 40's. It nearly killed her. It is a wonderful thing that they have figured out how to treat this.
Ugh, I had scarlet fever when I was little...all I remember is the rash and a headache that made me feel like I wanted to DIE. Yeech. I hope you are all better soon.
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