Loudy Family: Rough Week

Last week was a rough week in the Loudy household. First, mommy and daddy were sick on Sunday, and then Lane came down with a fever on Tuesday. At first, I thought the fever was from him getting a few new teeth, but then the fever spiked to 103 degrees on Wednesday and 105 degreees on Thrusday. This threw me into a panic, of course, and I took him to the doctor on Thursday morning.

The doctor checked him out and couldn't find anything wrong with him. (great) Lane was not coughing, no runny nose, no ear infection, and no sore throat. Also, she said teething would never cause such high temps. So she sent us home and instructed us to administer tylenol or ibuprophen, if the fever continued. The ibuprophen was keeping the fever at bay and he was eating and drinking just fine, so the doctor was not concerned. The doctor did inform us, she thought it was either a virus that would work itself out, or a disease called Roseola. Roseola will cause an unexplainable fever for 3-5 days, followed by a noncontagious rash on the body indicating the disease has run its course. But it is undiagnoseable until the rash appears. Awesome, so we just had to wait and see.

After 4 days of high temps, the rash appeared. I had never been so releaved! The fever was gone and he had a rash on his back and stomach. The doctor was right, Lane had Roseola. Unexplainable fevers make me VERY uncomfortable, so I was extremely happy to find out what caused such high temps.

This is a little rundown on Roseola from kidshealth.org:

About Roseola
Roseola (also known as sixth disease, exanthem subitum, and roseola infantum) is a viral illness in young kids, most commonly affecting those between 6 months and 2 years old. It is usually marked by several days of high fever, followed by a distinctive rash just as the fever breaks.
Two common and closely related viruses can cause roseola: human herpesvirus (HHV) type 6 and possibly type 7. These viruses belong to the same family as the better-known herpes simplex viruses (HSV), but HHV-6 and HHV-7 do not cause the cold sores and genital herpes infections that HSV can cause.

Signs and Symptoms
A child with roseola typically develops a mild upper respiratory illness, followed by a high fever (often over 103° F or 39.5° C) for up to a week. During this time, the child may appear fussy or irritable and may have a decreased appetite and swollen lymph nodes (glands) in the neck.

The high fever often ends abruptly, and at about the same time a pinkish-red flat or raised rash appears on the trunk and spreads over the body. The rash's spots blanch (turn white) when you touch them, and individual spots may have a lighter "halo" around them. The rash usually spreads to the neck, face, arms, and legs.

Contagiousness

Roseola is contagious and spreads through tiny drops of fluid from the nose and throat of infected people. These drops are expelled when an infected person talks, laughs, sneezes, or coughs. Other people who breathe the drops in or touch them and then touch their own noses or mouths can then also become infected.
The viruses that cause roseola do not appear to be spread by kids while they are exhibiting symptoms of the illness. Instead, someone who has not yet developed symptoms often spreads the infection.

Prevention

There is no known way to prevent the spread of roseola. Because the infection usually affects young kids but rarely adults, it is thought that a bout of roseola in childhood may provide some lasting immunity to the illness. Repeat cases of roseola may occur, but they are not common.