Yes, of the I-shit-you-not Velveteen Rabbit variety.
:eek:
I help out doing babysitting/nanny/jolly people along/run errands between substituting jobs. This week, all three children - seven, five, and three - are home sick. Symptoms are high fever, lethargy, sore throat, and loss of appetite. We take them in to the doc yesterday.
Two of the three test positive for strep throat, the oldest and the youngest. The oldest not only has strep, but it has progressed to “scarletina”, better known as “scarlet fever”. This is what happens when a strep infection goes into overdrive. Fortunately, they caught it before it went into the full body oozy rash, but she does have the bright red tongue.
sigh
One elephantine shot of antibiotics and several prescriptions for follow up antibiotics, and we were home, putting kids to bed. My friend sent me home to decontaminate as scarlet fever is extremely contagious during the fever stage, and I’d been holding the oldest, letting her sleep against my shoulder, wiping her tears because shots are scary, and so on.
Oh, and I’m sick too. Same symptoms, but nowhere near as severe. :rolleyes: I’m feeling like maybe we should have a whole demon bacteria exorcism or something. Good grief.
I had that when I was a kid. It wasn’t a picnic. I was quarantined to a bedroom for an entire week. I believe I got a shot of penicillan in the butt with a big ol horse needle. [old codger voice]That was waaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day, see.[/old codger voice] Did they put you on an antibiotic, too? Better do an anti-bacterial attack on your home front, as well (bedding, towels, surfaces, toothbrush, eating utensils, etc.) That’s a nasty bugger.
Aaron had strep throat a few weeks ago. The PA he saw explicitly told us to give him the antibiotic around the clock, because of the possibility that strep could progress into scarletina.
Damn-I thought you could be vaccinated against it? Apparently not.
My grandmother said that when she had it as a child, their entire house was under a quarantine, and only her grandmother, who had had it before, was allowed to come in and nurse her.
My nephew had this several years ago. All the skin on his hands and feet peeled off if I remember correctly. I was in highschool at the time and had no end of fun telling the other kids not to come near me cause my nephew had scarlet fever. Worked too, that was a peaceful week
I got it when I was younger. My dentist says that becuase I had it while my grown-up teeth were in the forming stage, that that’s why they have white spots.
Scarlet fever, and rhumatic fever are both reactions to the Streptococcus A bacteria.
Strep throat is the most common manifestation, but if left untreated, in children, it can progress into something much more serious. That doesn’t seem to be the case with adults with untreated strep, but adults can spread it to children, so should be treated too.
The sooner antibiotics are started the less likelyhood of more serious complications.
Not every sore throat is strep. Doctors have a quick test that will determine if it is or isn’t, so proper treatment can get going.
Same thing with me.
Is it true that scarlet fever can contribute to hearing loss later in life? I have an older neighbor who thinks this is why she has lost so much hearing.
My Aunt (in her seventies now) had scarlet fever as a kid and rhematic fever as a teenager. I hadn’t realised they were connected. She has a heart murmur which is said to have resulted from the rheumatic fever.
You were too little to remember when I had it… I was feeling crappy, but we went to the fair anyway…looked down at my arms and they were covered in rash. (People with fibromyalgia don’t know when they are actually sick. Every day feels like a day at Disneyland with the flu.) Fortunately, this was before I developed an allergy to penicillin. I think we caught it fairly early. The rash went away in a couple of days IIRC.
Back when I was a teenager I regularly babysat two kids. One evening they were already in bed when I arrived. The mom told me they’d been a little feverish, but were sleeping well. Next day they got worse I guess, because she called my mother and told her that if I started coming down sick to get me to a doctor, as she’d taken her kids in and they had strep throat. I’d had almost not physical contact with the little ones(I’d gone in once to feel their foreheads), so I didn’t get sick, but I sure was worried.
