*Medical Section*
You guys are going to think I'm crazy. We have had an incredibly healthy winter (I think Mollee having no tonsils has helped the entire family in that regards), but now we are having one strange thing after another. Granted, I'm very grateful that we are just dealing with a bunch of little things instead of something bigger like my dear friends are dealing with - like swine flu. Plus, I love to learn!
Of course, Daegan is always the culprit, our little 'petri dish'. He woke up Saturday looking like he had a little sunburn on his cheeks. Knowing our previous days schedule, I knew that was impossible but didn't think much of it. By Sunday he looked even more burned and Monday morning he woke up with very red face cheeks, liked he'd be slapped over and over again. I decided to have it checked out (after a winter of not going to the doctor, it was my third trip in eight days).
It is Fifth Disease. Your gonna love this! It is a virus, is highly contagious before the rash shows up and you don't do anything about it and there aren't really any symptoms. Sometimes it can get itchy in overheated situations and sometimes you can get a low grade fever. There is nothing dangerous about it, except to first trimester pregnant women.
Why is it called Fifth Disease? This is your medical lesson for the week. Because it was the fifth rash on the charts back in the day and instead of coming up with a real name, they just chose fifth disease. Hmmmm!
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nice! i learn so much about diseases from your family...
ReplyDeleteoh gretch. we did that a few years back. the rash can actually last weeks, both coming and going. in kids, they usually don't care that they have it.
ReplyDeletehere is the catch: (there is always one!): it is the FIFTH "rash producing virus of childhood"...catch that part? kinda like chickenpox...meaning, great...IF YOU OR JASON HAVE ALREADY HAD IT... it adults, after you do the strange come and go rash thing,(about 5 days later) it produces PROFOUND ARTHRITIS with fever, called "septic arthritis", esp noted in the waist down....meaning KNEES and ankles....this lasts about a WEEK and is so severe is requires a HEFTY dose of steroids each day for a week....then it is OUT, like it came........
EASY for kids (except you look like you beat them)
AWFUL for adults who have never been exposed.
Stay away from pregos as much as poss.
Now you can ask us how we know this???????????