Hi Everyone,

In case you haven't heard, My 6 year old daughter Mikayla was diagnosed with scarlet fever on Friday night in the ER..here is a link to the post:
http://flash.lymenet.org/ubb/Forum1/HTML/033336.html

Today I took Derek back to doctor and he too has scarlet fever

Can you believe this? I thought scarlet fever went out with the Velveteen Rabbit and the dark ages. The doctors all say that they haven't seen it in this area in over 40 years.

Lucky for us, that both kids now have it. There is also another little girl in our school who was diagnosed with it this weekend.

Mikayla is doing a bit better, her temp is now 101 with ibuprophen every 6 hours and Tylenol every 4 hours. She seems to be a little more comfortable today, but she is still so sick.

Derek is very... very ...sick. His temp will not go below 103.6 even with the Ibuprphen and Tylenol.

He has the red sunburn rash, but so far it isn't as wide spread as Mikayla's. He has a horrible headache and his body aches all over. poor thing.

On top of that, he has been having allergy attacks from the darn tree and grass pollen all weekend.

I am very upset with our pedi's office. When they called me yesterday to check on Mikayla, I told them that Derek's temp was 101. The nurse said that because he had no rash, they didn't want to treat him.

I asked them wouldn't it be wise to put him on meds, just incase he does have scarlet fever, and I got the same spiel about not giving kids with viral infections, antibiotics.

So throughout the night, his fever got worse. I call the office early this AM and tell then that he is burning up and his face, arms, chest are all red, like a bad sunburn.

The nurse said the on call doc would want to see him. I said you want me to take my daughter who definitely has scarlet fever and a child who has a temp of 103.6 to the doctor who is 45 mins away?????

I said why can't they just call in a prescription for him. SO she said she'd check with the on call doc and get back to me..the on call doc said he had to see Derek in person...

Can you believe it???? SO I had to find someone to watch Mikayla and take Derek who can barley walk, to the doc. All the way there, he cries as he is in so much pain.

I get to the doctors office and of course there is a line. So I said I think he has scarlet fever and they look at me like I have 3 heads..oh well I tried.

So Derek went in to lay down in the waiting room while I stood in line to check in. I can see him clearly through the window and see a young boy maybe 3 and his sister maybe 6 trying to talk to Derek.

He told them he didn't feel good and the girl said he's faking..and she told her brother to kick him.

before I could react, the boy kicked Derek!!
The mom was nowhere to be seen, so I shouted Hey! Someone's kid is kicking my son!!! No one said anything.

Then the little brat went to kick Derek again and I yelled to the kids to not kick my son! And another mom yelled to everyone in the line, that someone's little boy was kicking a sick child in the waiting room.

Finally a mom stepped forward and grabbed the kids arm and told him to apologize. He wouldn't. So she yelled at him and said something about why would he kick a kid 3 times his size.

So I said, why would he kick a kid no matter what his size is???? She didn't know what to say to that. I couldn't believe it..poor Derek was so sick, he couldn't even lift an arm to stop the kid from kicking him and the kid was going to kick him again...

Obviously the mom had no clue and her kids were allowed to behave like this. The staff all came out to make sure Derek was okay, which he was..he just couldn't believe someone would kick a little boy when he was sick.

The nurse sputtered loud enough for the mom to hear that it was a good thing for the little boy that Derek was such a sweet boy, as someday when the little boy kicked another kid, he was going to get kicked back.. to which I said Amen!

Anyways, we finally get in to see the doc and the nurse said mmm his temp is still 103.6... I felt like saying..well DUHHH I told you that on the phone, but I didn't..

Anyways, the doc said " well, he's definitely sick", and ordered a rapid strep test. It comes back negative. But as Derek has the classic scarlet fever rash, fever, headache and every other symptom of scarlet fever, he said he is 99.9% sure he has scarlet fever and prescribed augmnenton.

And then he said as Mikayla had a positive scarlet fever, he would treat Derek just to be on the safe side regardless...

Now mind you I haven't slept since Wed night and my fuse is running low. So I said why did I have to drive 45 mins one way, to bring my clearly sick child here, if you were planning on treating him for scarlet fever anyways???

So he said that just because the particular strain of strep they tested him for came back negative, it doesn't mean that he isn't positive for another strain of strep and that other bacteria's can cause scarlet fever...

Okay...but I still didn't understand why I had to bring him in. So the doc said that the nurse I spoke to wasn't sure if I knew what I was talking about when I described the rash.

I couldn't believe they made me uproot my two sick kids, find a sitter for Mikayla, make Derek drive in a car for an hour and a half, make him wait in the waiting room..exposing at least 40 people to scarlet fever...and have Derek get kicked in the waiting room, just because the nurse didn't know if I knew what I was talking about when I desribed the rash....

I am so tired, i almost cried right there from the ignorance of the entire system!!! Had they treated Mikayla Friday when I took her to the doc, she probable would have been spared going to the ER that same night or getting so sick..

And had they simply given Derek antibiotics on Sat when he first got the fever, all of this could have been avoided... But they are so busy trying to make sure they don;t give out meds for viral infections, they let two cases of scarlet fever go left untreated, until both children became very sick..

it's insane!

I was so upset, I couldn't even talk. So I took the prescription and Derek was so sick he couldn't even walk, so I gave him a piggyback to the car.

When one of the nurses saw me carrying my almost 100lb 8 year old on my back, she offered to get me a wheelchair. I politely declined, saying I thought this office had done enough for my kids the past 4 days, and left.

Maybe I'm so overtired that I'm over reacting, but I just can't believe they are so incompetent. They knew several other kids have scarlet fever in the area, yet they still refused to give my clearly very sick children, meds..and as a result Mikayla ended up in the ER and poor Derek is the sickest I have ever seen him.

I am so sick of ducks!

Sorry for the rampage I just wanted to give you all an update and let you know that Derek has scarlet fever now as well...and to ask for continued prayers for the kids....

I guess I just let it all out...thanks for letting me vent!

Please keep Derek and Mikayla in your prayers..and a prayer to give their mom some extra strength would be appreciated as well

Thanks again,

i read a lot that i am too tired to post too

Even my peds duck has a seperate door for children that have a rash to come in and out of--what if your child had smallpox or something!!!!

I sincerely think you should call the health department and tell them those other children were exposed to scarlet fever.

What the doctor said corrilates with what I found out recently. Most peds only check for one strain of strep--and apparently there are other strains that are showing up this year.

Your ped is a duck of the worst kind--they are totally irresponsible.

You are doing such a good job--you are doing a good job of taking care of your children and they are lucky to have you. I will keep your family in my heart and prayers and pray for a speedy recovery of your children.

The overuse business is repeated endlessly in the media, etc. and there doesn't ever seem to be anyone pointing out that antibiotics are needed in some cases and situations like yours demonstrate that overreaction can cause harm too. The point about all those other kids being exposed to a very infectious disease is the knockout punch.

If the newspaper prints it, cut it out and send to the health dept. and maybe the CDC too. Leave out Lyme disease. Will just muddy the water.

Doctors are being made out as the villains in the overuse of antibiotics, so your letter will support them, not attack them. Really, more than half of all antibiotics are used in agriculture. So, doctors who aren't sure whether something is viral or bacterial and err on the side of caution by giving antibiotics are just a small part of the problem.

quote:

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Originally posted by lou:
.... Don't nail the doctor, but point out that the pendulum has swung too far in the campaign to restrict use of antibiotics.

The overuse business is repeated endlessly in the media, etc. and there doesn't ever seem to be anyone pointing out that antibiotics are needed in some cases and situations like yours demonstrate that overreaction can cause harm too.

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I agree! Hope your kids are better today!

These are stressful times for you. But there is a treatment for scarlet fever and your kid will recover, so just get thru this little by little.

Don't be afraid of fever-it means the body is working to fight the nasties. Sometimes it's best to allow fever to do it's work. I believe it enables some immune factors to function better.

Maybe the kids who picked on your sick little boy will catch scarlet fever!

I also believe childhood illness like chickenpox, measles,german measles, etc somehow prime the immune system for better function in later life.

I purposely exposed my kid to chicken pox. We were lucky, she caught it. I was never able to find measles or german measles or I would have done the same.

When you get the chance please read my response to your 1st post about this.

Also, I am concerned about you giving them ibuprophen AND tylenol. Is this what the dr suggested? I'm concerned about that.

I agree with others who wrote about exposing other children. My kid's ped is wonderful. They have a separate door for any child with a cough or rash. Your son shouldn't have been in the waiting room (their fault, not yours)!

I know it was difficult on both of you to do it, but it really is best (in my opinion)that the dr exam the child. It is possible that he could have had something else or that he were in danger and could have needed to be admitted to the hospital. It's always best to have the dr see your child to be sure before prescribing meds.

Thanks for all the posts, advice and prayers! We sure do appreciate it.

Mikayla is now on the mend!!! Her fever is 99.9 and the rash is fading to pink..phew!

Derek is still battling a temp of about 103, even on meds. But I am more worried about the pain in his feet and legs than the fever.

His legs hurt so bad, that he can't even walk! He has to crawl to the bathroom....

The doc said it was because he has severe joint pain ( possible arthritis) from lyme and that the bacteria is making it worse. I put a call into Dr.J about this today , but haven't heard back from him.

I do know that whenever Derek gets really sick, his joints do hurt him very much.

So many people told me not to worry about scarlet fever as it's "just" strep with a rash..I wish it were that simple!.

My kids have both had strep several times and it was a day in the park compared to this illness. I have never seen Derek so sick..ever.

he was so sick Mon and Tues, It scared us all. Thank God his temp is coming down..it was over 104 with ibuprophen

I have managed to get the fever down to jsut below 103 and he seems more comfortable, so I am hoping he will feel much better in a day or two.

The school called today to see when Mikayla was coming back. I told then her temp was 99.9 and that the doc said she was no longer contagious.

So technically she could go to school tomorrow, but I decided to keep her home and let her rest. She has to go to the Children's Hospital Friday for her chest pains/reflux anyway..

Plus next week is school vacation in NH,so I want her to get rested up and get her body healthy again before I send her back to school.

Plus with a weekend immune system, I'm afraid she'd pick up another virus or something. So I'm going to call them tomorrow and tell them that I think it best to keep both kids home for the rest of the week.

The kids were out this year several times due to illness, either cold, flu, or lyme so I'm sure I might get so flack, but I do have dr.notes for all their absences so I hope they'll leave it alone.

Plus as I homeschooled both kids until this year, the doctor said it should be expected that the kids would pick up alot of viruses this year.

About the pedi, he is a great pediatrician. Unfortunately he is in a clinic with 4 other doctors, and when your child is sick, you get whoever is on call.

I did call him and tell him how upset I was about the whole situation and he agreed that as we had a definite positive for Mikayla's scarlet fever, that there was no need to make Derek make the long trip to the clinic...

I also told him how upset I was about the antibiotic situation, how I felt they were going from one extreme to another and that due to their fear that they might give a healthy child antibiotics.....that in my opinion, they jeopardized the health of both of my children who were now extremely sick due to his co-doctors ignorance.

he didn't go so far as to agree with me about the incompetence of his coworkers, but did agree that it seems more children are not getting antibiotics when they need them due to the cdc's new "suggestions" about dispensing antibiotics.

So it's yet another case of the cdc, messing with the health of our children and interfering with their health care. It's infuriating!

And I also addressed the issue of the waiting room, it's a large room and one side is for well patients and one side for sick patients..only problem is that there is no divider of any kind..

and the sick kids have to walk through the well patient side before getting to their side of the room!..it's ridiculous..like having a non smoking section in a room with no divider..

I don't know if anything will be done about it, but for such a nice new clinic, one would think they would have taken precautions. There is plenty of room to make two waiting rooms..

Oh well, I am just thankful that they are now being treated and that they are getting better.

Okay, thanks for letting me sputter again..lol! I'm going to give Derek another bath to get him comfortable for the night.

Any suggestions on what to do to help ease the pain in his joints, would be appreciated!

I am sorry to hear of the difficulties that both Mikayla and Dereck are dealing with. I am sure you are worn out at this point and wish there could be a faster resolution...hang in there for this too shall pass.

I can relate and sympathize with Derek's joint pain, as this is one of my primary symptoms of Lyme. In addition to pain meds, I have found ice packs applied to painful joints gives relief. Ice packs that can be directly applied to the area without using a protective cloth are available. When there are multiple joints that need to be iced down and you don't have enough cloth type ice packs, use lunch box size ice packs wrapped inside a dish towel to protect the skin. I prefer the thinner/lighter weight ice packs to the bulky ones that puts too much weight/pressure on the inflammed joints. The ice packs at first can seem painful when applied to a painful joint, but it soon brings relief. I find that icing down painful joints several times a day is helpful. I also think if you can reduce the inflamation, the flare ups can be reduced in duration and severity.

When joint pain is extreme in areas of the lower extremities, I use crutches to move around. This helps to take weight off of the inflammed joints as well as gives better stability and balance. If upper level joint pain prevents the use of crutches, a cane can be used for support.

If Derek experiences pain in his rib cage or back spasms, try using a heating pad. However, be very careful to use a low heat setting for short durations of time and supervise him so that he does not experience any burns.

The above suggestions are simple and hardly innovative, but they may be worth trying. Wishing you all the best.

Mine don't even have scarlett fever and I feel stressed out and over-whelmed.

Really struggling today--I admire your strength.

Will keep all three of you in my prayers.