Scarlet Fever!!

Hi everyone, I would really appreciate some input on this. Last Saterday Aiden broke out in a red rash all over his body. At first I thought he was having a reaction to the sunscreen I had put on him a few hours earlier. ( we were at the beach ) and he tends to be sensitive to some products. So I washed it all off him and watched and waited. He did not have a fever or any other symptoms except he did seem a little more tired than usual. I called our nurses advisory hotline and they told me to give him some Benadryl and see if it goes away. It did not. So Sunday morning I take him to the pediatric clinic that was open and they told me it looked like Scarlet Fever. They took his temp. ( NO FEVER ) they did the rapid strep test, and it came back Negative. So now I'm waiting on the throut culture test to come back. In the meantime I'm supposed to do nothing. Oh, they did tell me to isolate him because he is contagious. How am I supposed to do that when he has a twin sister and I'm the only one able to care for them? Has anyone elses child had this, and what was the treatment? Please HElP!

 

My hubby had it as a child. Im assuming things have changed since then, but he spent a few weeks home in a room by himself, he had to stay out of sunlight. At the end of it, his skin peeled, like a snake and he said his skin peeled for a few years after that. He actually worried us a few months back because he skin got all red and rashy and then started to peel but they said this time was because of his dry skin
Anyways, I dont have any good advice, just wanted to pass along dhs story.

 

Here is some info on Scarlet fever. Apparently the only treatment is antibiotics. I hope they get the results of the culture back quickly for you.

 

My son had Scarlet fever and he tested negative for both the rapid strep test and the throat culture. Pedi said he didn't know what the rash was from and sent us to a Dermatologist. The Dermatologist took one look at my son and said "Classic scarlet fever rash!" He ordered a blood culture and sure enough it came back rampant strep! (Scarlet Fever is caused by the strep bacteria.) Doctor said some patients never show signs of strep throat. Anyway, the treatment for Scarlet Fever is antibiotics and rest. The skin may peel and it will be very sensitive to the sun--so avoid sun exposure. Oh, my daughter did not catch it from him and she was in close contact. HTH

 

My oldest had it. It sounds much worse than it is. Antibiotics and rest did wonders for her. Took a few weeks for her to feel like her old self but she's had worse. Amazingly, she's the only person in the house that doesn't have sensitive skin. It's just one of the ways strep can rear it's ugly head.

 

My son had it too. I was told it is basically just strep throat with a rash. Anti's cleared it up fast. And no one else in my family got it. I was also told that some people are more prone to strep than others. My son got it so many times and no one else ever got it. So weird... Hope he feels better soon!

 

Thanks so much to those who responded. I was begining to think my son was the only child to have ever had this.