Even if it IS a brand-new virus, I don't want it named after her.
November 17, 2009
Sophia has been sick. Brace yourself, because now I'm about to describe the course of her illness, which is totally annoying and boring to anyone who isn't her parents, but please bear with me.
This is why people hate mommybloggers, isn't it?
Nonetheless, it started last week. She got punky and had a little diarrhea, and ran a tiny wee fever. 99.5-ish. Nothing impressive. So fine, I settled in for lots of holding the baby and figured it was some baby bug that would run its course in a few days. I mean, it's what babies do, right? Suffer randomly from fleeting ailments?
Well, that seemed to be what was happening, but as it turns out she was closely watching the time on her dainty invisible baby wristwatch, because as soon as the pediatrician's office closed on Friday, she started getting worse.
I guess I should say she started LOOKING worse.
Her cheeks went chalk white, and around her eyes and mouth, the skin turned bright red, like a sunburn. By Saturday the redness had spread to her whole body, and when we picked her up, she recoiled and wailed like she'd been slapped.
Ever tried to comfort a baby that MUST be held but HATES to be touched? It's a ginger proposition.
So since she looked so awful and seemed to be in pain, I actually called the pediatrician's office Sunday morning and asked to have her seen by the doctor on call. During a snow storm. Oh yes, I did. I even played the "look, this is my fourth child and I've NEVER seen anything like this" card.
The doctor was EXTREMELY helpful, the way he scowled into the room, barely looked at her, and proclaimed her to be suffering from "some virus." Charming. THAT was worth the drive through the snow and the co-pay.
Now, for a fabulous part 2, wherever the redness was? The skin is PEELING AWAY, like after a blistering sunburn. And this, here, is what's making me insane tonight: when she was red all over and crying all the time and the doctor glanced at her and advised us not to bother with Tylenol because she didn't have a fever? She was IN PAIN because her skin was being SCORCHED.
So I polled some of my mom friends about this virus, to see if any of them have seen such a thing in their parenting careers, and the response was a resounding NO. No one has seen a baby who looks like my baby looks right now. And you know what the plural of anecdote is, right? INCONTROVERTIBLE PROOF. Therefore, I have CLEARLY PROVEN that Sophia is the first baby ever to suffer from this brand-new and horrible virus.
I suggest we call it the "Zombie Baby Virus" because - well, look. Here's Sophia BEFORE the ZBV.
Awwww, can we agree?
Now here (although it doesn't really show the WORST of the ZBV) is her when she was sick:
Hurts my heart.
So let me ask YOU, dear friends inside the computer - have you ever seen anything like this? Feel free to tell me ANYTHING you know about it, as long as what you know is OH, THE WORST IS OVER AND SHE WILL BE FINE FINE FINE!
Fifth Disease? Although she's a little young and they say the rash doesn't hurt, The Baby had it at 8 months and her fever sparked a febrile seizure that had me dialing 911 and spending the night on a hospital cot. And that was after having two kids already.
Posted by: Shelley | November 17, 2009 at 10:22 PM
Fifth Disease was my first thought too, but she never got a fever over 100, and her face looked like the opposite of that slapped cheeks look they get.
And bless you, those febrile seizures are NOT OKAY. I mean, the kids are fine, but the parents will never be quite the same, can I get an amen?
Posted by: Kira | November 17, 2009 at 10:25 PM
Poor baby! That ZBV looks awful.
And its a new one for me, though we've had some weird virus-induced (supposedly) rash type reactions around here. One virus that swept through a few years ago gave me a crazy, poison-oak looking rash ALL OVER my body; gave my husband alopecia, where he lost 2 patches of hair on his head, one above an ear and one on the back, totally bald patches about 2 inches in diameter that took a YEAR to grown back; and gave the 3 year old pink eye-type symptoms. Luckily the 3 month old baby didn't catch anything.
Anyway. Just to say viruses can do some weird stuff and hopefully she is past the worst of it. (And for the record, I am of the opinion that it is NEVER pointless to give Motrin if a kid is feeling punky, despite what the ped says.)
Posted by: Carla Hinkle | November 17, 2009 at 11:12 PM
My first thought was roseola, but then peeling??? It sounds like scarlet fever. The white around the mouth was what reminded me to look it up. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/scarlet-fever/DS00917/DSECTION=symptoms
Then again, I'm not an expert or a doctor, just a person with google at my fingertips... And the name ZBV is kind of cool.
Have you talked with your regular doctor? I would. If it is scarlet fever, maybe she needs antibiotics - or maybe if anyone else gets sick, you need to check them for strep.
Poor little baby!!!!! (and poor mom - this has been a rough week for you!)
Posted by: Tracy | November 18, 2009 at 06:19 AM
It sounds like a case of Fifths Disease we've had in this house. I felt like I was going crazy, too -- miserable baby, weird rash. But a virus, so very little we could do about it. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/parvovirus-infection/DS00437/DSECTION=symptoms
Posted by: Mel | November 18, 2009 at 06:56 AM
wait, not white around the mouth. she's red around the mouth. Never mind... I have no clue at all. Poor baby!
Posted by: Tracy | November 18, 2009 at 08:22 AM
Oh, poor baby! I wish I had something helpful to offer, but I will offer that I'll say a prayer for her speedy recovery!
Posted by: Aimee | November 18, 2009 at 08:51 AM
What about Kawasaki's disease? I think that usually has a pretty high temp though. It for sure includes red eyes (more the whites of the eyes turn red though) and a red tongue and peeling of the skin. But then again that's more peeling of the fingers and toes, I believe. Eh, I don't know. BZV it is!
Posted by: Karly | November 18, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Poor baby. She's in my prayers and so are you.
Posted by: Amy | November 18, 2009 at 10:55 AM
Did she have diaper rash at the same time? My daughter is mildly lactose intolerant and as a toddler she used to flair up like that after eating milk because she'd eat (mouth rash) rub her eyes (eye rash) and then she'd get diarrhea (diaper rash). Course I don't imagine she's even old enough to have eaten milk that didn't come from mom so I don't know. BZV you say?
Posted by: Clarity | November 18, 2009 at 09:09 PM
Poor sweetie!
When I was 14 I had a really high fever and afterward the skin around my face, hands and feet peeled off... just flaked off... but I didn't ever feel any pain from anything.... just a crappy fever! (Um and some time in the ICU, since it was actually toxic shock syndrome... )
I'm not very helpful! I hope she's feeling better! But the Mayo Clinic has a great symptom checker!
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/symptom-checker/DS00671
Posted by: Heather Cook | November 18, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Writing from Ireland, I've a 3 year old and an 8 month old baby. Both girls.
On Thursday of last week, the 3 year old looked very similar to Sophie. She was chalky white, with red rimmed eyes, had red peeling around the mouth, and frankly looked like death. She was also exhausted.
Friday she was better. Saturday afternoon, she kept saying she needed to poo, without result, and then she started vomiting. She threw up 3 times within a few hours and was roasting hot to the touch. Paracetamol suppository to take down temp, and sips of water helped. Sunday she was fine again.
Now for provisos: She has coeliac (celiac to you!) disease. And is totally addicted to her soother, due to the vomiting and nausea when she was diagnosed with CD last year. We thought the vomiting was linked to gluten getting into her somehow, and put the redness down to the soother addiction. Turns out another child and one minder at her crèche had the same thing the prior week.
It sounds like the same thing you've been dealing with, but she didn't have body-wide peeling. Just around her mouth.
She had had the swine flu vaccination 10 days prior to the virus. (Her mild asthma and compromised immune system made her high risk for Swine flu).
While she was feverish and uncomfortable, I put bread soda and a few drops each of tea tree oil and lavender oil in her bath water. It seemed to comfort her skin.
Good news is it cleared quickly and didn't spread to the incredibly robust 8 month old.
Hoping the same is true for you.
Posted by: Charlotte | November 19, 2009 at 07:29 AM
I'm not a mom, but I just wanted to add that I hope your small beauty feels better very, very soon. She lights up my boring law school days. (And your writing is pretty good too.)
Posted by: kate c.w. | November 19, 2009 at 10:51 AM
Could be scarletina, which is a much milder form of scarlet fever, but that's a strep infection, not staph. My son had scarletina and Fifth Disease and I think roseola too when he was young.
Posted by: Gail | November 20, 2009 at 09:50 AM