back in the early 1900's, there was a list of diseases that cause rashes. apparently, the fifth one in the list was human parvovirus (the human parvovirus is not the same as the canine parvovirus) hence the name "fifths disease." some say, though, that fifths disease got its name from the way a child looked like it got slapped with five fingers.
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today at 2pm, i got a call from daycare that kendal had a fever - 102.5. mrs. kelly said she wouldn't have even checked it, but that kendal had pink pink cheeks waking up from nap, which has become a normal thing for him these past few weeks (the pink cheek part) but that he also was a little glassy eyed. so, i call nathaniel... he headed home to get kendal. in the mean time, i arrange a doctor appointment since with a fever that high, kendal has to have a note to get BACK into school.
{if you want to read about the actual doctor visit, nathaniel has PROMISED to blog about it ASAP. but since he'll probably be home tomorrow with a sick child, it may be more than a day or two before it gets posted!}
turns out kendal has fifths disease. not a big deal, really, lots of kids get it. i had it, melissa had it, you probably did too. its not dangerous unless you're 14 to 20 weeks pregnant.
bright pink cheeks are THE biggest symptom of fifths. also, soon i suppose he'll have a rash. like, maybe tonight or tomorrow we'll see it. supposedly, he's been contagious all this time. after this fever breaks (which it was already down a degree by the time he was at the doctor's office), the contagiousness is over.
the incubation period for the parvovirus is 4 to 14 days. count back... that is february 10th (or later). i remember just before valentine's day i went into daycare to ask the director how many valentines day gifts to prepare for kendal's class and she was talking to another mom about fifths disease. guess it took that long to pass around!
ah, the joys of childhood diseases. what's next, chickenpox? please lets get vaccinated first!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
did you slap my child?
back in the early 1900's, there was a list of diseases that cause rashes. apparently, the fifth one in the list was human parvovirus (the human parvovirus is not the same as the canine parvovirus) hence the name "fifths disease." some say, though, that fifths disease got its name from the way a child looked like it got slapped with five fingers.
******************************
today at 2pm, i got a call from daycare that kendal had a fever - 102.5. mrs. kelly said she wouldn't have even checked it, but that kendal had pink pink cheeks waking up from nap, which has become a normal thing for him these past few weeks (the pink cheek part) but that he also was a little glassy eyed. so, i call nathaniel... he headed home to get kendal. in the mean time, i arrange a doctor appointment since with a fever that high, kendal has to have a note to get BACK into school.
{if you want to read about the actual doctor visit, nathaniel has PROMISED to blog about it ASAP. but since he'll probably be home tomorrow with a sick child, it may be more than a day or two before it gets posted!}
turns out kendal has fifths disease. not a big deal, really, lots of kids get it. i had it, melissa had it, you probably did too. its not dangerous unless you're 14 to 20 weeks pregnant.
bright pink cheeks are THE biggest symptom of fifths. also, soon i suppose he'll have a rash. like, maybe tonight or tomorrow we'll see it. supposedly, he's been contagious all this time. after this fever breaks (which it was already down a degree by the time he was at the doctor's office), the contagiousness is over.
the incubation period for the parvovirus is 4 to 14 days. count back... that is february 10th (or later). i remember just before valentine's day i went into daycare to ask the director how many valentines day gifts to prepare for kendal's class and she was talking to another mom about fifths disease. guess it took that long to pass around!
ah, the joys of childhood diseases. what's next, chickenpox? please lets get vaccinated first!
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When Gabe's first real case of eczema broke out on his face, the doctors all thought it was fifths disease. We even had several doctors look at it. But judging from the other factors associated with it, I really didn't feel like that was it. They kept trying to persuade me that he had the typical lace-type rash that follows after the fever breaks ( which he also never had), but I knew it was not right. Needless to say, we finally saw a doctor that confirmed what we were thinking-eczema. What an ordeal-glad Kendal will be on the downside now-what are the chances Holly will get it?
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