Scarlet Fever from Untreated Strep Throat

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I apologize for the lack of blogging I've done in the past two weeks. But, we had a bout of scarlet fever pass through our house and it was awful.

Whenever my son goes to a birthday party, he comes home with some kind of illness. Usually, it's the flu, but this time he was passed strep.

Unfortunately, I didn't know it was strep. He had a fever, he was vomiting, so naturally, I suspected the flu. I took a flashlight to his mouth and saw his glands were a bit swollen, but no sores. No sign of strep. So I thought maybe it was a bad cold mixed with the flu and I didn't take him in right away.

It wasn't until he started turning a lovely shade of purply-red that I realized it wasn't the flu. Before I knew it, his whole body broke out in a rash that turned him this funny color and by the time it was far too late - the strep sores appeared.

I took him in and the doctor immediately told me he had scarlet fever due to me letting the strep virus live untreated for too long.

It made me feel like a piece of crap mom, right there. I explained that there were no sores until that morning. I explained that there was no rash until that morning. I explained that I thought it was the flu and we get it every year at that time.

She gave me that, "oh you poor naive lady" look and told me that I should have brought him in when his fever spiked. I explained that I didn't bring him in because I have been told over and over that they can't do anything for the fevers. I told her that I lowered his fever very quickly with Tylenol and cold washcloths. I kept explaining that I didn't see the throat sores until that morning and I said over and over how badly I felt about all of it.

When it comes to strep (which can sometimes appear with NO sores...) waiting is a horrible idea. Strep, when left untreated, evolves into scarlet fever - which is really really not good.

That being said, don't feel like a terrible parent if you don't recognize a sore-less case of strep throat. It happens.

They put him on a high dose of amoxicillin and sent him home with a mask on to prevent him passing it to his sister...well...we've all been breathing the same air for 3 days at this point so I didn't see how the mask was going to help now. But, I had him wear it when he wasn't in his room just to keep the rest of us healthy.

My sweet little boy had no problem with this and happily kept his mask on. He was very careful about getting too close to his sister and repeatedly told me, "It's not your fault mom. It's not your fault. Don't feel bad. It's NOT your fault."

I still felt like it was my fault.

His rash has finally cleared (it took about a week for that to disappear) and he is back to pretty good health right now.

If your kid has swollen glands and a fever - even without the sores - don't wait like I did. Even if you think you "KNOW" what the sickness is - don't wait. Just take them in. Taking them in, when you think you can fix it yourself, does not mean you're not good enough at caring for your kids.

With scarlet fever, I had to trash every toothbrush, all the toothpaste, wash every article of clothing in his room, all his blankets, disinfect the couches and chairs in the entire house, scrub the bathroom, etc. My house hasn't been cleaner.

Whether or not your kid has been vaccinated for it (mine has) scarlet fever can still hit if strep sits untreated. Thankfully, the vaccine kept it from completely taking over his body and made it more manageable than it used to be. (Back in the day they used to quarantine entire households when they were infected with scarlet fever.)

BUT, if I wouldn't have taken him in that day - no kind of vaccine would have helped. It would have gotten worse and worse until he would have been hospitalized. The thought of it makes me ill.

If you don't know the signs, you're not sure what is wrong with your kid, or you just need some reassurance that you're treating them correctly - just take them in.

I will forever feel terrible and forever feel like a failure for not getting him in a couple days sooner.

Luckily, I have a very sweet boy who keeps reminding me that it isn't my fault and that I didn't know what it really was.

He is back to normal and has returned to teasing his little sister any chance he gets.

He's a child who realizes that we all make mistakes and sometimes those mistakes lead to things we can't control and (again) that's not our fault.