A few weeks ago I was faced with what was perhaps my roughest few days of baby mommying ever. Doodle had cut his first tooth and was working on his second. Honeybun had brought home a little cold from school which Doodle of course caught. And then the fever hit. He felt warm one morning and by nap time he was at 102.5°.
For the first time in I don’t remember how long I pulled out the baby Tylenol (the plastic wrap was still on the bottle I got before Doodle was even born!) I don’t usually use pain relievers except to reduce fevers and only in cases of really high fever like this. I then realized I had no idea what his does would be. So, a call into the doctor and wait for the call back from the nurse. I informed her of the sudden high fever and that he had a small cold. She told me his dose and said it was probably viral so as long as we could manage the fever with Tylenol there was no need to bring him in, though if his fever went higher, like 105°, we should head to he ER (umm, duh?)
So my usually busy, happy, energetic, on the move, getting into things little guy spent the next day and a half nursing, snuggling and resting including a marathon cuddle in my bed one morning from 4 am to 8 when I was so hungry I had to get up! The Tylenol did its job and took the fever down for 4-6 hours before we would redose and the fever broke about 36 hours later and I didn’t think much of it.
That is until the rash appeared about 2 days after the fever broke and I knew: Roseola. Roseola (sometimes called sixth disease) is not a big deal, it’s just a viral reaction to a herpes strain we all have in our bodies. Most kids only get it once and it usually occurs before they are 2 and it is usually unheard of after age 4. As Doodle’s went, it starts with a high, unexplained fever followed a few days later by a rash of small pink/red bumps mostly on the trunk. The child is contagious during the fever stage but not by the time the rash appears and you know it’s roseola.
My first Roseola experience was with Honeybun. She actually got it after she was 2, when she and I had returned to Florida to await the arrival of Sugarplum. The fever didn’t concern me but when she got the rash just days before my due date, I panicked. I called the doctor, concerned I was at risk or that if they baby were to be born during the rash phase she might get it too and a fever that high in a newborn is always dangerous. He eased my concerns, told me I was not at risk since I’d probably had it as a child myself and that even if the baby arrived that minute, Honeybun was past the contagious part so there was no risk there.
This time around, I was concerned about Sugarplum again because she’s never had it and is still within the 4 year old range. Luckily she did not get it (though I think one of Doodle’s girlfriends got it). Luckily, the whole ordeal only lasts a few days and aside from a fussy and overly needy baby, it comes and goes without much trouble.
