Fifth Disease

What a week!  Liam started getting a rash on Sunday.  My initial thought was that it was a heat rash.  It was the first hot weekend of the season, he had been outside, sitting in the stroller and in and out of the car seat, he was hot and sweaty, heat rash made perfect sense.  Until Monday.  Monday was a holiday, Victoria Day, so when Liam went to bed for his morning nap, I went to plant my garden.  When he woke up from his nap, his face was red and he was COVERED in a rash.  But, Monday was hotter than Sunday, so I was still going on my heat rash theory.  I changed him into cooler clothes and the rash faded.  I figured that I knew what I was talking about.  I've worked in daycare for 12 years and have seen countless heat rashes and many other rashes on little kids over the years.  I was convinced.  I was sure that by Tuesday morning it would be gone and we would be home free.

Guess what . . . I was WRONG!  Tuesday morning, he was still rash covered.  So, off to work/daycare we went.  By 9am, we knew that there were two other infants who had rashes over the weekend.  Both were headed to the Doctor and I quickly made arrangements to leave early to take Liam as well.  The first child came back with and allergy.  The second came back with a virus.  And then there's Liam . . . he has Fifth Disease.  As soon as the doctor told me that's what it was, I felt like an idiot.  I have seen Fifth Disease numerous times.  So has Rhonda, my supervisor, who was as baffled by the rash as I was.  And we even had a case of Fifth Disease a few weeks ago.

The name "Fifth Disease" makes it sound a whole lot worse than it is.  Basically it is a virus, very common in kids, they have cold like symptoms and then a few days later, a rash.  End of story.  There is no exclusion from daycare because they are contagious before they have any symptoms.  So, basically, I just have a spotty kid for the next few days!

It's not the best picture, but you can see the redness on his cheek (which is why it is also known as Slap Cheek) and the rash on his arm.  He whole body is covered in the rash.