Not All Childhood Rashes are the Same

What holiday vacation would be complete without a trip to the pediatrician?  It seems every holiday season one or more children, and sometimes the adults, are sick with some sort of cold or condition.  This year, was no different.

My youngest son had the typical runny nose, sore throat but, wait, something different—a rash over his entire torso that worsened as I was giving him a bath and getting him ready for bed.  My gut reaction was Scarlet Fever.

Up until 5 years ago, I thought Scarlet Fever was something in history books that was eradicated like measles or chicken pox.  Having one of my other children experience the itchy sand paper rash, though, I realize it is much more common.

Scarlet Fever is merely Strep Throat with a rash and may occur in children ages 2 – 10.  Some of the tell tale signs are a prickly, sand paper like rash on the entire torso, sore throat, yellow coated tongue, fever of 101 degrees and, in the later stages, white peeling fingertips, as my older son experienced.   

Scarlet Fever does not always accompany Strep Throat but when it does it can result in complications like middle ear infection, pneumonia and rheumatic fever.   An antibiotic gets rid of this bacterial infection.

No two rashes are alike, though, and you can google images of rashes all day on the computer to try to identify what it is.  You will come up with scary names like Scarlet Fever, Fifth Disease (Slapped Cheek), Sixth Disease, Hives, Roseola or Impetigo—but, at the end of the day, any of these rashes warrants a visit to the pediatrician so don’t worry yourself over what it might be.

The doctor took a rapid strep test to rule out Scarlet Fever and my son did not have either Strep Throat or Scarlet Fever.  He did have an ear infection and culprit of the rash—eczema.  He was given an antibiotic and a lot of recommendations for skin care.

“This time of year, with the changes in the temperature and the humidity,” said Dr. Oscar Morffi or Lehigh Valley Pediatric Association, “kid’s skin is sensitive.”

Eczema is an itchy, red rash that results from some sort of trigger, sometimes allergies, asthma and, in this case, hot water drying out the skin.

“Kids with eczema love the bath but a one minute bath every night is better than a 20 minute bath twice a week,” said Dr. Morffi, “The water is soothing but it does more damage than shorter baths.”

The hot baths combined with the dry heat of the fire place at the home we had visited caused the breakout.  Dr. Morffi recommended some hydrocortisone cream, much shorter baths and a small dose of Benadryl twice a day.   He also recommended using Dove soap for bath time.

Eczema when untreated can lead to scaly, flaky or cracking skin.  In the summer, putting on sunscreen does a great deal to lubricate the skin, but, in winter, it is just as important to put a layer of soothing, non-allergenic lotion on your toddler’s skin to avoid these complications.  Lesson learned-- moisturize, moisterize, moisterize.