Tag Archives: rash

Spider bites

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Both spiders and ticks are common in our area. We’ll deal with ticks next time.

While most of their bites aren’t dangerous to most people, it’s good to be informed about different types of spiders, their bites, and diseases that might result from some of them.

Spiders use a venom to anesthetize and paralyze their tiny prey. The venom from most species is not dangerous to most humans (see below for exceptions). Watch for signs of infection and report those immediately to your pediatrician. If you are concerned that a bite is getting much larger, note the edges with a Sharpie marker so you can see if it’s continuing to grow.

The female black widow spider can be extremely poisonous to humans, sometimes even fatal. She has an hourglass shape and is dark colored with yellow or red on her abdomen. Symptoms can be severe muscle cramping and pain. Call EMS if you think someone has been bitten by a black widow spider.

The brown recluse spider is fairly common in Kentucky, and can also be fatal at times. People often don’t know they’ve been bitten until the bite starts to swell and get painful. Reactions greatly vary. Call EMS if you are concerned about a brown recluse bite.

According to this article by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), here are things to watch for after a spider bite, and a signal to call your pediatrician or EMS:
• “Tiny fang marks
• Pain
• Pain begins as a dull ache at the bite site
• Pain spreads to the surrounding muscles
• Pain moves to the abdomen, back, chest, and legs
• Blister at the bite site
• Mild swelling and a blue-gray mark at the bite surrounded by lightening of skin color
• Progressive soft tissue damage; the skin becomes dark blue and then black (necrotic).”

Wash the affected area with soap and water, and treat a bite with an ice pack (make sure you put a layer of cloth between the ice pack and the skin) Another resource for your questions about spider bites is the Poison Control Center.

As with anything, whenever you have a concern, call our office.

© MBS Writing Services, 2015, all rights reserved

Roseola

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Let’s say this first: anytime your infant or young child has a fever of 102°F for twenty-four hours, call the pediatrician.  The issue may be minor or serious, and the doctor should help you determine what it might be.

One possibility is roseola, usually not a series condition, which is yet another in the herpes family of viruses.  (It is not the same as the herpes strains that cause genital herpes or cold sores.)  It’s human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6) and is relatively common in children aged six months to two years.

Symptoms, in addition to the fever (which may last up to a week), may include a cough and runny nose, less appetite and mild diarrhea.  Finally, after the fever is gone, generally a slightly raised red rash will appear.  It usually starts on the torso before spreading to the rest of the body.

Roseola is contagious, and a child with a fever should be kept away from other youngsters until the fever is gone.  Once roseola is at the rash stage the child is no longer contagious and can return to daycare.  The incubation period is one to two weeks.

If the pediatrician suspects roseola in your child, you might be asked to treat the fever with age-appropriate doses of acetaminophen (always be sure to check dosing instructions and note that they have changed in the last few years) and keep him hydrated.  The doctor may want to talk to you again to make sure the child isn’t sick with something more serious.

You can find out more about roseola in the two articles from which our research was drawn, here and here.  Both articles were published by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

© MBS Writing Services, all rights reserved

Fifth disease: What is it? When to call the doctor.

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Fifth disease was given its name because it’s the fifth in a list of viruses that can cause rashes in children (the other four are chicken pox, rubella, measles and roseola). Its other name is Parvovirus B19. This might sound a little scary to you, since you may have heard of a canine parvovirus that is very serious for dogs. While in the same family as the canine virus, Parvovirus B19 is only a human virus and cannot be transmitted either from dogs to people or from people to dogs. In children, Parvovirus B19—fifth disease—is relatively common and generally quite benign.

 

Fifth disease in children is not usually dangerous, unless the child has anemia or an autoimmune disease. It’s contagious through the droplets of coughing and sneezing or through saliva (or from a pregnant mother to her fetus), and can show up 4 to14 days after exposure. Frequent hand washing is the best way to reduce the spread of viruses.

 

The first symptoms are similar to those of a cold: runny nose; mild fever; itching; soreness; headache. A few children experience achy joints.

 

After a week or so, a red rash may appear on the cheeks. It may, over the next few days, also appear on the torso and arms, buttocks and thighs. Within another week, the rash will likely fade. It might return, even months later, when the child gets overheated. By the time the rash appears, the child is no longer contagious.

 

When should you call our office? If your child has anemia, especially sickle cell anemia, or an autoimmune condition, call right away. Fifth disease can be dangerous for these patients. Also, if your child develops joint swelling or if symptoms worsen over time instead of improving, call us.

 

In normal cases, we treat symptoms with acetaminophen to reduce fever, or antihistamines to control itching. However, sickle cell patients and some others may need to be hospitalized because the blood counts can be seriously compromised. A pregnant woman with fifth disease should also be seen by a physician, because serious complications can occur.

 

Most of the information in this article came from the American Academy of Pediatrics article on the subject, which you can read here.

 

Fifth disease is more common late winter through spring, so you may want to keep an eye out for it this time of year. The good news is that most children will develop only mild symptoms that will go away without treatment.

 

 

 

© MBS Writing Services, 2015, all rights reserved

 

 

The truth about poison ivy

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There’s that little bumpy rash, trying to keep from scratching, pink lotions…  Just reading the description makes you start to itch.

More time out of doors in the summer leads to more exposure to lots of things, including poison ivy.  But there are lots of myths about how it’s spread and how to treat it.

True:  The rash results from exposure to a poison ivy plant.  All poison ivy is three-leaved, but it doesn’t all look the same.  Sometimes the leaves have a reddish tint; sometimes the plant is all green.  It can grow low to the ground or vining up a tree.  Leaves can be quite small or 8 to 10 inches across.  The rule often quoted is:  “Leaves of three, let it be.”  Good advice.

True:  It’s the oil of the plant that causes the rash.  So, it’s possible to get a rash even if you were wearing long pants through a poison ivy patch, by touching the clothing later.  Some people have contracted poison ivy when burning brush, as they inhaled the smoke.

False:  You can get a poison ivy rash by touching someone else’s rash, especially if it is oozing fluid.  This is only true if there is still oil from the plant remaining on the rash—an unlikely scenario.  You can, however, get the oil from the fur of a pet that has been out of doors.  And if you have the oil on your hands, any skin that you touch can develop a rash.

False:  Some people are immune to poison ivy.  While it’s true that everyone’s susceptibility level is different, exposure to enough of the plant oil can cause anyone to break out in a rash.

According to an article by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), if you believe your child has been exposed to poison ivy, wash the affected area as soon as possible with soap and water for several minutes, and wash the clothing immediately.  Use calamine lotion 3 or 4 times per day to reduce itching, and/or 1% hydrocortisone cream to decrease swelling.  Call your pediatrician if the rash covers a very large area or doesn’t respond to treatments, if there’s a severe rash on the face, a fever or any other indication of infection, or a new outbreak.

The best treatment of all is to avoid contact with the plant in the first place, so teach your child what it looks like.

Shelby, age 5

Shelby, age 5

© 2013 MBS Writing Services.  All rights reserved.