Rash Like No Other

**I started this post a couple weeks ago and just now finished.
What have we been up to lately?  A lot actually!!  It has been quite a couple of weeks! 
Last Wednesday Lauren came into my room where I was getting ready for work and her thighs were bright red!  They were splotchy and she had a rash.  She was not complaining of anything.....yet....





Clearly I couldn't go to work so I slowed myself down a bit and then when the clock struck 8:00 I started calling the pediatrician's office.  My first thought..."Well, crud!  Our pedi is off on Wednesdays!"  Got her an appointment for 11:30 and took the other girls to school trying my hardest to keep her away from them...not an easy feat! 
So, at the pediatrician's office she was diagnosed with hives.  Strep swab was negative.  Instructions: give Benadryl every 6 hours, as it should give some relief and you should see the spots lessen.  Also, you can give Ibuprofen and Acetaminaphen for pain and discomfort.  We went on our happy way.  As the day progressed she became more whiny and more splotchy.  Her nose was runny and she was drooling like crazy!  She's 3!  Not supposed to have drool!  I gave her Benadryl at 1:30 and again at 7:30. I did not wake her up in the middle of the night to give her more because I figured she was resting and I did not want to disturb that.
Thursday morning the rash was out of control!!!!  It was all over her arms and belly and back and down her legs.  She had patches of purple/dusky looking places and her hands and feet were swelling.  She was a crying mess and she would just scream in pain.  She would not walk and she wanted to be held but then didn't want to be held.  It was miserable (for both of us)!  Needless to say, I freaked out a little.  I called the pediatrician's office and they did nothing.  No, let me back up...they did something..MADE ME MAD!  They said that the reason she wasn't getting better was because I wasn't giving her Benadryl every6 hours. #1) I was! And #2) you never tell a parent that they are the reason their child is sick!!!! My ped was out of town.






Anyway, I took her to my hospital and we were transferred to Cook Children's Hospital. She was diagnosed with erythema multiforme. I had never heard of it!! We don't know what caused it or if it will come back but we are praying hard it doesn't!!!! It was horrible!!! It's not contagious and no one else got it, thankfully

She was a little better on Sunday but her face was still really swollen.


But she was good as new on Tuesday!!!!




Comments

Lacy said…
Poor y'all. I'm glad it's gone and I hope and pray it never comes back. What a horrible thing for a child. Bless her heart!
Annie said…
your poor little lady!! my C had what appears to be the exact same thing! he had an allergic reaction to meds and broke out in hives (5 days after being on the meds). some benadryl cleared him up right away though. i'm glad your little cutie is better now. so sad that it caused her pain and made her so upset :(
hope all is well!! :)
Oh my goodness!!!! Wow, that does look like it was terrible! So glad she's better. :-) Look at that sweet, happy smile at the end. :-)
Lainey-Paney said…
Oh no!
Not our little Lauren!

What's that pediatrician's number?!

I hope you let them know that you ended up in the ER and then transferred to Cook's.

UGH.
How frustrating!
Frustrating indeed! Read more about Erythema Multiforme. This post is linked there.

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