Update: The Mystery Rash has been revealed! It’s actually something called “Pityriasis Rosea.” For more on this, read this post.
This chicken pox thing is very baffling to me. I’m now not sure whether they have the chicken pox after all. Princess’ rash did look like the beginnings of chicken pox, and she started with 30-40 spots. However, they never advanced through all the stages. They never turned yellow, never crusted over, never spread, and she never had any fever or lethargy. They barely even itched.
It’s been five days since we noticed the spots, and the spots have have simply reduced in number and become lighter. Here’s what Princess’ spots now look like:
George’s rash never did spread beyond his arm. He only has four small, pimply bumps. He has also had no other typical symptoms.
If anyone can shed some light for me, I would be very grateful! I have looked up every single rash in my medical guide book and on the internet, and I can’t find anything else that it could be. It just seems like an exceptionally mild case of chicken pox.
I just wish I knew for certain what it was, for two reasons.
- If they have the chicken pox, then I need to keep other kids away from the baby when he’s born. If not, I’d rather let them all just enjoy their new little brother when we bring him home.
- If they don’t have them, then we don’t want a false sense of security that they’ve developed immunity. We’ve always planned to get the kids the vaccination when they are 10-12 years old if they haven’t had the illness by then, so they can avoid the complications that can arise from chicken pox in adulthood.
The nurse did say that there’s a blood test that we can get, to find out whether or not they’ve had chicken pox. If we have no tell-tale signs that this is indeed chicken pox, we’ll probably have to get them the test at some point.
So what do you think? Any idea what this rash could be?
No luck yet fidning an answer to our red bump mystery..interesting!!
Those don’t look like chicken pox to me. Looks more like ant or flea bites. Ant bites will get a clear blister on top sometimes.
Hives are usually more blotchy. Have they been rolling around outside lately? Did you change your detergent or soap?
My oldest son, Jon got a rash similar to that when he was 3, it ended up being an allergic reaction to a virus.
I’m praying that they are fine and not contagious!
Blessings,
lisa in Jax
Interesting, Lisa. Looking at George’s rash, I think it may very well be a bug bite of some kind, especially since they are confined to one area. Maybe a spider or something? They don’t seem to be itchy.
Princess, on the other hand, has the spots spaced all over her trunk, as well as a couple on her arm and leg. They do have a different appearance than George’s. They are actually much lighter now than they were the first few days. When it first appeared, we were all convinced it was the chicken pox. Now, I agree that it doesn’t really look like chicken pox anymore.
The day that she broke out with the spots, the kids did have a gym class outdoors. She and some other children did roll down a large hill. Maybe it is some sort of allergic reaction. It doesn’t look like hives though – not inflamed and splotchy. Also, like George, she is not itchy at all.
We haven’t changed any soaps or other household products. Very strange… it’s a mystery. :-)
It will be a week tomorrow since we noticed the spots, and no one else has developed a rash. I’m still going to err on the side of caution for the next week or so, just in case it is the chicken pox.
Thanks so much for your feedback and prayers!
Children are always a mystery.LOL My kids love getting rashes just to make life more interesting. Right now, two of my kids are sporting mystery rashes of some sort. :)
I’m really glad that it’s looking more like a mystery than cp. I’ll continue to pray for you all.
Now if someone could just solve the mystery of who colored all over the walls in the hallway, I’d be in good shape. Gotta love magic erasers!lol
Blessings,
lisa in Jax
Sounds like a common problem – the hallway walls, that is! In our case, I’m pretty sure I know who the culprit is, though. ;-)