Shocked, surprised, & miserable. That's how I'll explain my Saturday morning on January 21st and the following week. I'll go back to Thursday night. Right before bed, I told Justin I was just feeling off. Like I was maybe getting sick...kind of cold but I was really tired and thought that could have a lot to do with it. I had been going to bed late every night that week and I figured it was just catching up with me. The entire night I did not sleep good. My body just hurt! My muscles, bones, plus headache....in the morning I took some Tylenol and after that kicked in, I felt a lot better so I got me and the kids ready for work and went to Lisa's. I took Tylenol throughout the day to help the aches, but towards the end of the day, even on Tylenol, I was getting chills. I left work early thinking I was getting the flu and hoping I didn't just expose Lisa's family to the flu. I laid around that evening, but then got up and got ready because Justin's brother was proposing and invited us all go to watch at the Syracuse theater. I tried to stay away from people because I thought I had the flu and just avoided contact. The next morning I got up and noticed spots on my face wondering why I was breaking out so bad...thinking I just woke up with 3 or 4 new zits. I got in the tub to soak my muscles and as I was laying there, I looked down and noticed a red spot on my stomach. I thought how that was weird and maybe I had a bug bite...but then noticed another one...then another...and another...now I was starting to freak out and called Justin. I didn't know what it was...my mom had always told me growing up that I had the chicken pox when I was really little...so it couldn't be that, could it? Plus, NO ONE gets the chicken pox anymore. Shingles, maybe? So I called my mom. We ruled out that it was shingles and figured that it was, in fact, chicken pox. I kept reading online to see if it could be anything else, but I soon became 100% sure that it was chicken pox. It gets better, I was supposed to speak in church the next day. I felt like a liar telling them I had the chicken pox...like I had made up a disease. That afternoon, Justin and my dad gave me a blessing. I know because of that blessing, it went through my body faster and it gave me rest and helped my testimony grow. That entire next week, I didn't have to worry about being a mom. I was able to do what my body needed me to do. So many people stepped (including Justin) and helped. For the first couple of days, I would try the oatmeal baths, calamine lotion, took benadryl and Tylenol. Monday Justin went to the store to do our shopping for me and he talked to the pharmacist at Walmart. That was such a blessing! He told Justin exactly what I needed to do, what I needed to take and explained how chicken pox in adults is so much more painful and lasts longer than it does in children. The things he told me to do wouldn't make it better, but would actually make it worse first, but make it quicker. He said to take baking soda baths - a full box of baking soda in my bath. He said that Benadryl was the worst thing I could take and to take either Claritin, Zyrtec or Allegra. Then Tylenol as I needed for fevers and pain, and said I could use the anti-itch cream I had at home (hydrocortizone 1%)...some creams make it worse but that was a good one. This was so much more help than the nurse I had called that morning who pretty much told me I just have to let it run its course and there was nothing I could do but keep anti-itch creams on me for comfort. After 3-4 days of having them, the fevers and bone and muscle pains were gone and it was just waiting for the blisters to go through their cycle. I definitely noticed a difference with the baking soda baths. Once I started that, the blisters stayed smaller. I had some that got huge on my back and stomach that had showed up from day 1, but all of the others stayed fairly small. Each day, new blisters would show up until Friday morning I woke up with no new spots and I was just waiting for a handful on my stomach and legs to cloud up and scab over. I was on a timeline here because Brian Regan was on Saturday. Saturday morning I woke up and they were all scabbed over. I still itched for a couple of weeks and to this day I still have scabs that are healing. But the itching is mostly gone now and I'm hoping in a couple of weeks, I won't even notice that I had the pox. I never want to go through anything as miserable as that again. The pain I felt would make tears flow and at one point I told Justin I was ready for my epidural. I would rather give birth over and over than do this again. It was crappy! I am so thankful for the prayers, my blessing, and all of the help I had, plus all of the many people that offered to help. So thanks to you all!
(And no, I did NOT take any pictures...that was the most disgusting disease I have ever experienced!)
Showing posts with label sickness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sickness. Show all posts
Friday, February 10, 2012
Monday, March 28, 2011
Roseola??? Never Heard Of It
Parker's had a rough last couple of months teething. At the end of January, I took him to the doctor for an ear infection. Two weeks later, I was certain they were still there the way he was pulling on his ears and not sleeping good. But when I took him back, it was just teething. He has had his top 4 front teeth all coming in at the same time! A few weeks ago, the first of four popped through, but he still acted miserable. I took care of that with Tylenol or Ibuprofen but last week was awful! Monday night he had woken up and I noticed a fever and by morning it was still there. I gave him Tylenol (which I had been for days now because of his pain) and figured the fever went along with the teething. Wednesday he was fevering again. He was so hard on Wednesday. He couldn't even fall asleep for his naps because he was so restless but at the same time I could tell he was so tired! I called Justin up and asked him to give him a blessing. In my eyes, he's been suffering from these teeth for 2 months now. That night Justin gave him a blessing that his sickness would leave his body and he would no longer be uncomfortable or in pain and he would be able to sleep. I didn't really think much about the sickness part leaving his body. I just thought he's had a lingering cough from his cold almost a month ago so maybe it was that.
Another thing about Parker, he has eczema, so rough cheeks or little bumps are usual. I had noticed bumps on his neck, under his chin, but just figured he was sweating or hot there. Thursday morning, I noticed the back of his neck was now all bumpy. I put some cream on it (the same I use for his eczema) and left for work. By the time I was done with work, it had spread to the back of his ears, down his back and onto his chest. They were small red bumps all over. My mom mentioned Roseola to me, which I had never heard of. When she told me it was a type of Measles and gave me a print out of the symptoms and everything, my thought was he didn't have a high fever and that must have just been from teething. Also, his second of four teeth had poked through this day, too, so all of his misery was from teething. The next day the rash was worse. It bothered me all day and even called to see if his doctor had an opening, which he didn't so I didn't want to take him to another doctor. (I'm a little biased about my doctor, I guess). By now, the rash was over his face, past his hair line, completely over his belly and spread down into his diaper area. He never really got it on his legs.
Thursday and Friday I had a hard time. Here he had just had a blessing, and the morning after he now had new problems. I have a strong testimony of priesthood blessings...I don't doubt their power, but I was very confused. Thursday night I had a hard time sleeping thinking about all of this. In my head, I sort of told my Heavenly Father that I have faith in blessings, and I heard Justin bless him well, so why was he now rashing all over??? I just wanted help understanding so I would also know if I needed to do something. After work on Friday Parker and Mya took a nap and I searched (again...like I hadn't already done this numerous times) rashes to see what it could be. Everything was leading me to roseola. Even when I typed in Allergy rash the results took me to some one's blog. This blog had a little girl just about Parker's age who was teething and her daughter had a low fever and then a rash. Facts about Roseola is it's usually a high fever that can sometimes cause seizures, but Parker's wasn't ever way high (probably because I had him on Tylenol). This lady wondered if it was an allergic reaction and had a daily recording of signs and had taken her daughter to the doctor daily and by day 3 they decided it was just Roseola (this lady's in Malaysia). I felt like this was my answer. Every search I had done told me it was Roseola. It's the only rash that looked like what Parker had. It helped me to see that the blessing had taken a sickness away that I didn't even know my son had and the fever went away immediately and Roseola ends in a rash, so I guess that's all it was doing. Saturday night his rash had pretty much faded and by Sunday, it was gone.
Other facts about Roseola/Baby Measles/Sixth Disease:
•It's a virus that commonly affects children from 6 months to 2 years-most common age is 9-12 months.
•It is contagious, but not very and is spread through oral secretions
•The fever can be from 103-105 degrees-which can cause seizures-that can last up to a week
•After the fever, a rash that starts at the neck appears and spreads onto the back and front.
•The rash is not itchy
•The best way to treat it is Tylenol.
•It usually does not cause long term effects.
•Professional treatment is usually not required - you just have to wait it out.
•It's not seasonal - can get it any time in the year.
•Call a doctor if you can't get the fever down, child's not drinking, or if your child has a seizure.
Want more info? Mayo Clinic
Another thing about Parker, he has eczema, so rough cheeks or little bumps are usual. I had noticed bumps on his neck, under his chin, but just figured he was sweating or hot there. Thursday morning, I noticed the back of his neck was now all bumpy. I put some cream on it (the same I use for his eczema) and left for work. By the time I was done with work, it had spread to the back of his ears, down his back and onto his chest. They were small red bumps all over. My mom mentioned Roseola to me, which I had never heard of. When she told me it was a type of Measles and gave me a print out of the symptoms and everything, my thought was he didn't have a high fever and that must have just been from teething. Also, his second of four teeth had poked through this day, too, so all of his misery was from teething. The next day the rash was worse. It bothered me all day and even called to see if his doctor had an opening, which he didn't so I didn't want to take him to another doctor. (I'm a little biased about my doctor, I guess). By now, the rash was over his face, past his hair line, completely over his belly and spread down into his diaper area. He never really got it on his legs.
Thursday and Friday I had a hard time. Here he had just had a blessing, and the morning after he now had new problems. I have a strong testimony of priesthood blessings...I don't doubt their power, but I was very confused. Thursday night I had a hard time sleeping thinking about all of this. In my head, I sort of told my Heavenly Father that I have faith in blessings, and I heard Justin bless him well, so why was he now rashing all over??? I just wanted help understanding so I would also know if I needed to do something. After work on Friday Parker and Mya took a nap and I searched (again...like I hadn't already done this numerous times) rashes to see what it could be. Everything was leading me to roseola. Even when I typed in Allergy rash the results took me to some one's blog. This blog had a little girl just about Parker's age who was teething and her daughter had a low fever and then a rash. Facts about Roseola is it's usually a high fever that can sometimes cause seizures, but Parker's wasn't ever way high (probably because I had him on Tylenol). This lady wondered if it was an allergic reaction and had a daily recording of signs and had taken her daughter to the doctor daily and by day 3 they decided it was just Roseola (this lady's in Malaysia). I felt like this was my answer. Every search I had done told me it was Roseola. It's the only rash that looked like what Parker had. It helped me to see that the blessing had taken a sickness away that I didn't even know my son had and the fever went away immediately and Roseola ends in a rash, so I guess that's all it was doing. Saturday night his rash had pretty much faded and by Sunday, it was gone.
Other facts about Roseola/Baby Measles/Sixth Disease:
•It's a virus that commonly affects children from 6 months to 2 years-most common age is 9-12 months.
•It is contagious, but not very and is spread through oral secretions
•The fever can be from 103-105 degrees-which can cause seizures-that can last up to a week
•After the fever, a rash that starts at the neck appears and spreads onto the back and front.
•The rash is not itchy
•The best way to treat it is Tylenol.
•It usually does not cause long term effects.
•Professional treatment is usually not required - you just have to wait it out.
•It's not seasonal - can get it any time in the year.
•Call a doctor if you can't get the fever down, child's not drinking, or if your child has a seizure.
Want more info? Mayo Clinic
Monday, January 10, 2011
HIVES!!!
Yikes! Mya got the worst case of hives the night before New Year's Eve. They ended up lasting 5 days! The first night I had my mom come check out her rash and she was pretty sure they were hives so I gave her benadryl and sent her to bed. The next morning they were even worse! So I took her to the doctor and she said they were just a wicked case of hives and gave me a prescription for some steriods to help clear it up since the benadryl wasn't working great. I think we've figured out what caused it but we're not 100% sure.
Here are the things we considered:
She wore a new shirt that had never been washed that day, she ate chicken noodle soup, she went to the bathroom at the girl who cuts my hair's house and it could maybe be a cleaner there or they had a dog but I pretty much held Mya the entire time we were there. None of these were anything that would seem like they would cause hives, but we had no idea...until....
3 days into the hives Justin mentioned her new bath drops she got in her stocking. She had used them once right away, but didn't use them again until the night before she broke out in hives. The night before, she had 2 drops in her water to make green, and she told me that night she needed a drink of water because she drank some of the colored water and it was really gross. The night I noticed hives, I let her have colored water again not even thinking that they could be the cause of her rash. So, we have now thrown these away and are avoiding these.
She was sad we had to throw them away, but we let her pick out something new at Walmart...what did she pick? Footie pajamas! What??? Really??!! But she was so excited for them. We haven't made her wear footie pajamas for over a year. Needless to say, we put them on her last night and she hated them. She couldn't fall asleep in them so she changed pajamas before she fell asleep. Funny girl.
Here are the things we considered:
She wore a new shirt that had never been washed that day, she ate chicken noodle soup, she went to the bathroom at the girl who cuts my hair's house and it could maybe be a cleaner there or they had a dog but I pretty much held Mya the entire time we were there. None of these were anything that would seem like they would cause hives, but we had no idea...until....
3 days into the hives Justin mentioned her new bath drops she got in her stocking. She had used them once right away, but didn't use them again until the night before she broke out in hives. The night before, she had 2 drops in her water to make green, and she told me that night she needed a drink of water because she drank some of the colored water and it was really gross. The night I noticed hives, I let her have colored water again not even thinking that they could be the cause of her rash. So, we have now thrown these away and are avoiding these.She was sad we had to throw them away, but we let her pick out something new at Walmart...what did she pick? Footie pajamas! What??? Really??!! But she was so excited for them. We haven't made her wear footie pajamas for over a year. Needless to say, we put them on her last night and she hated them. She couldn't fall asleep in them so she changed pajamas before she fell asleep. Funny girl.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Ear Infections!
Mya and Parker have been sick for the past couple of weeks. Mya's pretty much good to go now. She got it way bad and last week Justin took her to the doctor after complaining about her ears. She had 2 ear infections and shortly after being on Amoxocilin started improving a ton and is now doing great.
Parker started showing signs of a cold hours after Mya did. I immediately went and bought another humidifier to go in his room so they could each have one going at night. This humidifier is amazing! Moisture was dripping from his walls and I couldn't see outside of his window it was so humid. When Mya started sounding like her cold was turning into croup, we had her sleep in Parker's room since his seemed like a sauna. Parker's cold never got way bad but Sunday and Monday he seemed the most miserable. He seemed feverish and so cranky. Sunday night he slept a total of 15 hours and seemed so much better the next day. I honestly thought that this was the peak of his cold because he hadn't gotten way bad up to this point. During his cold, he's had his moments where he would skip a bottle or be more clingy than other times, but overall, he was still an easy and just as smiley baby! There were 2 different occasions I saw him play with his ear, about a week ago and last night. But when I would start watching a lot to see if I should call the doctor, he'd quit. So I thought that maybe he was just playing with his ear or he had wax (this boy gets a lot of wax). Today we took him to the doctor's and the whole time he was just smiling at everyone and so happy. After the doctor checked his ears he asked us if Parker is always this happy then went on with a story about how his one boy was like that. He was always so happy and one time he had a cold for 2-3 weeks but Dr. Pruitt never got worried because he was happy the whole time. One day his wife called and asked him to bring his scope home because his son had runny wax coming out of his ears...so he knew that his son had had ear infections and they had ruptured. His son never lead them to think he was in pain or gave them any reason to think he had an ear infection. Then he tells me that Parker's ears are jammed pack and he's surprised his haven't ruptured yet. So then I if Parker has ear infections and he said, oh ya. On a scale of 1 - 10, he's a 10.
I feel so bad! He's probably been in so much pain. But that says a lot about Parker. He is the kind that is so happy and easy going. I just wish he would let us know...
Here's some pics from the 2 weeks they were both sick:
Parker started showing signs of a cold hours after Mya did. I immediately went and bought another humidifier to go in his room so they could each have one going at night. This humidifier is amazing! Moisture was dripping from his walls and I couldn't see outside of his window it was so humid. When Mya started sounding like her cold was turning into croup, we had her sleep in Parker's room since his seemed like a sauna. Parker's cold never got way bad but Sunday and Monday he seemed the most miserable. He seemed feverish and so cranky. Sunday night he slept a total of 15 hours and seemed so much better the next day. I honestly thought that this was the peak of his cold because he hadn't gotten way bad up to this point. During his cold, he's had his moments where he would skip a bottle or be more clingy than other times, but overall, he was still an easy and just as smiley baby! There were 2 different occasions I saw him play with his ear, about a week ago and last night. But when I would start watching a lot to see if I should call the doctor, he'd quit. So I thought that maybe he was just playing with his ear or he had wax (this boy gets a lot of wax). Today we took him to the doctor's and the whole time he was just smiling at everyone and so happy. After the doctor checked his ears he asked us if Parker is always this happy then went on with a story about how his one boy was like that. He was always so happy and one time he had a cold for 2-3 weeks but Dr. Pruitt never got worried because he was happy the whole time. One day his wife called and asked him to bring his scope home because his son had runny wax coming out of his ears...so he knew that his son had had ear infections and they had ruptured. His son never lead them to think he was in pain or gave them any reason to think he had an ear infection. Then he tells me that Parker's ears are jammed pack and he's surprised his haven't ruptured yet. So then I if Parker has ear infections and he said, oh ya. On a scale of 1 - 10, he's a 10.
I feel so bad! He's probably been in so much pain. But that says a lot about Parker. He is the kind that is so happy and easy going. I just wish he would let us know...
Here's some pics from the 2 weeks they were both sick:
Saturday, February 20, 2010
My Poor Little Girl!
Mya's been sick this past week and at first I thought it was her allergies. But each day it was getting so much worse, so last night we took her to the doctor's. She kept putting her fingers in her ears the last two days and I wanted them to check it out along with all of her other symptoms (runny nose, cough, watery eyes - sometimes swollen, not eating...) and we found out that she has a viral infection that's been going around but that caused fluid build up in her ear and so she has a small ear infection in her left ear! I feel so bad for her. We got her some amoxicillin so her ear should stop bugging her by tomorrow and she seems to have so much energy back already! She's never had an ear infection before. But we'll just keep her humidifier going and hope she gets over it soon!
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