Adventures In Mycoplasma And Hives...

What a week.... Again it is Friday, and I am thankful. I am sooo tired I can barely keep my eyes open. I'm really not sure why.

Poor D has been having quite a week as well. Tuesday morning he woke, got ready for school, and broke out in hives. They started on his fingers and hands, then moved up to his arms. Weird. I gave him some Benadryl and they went away. The next morning the same thing happened... So I gave him more Benadryl and sent him on to school. I couldn't decide what he was having an allergic reaction too. Nothing has changed around the house. Yesterday, the aftercare teacher called me at work to say that D was not feeling well--he had a headache and just wanted to sit away from all of the other children. So, I left work early to pick him up. He was not running a fever. He refused to eat dinner and wanted to go to bed. I made an appointment to take him to the pediatrician this morning.

This morning I did my best to get everyone ready for school--that didn't work out. My plan was to get the kids up and take the girls to school then get D to the doctor by 8:30. I had to be at work at 10:00. Well, as usual, I was running late. D did not want to get out of bed at all! So, since Big A was going to be at school late anyway, I just took all the kids with me. Turns out that that was a good thing because, after examining D and not really knowing what was causing the rash (maybe a viral rash, maybe an allergic reaction, maybe Strep....), the doctor heard Big A's cough. "Wow she sounds really terrible!" he said. I agreed. She has been coughing non stop since she got sick 2 weeks ago. Yes, I know that I should probably have taken her into the doctor, but every time in the past that I have, she has been diagnosed with asthma. They then give her a breathing treatment and tell me to use her albuterol inhaler at home. So, I just assumed that it was the same thing.

He asked if I had listened to her chest. I said not in the last week. So I asked him to take a listen. Well, it turns out that this time instead of wheezing, he heard harsh lung sounds-- the kind of sounds one hears with early pneumonia... He said that there were many cases of Mycoplasma pneumonia going around this season. Mostly likely that's what she has... So I took my son in for hives, and got my daughter diagnosed with walking pneumonia. Go figure. He put Big A on an antibiotic and a pred inhaler, strep tested D (it was negative btw), and told me to give him Zyrtec over the weekend. If he still has hives or a rash on Monday, I am to bring him back for further testing...

Ah, to have one weekend without a sick child... Fall is definitely here!!!