[Alty]

Hi everyone,

First let me say that I will be taking Sydney to the doctor today, sadly my family doctor
Is out of town so I'll be taking her to a walk in clinic. I don't trust walk in clinics, I've
Had bad experiences with them before.

I'm just looking for opinions, this came on so suddenly.

Symptoms;

Red, swollen, painful when touched cheeks. She doesn't have a "fever" but she is warmer than usual. She's eating, drinking and not at all lethargic, in fact, if it wasn't
For the red swollen cheeks she'd be her normal happy healthy self.

Any ideas what this could be? I thought it was mumps, but that's usually accompanied by
A fever and loss of appetite. I'm stumped.

[gmschofer]

Hi Altenweg,

The one thing that comes to my mind is it could be a form of strep throat.

My daughter had that last year around this time, no sore throat, no fever, just red cheeks.

I took her in and two doctors looked at her and were a bit stumped and decided to do a throat culture and it came back positive for strep!

A friend of mine's daughter ended up with Scarlett Fever a month ago and she did not have a fever, just a rash.

I hope this helps and I hope Sydney feels better soon!

[Alty]

Thanks GM.

We'll be taking her to the good walk in clinic, sadly it only opens at 7pm, so we have to wait.

It's a wonderful facility, I trust them, so it's worth the wait since my doctor is out of town.

So far she's feeling fine, but the cheeks are still swollen and red.

[J_9]

Sounds to me like "slapped cheek disease" or better known as Fifth Disease. Nothing to worry about actually, just a virus. Parvo B to be exact. Little J had it last spring.

Do you notice the redness get brighter when she is warm?

[Alty]

Sounds to me like "slapped cheek disease" or better known as Fifth Disease. Nothing to worry about actually, just a virus. Parvo B to be exact. Little J had it last spring.

Do you notice the redness get brighter when she is warm?

Very much so J. She looks like a chipmunk storing food for the winter.

If it is fifth disease does she need meds? What can I do for her now? The clinic doesn't open for another 4 hours.

[J_9]

If it's Fifth disease you just have to wait it out. It's a virus. It can take as long as 6 months before you notice that the redness is gone. Steroids can help for swelling and/or itching, and here in the US that is by prescription.

Go to that clinic and be sure to mention this as a possibility as it is fairly uncommon, but does happen. My pediatrician hadn't seen it in 15 years until I went in with Little J.

[Alty]

Thanks J9. Six months? Wow!

Sydney is just starting to itch now so I put some cream on her face.

I'll take her to the clinic, mention fifth disease, hopefully it's just a rash and goes away quickly.

Poor little mite, I hate it when my kids are sick! :(

Thanks again J9, I'll let you know what happens. :)

[J_9]

If it's Fifth Disease, she was contagious BEFORE the rash appeared, no longer contagious now. Just be sure to keep her away from pregnant women if this is it.

[J_9]

My bad, 6 weeks, but Little J took almost 6 months before the red cheeks went away.

[Alty]

I looked it up, sounds exactly like Sydney. She's fine other than the rash but the itching is driving her a bit crazy.

Thanks so much J, I was so worried. After all, she's been vaccinated against mumps, measles, all the other usuals, even chicken pox, so I was stumped, especially because she seems perfectly healthy other than the rash.

I wonder how she picked it up. I'm just so glad it's not serious, but I'm still going to go to the doctor, just for confirmation and hopefully a cream to help with the itching.

Thanks so much J, you're a life saver! :)

[J_9]

Yes, Alty, please still go to the doctor. Remember, I cannot diagnose over the internet and I would hate to find out you did not go and it were something else.