Life has been interesting lately. Last Friday, Lexi brought home a friend, her name is Scarlet, last name Fever.
Lexi complained of not feeling great on Friday and said some of her friends were sick with Strep Throat. I thought she may be pulling one of Sarah Bernhardt routines, but on Saturday when she said she didn't feel like going to the play she had been talking about all week, I knew SOMETHING was up. On Sunday she started running a fever and by Sunday night the fever was about 103.5F. Every time I take the kids to the emergency room they tell me it is a virus and not to worry, sending me on my merry way with nothing but an expensive bill in the mail. With John out of town the idea of dragging all 3 children out into the cold night only to be told nothing was wrong did not sound like a game plan to me. I called one of my friends in our village and asked her what was going around and she said Strep Throat and then said her daughter never had a fever or rash, but did have a very sore throat and vomiting. She then said her daughter would need to have her heart checked in a few weeks to make sure there was no damage. That is when the red flags went up and I remember my Mom saying she had Scarlet Fever, which resulted in a heart murmur. I asked my friend if it was Scarlet Fever instead of Strep Throat and she said,"Yes, that is what it is." Great!!! The language barrier thing factor.
I gave Lexi some medicine to reduce her fever which worked and I started Googling away. With Scarlet Fever the symptoms are; Strep Throat, runny nose, severe congestion in the lungs, cough, rash, sand paper-like skin, vomiting, severe headache, extremely high fever (this can be the cause of heart damage), strawberry like tongue that is red and swollen, red face and white around the mouth, malaise and so on..... Scarlet Fever is extremely contagious for children. There used to be a 15%-20% mortality rate until the correct antibiotic was found. Good to know! Once antibiotic treatment is started, 24 hours later you are no longer contagious, but it still takes some time to feel better. Lexi had everything, but the rash and vomiting. Lexi's fever dropped to 102 and I tucked her in bed with a fever of about 102. She woke up a few times, but the fever remained the same, 102. Alexander woke up a few times as well, nothing unusual for him, but he has had a cough for about 3 1/2 months. Sometimes it is gone for 5 days and then it returns for 2 days, the Dr. has taken a look a few times and said it is viral and it will just have to take its course.
The next morning it took me about 4 hours to get through to Lexi's pediatrician, apparently there is an epidemic going around. I finally got an appointment in the afternoon and spent 4 hours in the doctors office. He tested Lexi and Alexander's blood for bacteria. Lexi had an extremely high concentration of bacteria. The doctor said -10-0 is normal, 0-15 shows a bacterial infection, 15- 40 is a severe infection and, well, Lexi measured 70. He said she did not need to be hospitalized, because she was alert, eating and coherent. Alexander tested negative and Anika seemed healthy so we didn't test her.
I spent about 30 minutes in the pharmacy getting prescriptions filled for Alexis, antibiotics, cough suppressants, expectorants, pain relievers and fever reducers, etc... I had cough suppressants and expectorants for Zander as well. Lexi was pretty much a couch potato Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and started feeling better on Wednesday, but would tire easily. John came home on Tuesday, Thank God! Wednesday night (why is it always once the doctors office closes?) Anika started running a fever and showing the same symptoms as Lexi. Thursday I went back to the Pediatricians and Anika tested an 83 for bacteria. Once again I went to the pharmacist, although Alexander still wasn't sick with Scarlet Fever I asked the doctor if he could give him some antibiotics just in case and I would not give them to him unless he ran a fever. He agreed which is highly unusual in Europe, the doctors here are more ready to hand out narcotics than antibiotics. I told the Dr. I wasn't feeling well, but because he is a Pediatrician he couldn't do anything for me. My joints ached and I was really tired, but I just chalked it up to running around and taking care of some very sick children.
Friday I woke up with a sore throat and fever of 103.5. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on. I went to the village doctor, but she was too busy to take me so my friend Deborah called her friend who is a doctor in the next village and set something up at 4:45. At 1:00 my fever spiked to 104.2, not good for a child, but really bad for an adult as children tend to naturally have higher temperatures than adults. I was ready to go to the emergency room and then our good village doctor (who lives next door and btw hates our barking dogs) called and said she could see me right away. One Strep culture and blood test later confirmed I had Scarlet Fever or Scharloch as the Germans call it. I went to the first pharmacy and they were all out of the antibiotic that I needed so I went to my faithful pharmacy that I had already been to twice this week.
Lexi is feeling better, but has a nasty cough. She will go back to school on Monday after missing the entire week. Anika is up and down, but it is only her 3rd day on antibiotics, she had a little bit of a fever this afternoon. So far I haven't had to give Alexander any antibiotics. I felt horrible last night and today. My fever is down to about 102.2 and I can't get it any lower than that, even with Advil or Motrin. I feel like a truck ran me over and then backed up. My throat is killing me and my cough is getting worse. It is exactly what I saw in the girl's. We get our hearts checked in 3 weeks.
We have spent almost $300.00 in prescription drugs, we should see the partial reimbursement from our speedy insurance company in about 6 months. Each of us, with the exception of John has about 3-4 different medications to take at a billion different times. John said this morning, "It is like a friggin infirmary here." In which I replied it isn't "like" it "IS". Who knows what the doctors bill will be, that usually takes about 3 months for reimbursement.
Yes, I have been detailed with this blog for one main reason, Scarlet Fever can be hard to detect in some cases. One of my friends, her daughter Brianna, had Scarlet Fever for 4 months they just couldn't detect it. The fever goes away after about 4-7 days, but my friends daughter was vomiting & no sore throat, until about a month later. Her daughter would vomit every once in awhile and then get better. Finally they tested her and she was diagnosed. Scarlet Fever does not go away, it just hangs out in your system until you begin treatment with antibiotics. Most people in our village did not get a rash and some didn't even get a fever, they just had a soar throat.
2 years ago Lexi had a fever of 104.2 and she was totally out of it, eyes rolling back, didn't know where she was. So we took her to the emergency room only to have her eyes, nose and throat checked and be told it was viral (a total guess by the doctor) and there was nothing they could do, the infection just had to run its course. Had I known there was a simple blood test, a prick of the finger, that can be done in most doctor's offices that can differentiate whether it is viral or bacterial I would have asked for a blood test. So now you know if you are ever in doubt, especially where your children are concerned. Something bacterial can be cured fairly easily if caught early enough with the correct antibiotics.
Oh, also if you are thinking about self-medicating I asked the Pediatrician if I could take the Amoxicillin that I already had at home. He said absolutely not, that Strep Throat and Amoxicillin don't mix and it has been known to cause a severe reaction with the throat.
Okay, I am exhausted. John has been a Saint with helping out with the kids yesterday and today. John's Grandmother and her friend Sara come on Tuesday so I hope we are all feeling up to par when they arrive.
Lexi complained of not feeling great on Friday and said some of her friends were sick with Strep Throat. I thought she may be pulling one of Sarah Bernhardt routines, but on Saturday when she said she didn't feel like going to the play she had been talking about all week, I knew SOMETHING was up. On Sunday she started running a fever and by Sunday night the fever was about 103.5F. Every time I take the kids to the emergency room they tell me it is a virus and not to worry, sending me on my merry way with nothing but an expensive bill in the mail. With John out of town the idea of dragging all 3 children out into the cold night only to be told nothing was wrong did not sound like a game plan to me. I called one of my friends in our village and asked her what was going around and she said Strep Throat and then said her daughter never had a fever or rash, but did have a very sore throat and vomiting. She then said her daughter would need to have her heart checked in a few weeks to make sure there was no damage. That is when the red flags went up and I remember my Mom saying she had Scarlet Fever, which resulted in a heart murmur. I asked my friend if it was Scarlet Fever instead of Strep Throat and she said,"Yes, that is what it is." Great!!! The language barrier thing factor.
I gave Lexi some medicine to reduce her fever which worked and I started Googling away. With Scarlet Fever the symptoms are; Strep Throat, runny nose, severe congestion in the lungs, cough, rash, sand paper-like skin, vomiting, severe headache, extremely high fever (this can be the cause of heart damage), strawberry like tongue that is red and swollen, red face and white around the mouth, malaise and so on..... Scarlet Fever is extremely contagious for children. There used to be a 15%-20% mortality rate until the correct antibiotic was found. Good to know! Once antibiotic treatment is started, 24 hours later you are no longer contagious, but it still takes some time to feel better. Lexi had everything, but the rash and vomiting. Lexi's fever dropped to 102 and I tucked her in bed with a fever of about 102. She woke up a few times, but the fever remained the same, 102. Alexander woke up a few times as well, nothing unusual for him, but he has had a cough for about 3 1/2 months. Sometimes it is gone for 5 days and then it returns for 2 days, the Dr. has taken a look a few times and said it is viral and it will just have to take its course.
The next morning it took me about 4 hours to get through to Lexi's pediatrician, apparently there is an epidemic going around. I finally got an appointment in the afternoon and spent 4 hours in the doctors office. He tested Lexi and Alexander's blood for bacteria. Lexi had an extremely high concentration of bacteria. The doctor said -10-0 is normal, 0-15 shows a bacterial infection, 15- 40 is a severe infection and, well, Lexi measured 70. He said she did not need to be hospitalized, because she was alert, eating and coherent. Alexander tested negative and Anika seemed healthy so we didn't test her.
I spent about 30 minutes in the pharmacy getting prescriptions filled for Alexis, antibiotics, cough suppressants, expectorants, pain relievers and fever reducers, etc... I had cough suppressants and expectorants for Zander as well. Lexi was pretty much a couch potato Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and started feeling better on Wednesday, but would tire easily. John came home on Tuesday, Thank God! Wednesday night (why is it always once the doctors office closes?) Anika started running a fever and showing the same symptoms as Lexi. Thursday I went back to the Pediatricians and Anika tested an 83 for bacteria. Once again I went to the pharmacist, although Alexander still wasn't sick with Scarlet Fever I asked the doctor if he could give him some antibiotics just in case and I would not give them to him unless he ran a fever. He agreed which is highly unusual in Europe, the doctors here are more ready to hand out narcotics than antibiotics. I told the Dr. I wasn't feeling well, but because he is a Pediatrician he couldn't do anything for me. My joints ached and I was really tired, but I just chalked it up to running around and taking care of some very sick children.
Friday I woke up with a sore throat and fever of 103.5. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on. I went to the village doctor, but she was too busy to take me so my friend Deborah called her friend who is a doctor in the next village and set something up at 4:45. At 1:00 my fever spiked to 104.2, not good for a child, but really bad for an adult as children tend to naturally have higher temperatures than adults. I was ready to go to the emergency room and then our good village doctor (who lives next door and btw hates our barking dogs) called and said she could see me right away. One Strep culture and blood test later confirmed I had Scarlet Fever or Scharloch as the Germans call it. I went to the first pharmacy and they were all out of the antibiotic that I needed so I went to my faithful pharmacy that I had already been to twice this week.
Lexi is feeling better, but has a nasty cough. She will go back to school on Monday after missing the entire week. Anika is up and down, but it is only her 3rd day on antibiotics, she had a little bit of a fever this afternoon. So far I haven't had to give Alexander any antibiotics. I felt horrible last night and today. My fever is down to about 102.2 and I can't get it any lower than that, even with Advil or Motrin. I feel like a truck ran me over and then backed up. My throat is killing me and my cough is getting worse. It is exactly what I saw in the girl's. We get our hearts checked in 3 weeks.
We have spent almost $300.00 in prescription drugs, we should see the partial reimbursement from our speedy insurance company in about 6 months. Each of us, with the exception of John has about 3-4 different medications to take at a billion different times. John said this morning, "It is like a friggin infirmary here." In which I replied it isn't "like" it "IS". Who knows what the doctors bill will be, that usually takes about 3 months for reimbursement.
Yes, I have been detailed with this blog for one main reason, Scarlet Fever can be hard to detect in some cases. One of my friends, her daughter Brianna, had Scarlet Fever for 4 months they just couldn't detect it. The fever goes away after about 4-7 days, but my friends daughter was vomiting & no sore throat, until about a month later. Her daughter would vomit every once in awhile and then get better. Finally they tested her and she was diagnosed. Scarlet Fever does not go away, it just hangs out in your system until you begin treatment with antibiotics. Most people in our village did not get a rash and some didn't even get a fever, they just had a soar throat.
2 years ago Lexi had a fever of 104.2 and she was totally out of it, eyes rolling back, didn't know where she was. So we took her to the emergency room only to have her eyes, nose and throat checked and be told it was viral (a total guess by the doctor) and there was nothing they could do, the infection just had to run its course. Had I known there was a simple blood test, a prick of the finger, that can be done in most doctor's offices that can differentiate whether it is viral or bacterial I would have asked for a blood test. So now you know if you are ever in doubt, especially where your children are concerned. Something bacterial can be cured fairly easily if caught early enough with the correct antibiotics.
Oh, also if you are thinking about self-medicating I asked the Pediatrician if I could take the Amoxicillin that I already had at home. He said absolutely not, that Strep Throat and Amoxicillin don't mix and it has been known to cause a severe reaction with the throat.
Okay, I am exhausted. John has been a Saint with helping out with the kids yesterday and today. John's Grandmother and her friend Sara come on Tuesday so I hope we are all feeling up to par when they arrive.
1 comment:
WOW!!! You guys have a pharmacy in your house! Sorry ya'll have all gotten sick and Scarlet Fever, ugh! Hope you start to ALL feel back to normal soon and make sure you get PLENTY of rest!
Post a Comment