Measles Scare

• Well Cohen has landed himself in the hospital for the 3rd time in his short 3 year jaunt on this earth.....
So this wicked cough/runny nose came, he battled a tiny temperature around 100. (But that is super normal for him) then his eyes got really blood shot.....the rash appeared Saturday morning (at first it looked a lot like Roseola, which is extremely common (most kids get it before kindergarten) so I wasn't extremely worried....I noticed it on him first (I mean I wasn't really looking for it) on his legs. I went about the day getting ready for the Scout/Girls Camp fundraiser for our ward .....went to the fundraiser-without him and Jerry-because though roseola is common, it is still contagious....Well after the fundraiser, Jerry had called me asking if I could help find someone to come give him a blessing, because he took a turn for the worse...his fever spiked to 104, his rash had spread and it was a lot more red and clumpy than in the morning and the thing that made me question if it was roseola....he was itching pretty bad....well roseola is not an uncomfortable rash...you don't itch. He was also wheezing, seemed like breathing was very difficult….I finally got home.....and Cohen's eyes were completely blood shot and the rash looked out of control. And the fever didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy inside either...I knew I would not be able to sleep if I didn't take him in...so I brought him to the E.R. The second they saw him they said "that is NOT roseola....they thought it was a reaction to the Amoxicillan that he was on for the ear infections.
But then they realized that the bumps were all over the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet as well as in his mouth (I was told that was unusual for an allergic reaction.....All of his symptoms fit with Rubeola- which is the diagnosis on PAPER.....
however the blood work was not going to be back until 3 days later...I was told to tell anyone that I had been in contact and quarantine him in our house (obviously try my hardest to keep him away from Brinley) Cohen is up to date on all of his shots,so it made me question if the diagnosis was correct....but he also has a gift for defying the odds....so it was a waiting game...I got flooded with emails from worried parents...felt like a lepper...:)....I gave everyone the following information:


The infection is spread by contact with droplets from the nose, mouth, or throat of an infected person. So, Sneezing and coughing . I'm convinced he probably got it from when we went to the pediatricians office for his ear infection. His immune system sucks ever since he had pnemonia at 11 months old. In the last 6 weeks it has been The crud, the croupe, 2 ear infections...and then a wicked cough (that required him to have breathing treatments because his lungs have a hard time). For rubeola they say that you contract the virus 10-14 days before symptoms manifest....then the symptoms are (which Brinley shows absolutely ZERO)
•Bloodshot eyes

•Cough

•Fever

•Light sensitivity (photophobia)

•Muscle pain

•Rash

Usually appears 3 - 5 days after the first signs of being sick

May last 4 - 7 days

Usually starts on the head and spreads to other areas, moving down the body

Rash may appear as flat, discolored areas (macules) and solid, red, raised areas (papules) that later join together

•Itchy

•Redness and irritation of the eyes (conjunctivitis)

•Runny nose

•Sore throat

•Tiny white spots inside the mouth (Koplik's spots)


I then called on Wednesday morning for the blood work results, The nurse on duty found his name...said "Rubeola is positive" then she said anything else? I said "No, that's all I needed to know" I proceeded to get the FINAL word out for safety sake, so any unvaccinated kids could maybe get vaccinated before symptoms manifested., I then called my pediatrician to try and get Brinley in as soon as possible to be vaccinated....As I was waiting for him to get back to me, I got a call from the nurse that was in the ER attending Cohen on Saturday. The night her, a nurse practitioner and 2 doctors saw him and were convinced of Rubeola. She called to actually discuss the results with me, apparently the nurse practitioner ordered the wrong test....she ordered a titer (have no idea if I spelled that right) which shows if there are antibodies for both Rubeola and Rubella ......well of course there WOULD be because he has been vaccinated...so though the test is positive, it didn't tell us for SURE if he had measles.the test she should of ordered was an IGG (I think that's what she said) which would see if he actually HAD the measles right NOW. She told me that she called the testing place and they were going to run his blood through that test....and I'd know by Friday for sure. I asked her if I should get Brinley Vaccinated, she spoke with the pediatrician on duty and he said that probably not because if she has already been exposed and she DOES have it, the vaccination could make things worse.....plus if she DOESNT have it, it may put her through unecessary side effects, due to being too young. So he recommended NO. Then we hung up I cancelled her apt. Then recieved a call back later saying that the lab testing fascility for some reason or another would notbe able to do the IGG test. They gave us the option to get Cohen's blood taken AGAIN just so we would know...but by then Brinley would have it....or not have it....and regardless, sounded like the vaccine would either make things worse,...So basically...if Brinley gets it, (She could be tested because she's never been vaccinated) but we will know that Cohen had it....If she doesn't....Cohen most likely had something else, (I was told a strong rash virus was going around my pediatricians office, or it could have been an extreme allergic reaction to something, I'm hoping for the virus, so I don't have to stress on what he's allergic to!) So basically time was supposed to tell. Well time went by, Brinley did not ever manifest any symptoms....and when I brought the pictures into my pediatricians office....they seem pretty set on the Amoxicillan reaction theory. However they aren't sure because of the reasons that made them doubt that in the beginning...the rash in his mouth, on the souls of his feet, hands....blood shot eyes and respiratory distress....so....We pretty much didn't figure it out, they were confident that if it was measles that Brinley would have gotten it. So they advised me not to give him amoxicillan anymore just in case...and hope for the best that he never goes through this again. So yeah....good times.