Tuesday, March 10, 2009

No way to say it discreetly

Happy 9 months to us - today I celebrated by taking A to the Dr's.

I noticed about 3 ish weeks ago (guesstimating) that MT started have what I thought was a dry patch of skin on the back of his left arm right above his elbow. I assumed this was from the roughness of our carpet and his new found maneuver. The army crawl. It was a likely scenario that made sense to me. Especially since he has extremely sensitive skin. Every night after bath time I would apply some avee.no lotion to it in hopes that it would start to go away. Well, a week ago, I looked and saw about 10 more rough patches and got concerned but E and my parents all agreed that I was being overly cautious and alil over protective about the whole thing. He has sensitive skin and I just need to accept it. Friday, I was with a friend and her 4 kids and I asked her what she thought. She said that it looked like her husbands eczema. I was quite saddened by the suggestion but figured it was time to call the dr. So, I made the appointment.

The dr walked in, took a few good looks and declared. Ri.ngworms ... I cried. I will admit, I think I actually panicked and wanted to vomit right there. She assured me that it was not as bad as I was thinking it was, but it needs to be treated through medication.

I learned that it is not actually a worm but a fungus. There seem to be 3 different types(strands?) Athletics's foot/jock itch/cradle cap/diaper yeast infections/rashes are all forms of Ringworm. The treatment is using anti-fungal cream. The dr wants us to try the cream and a prescribed oral anti-fungal med because A has sensitive skin, the cream may cause skin irritation. It seems to be the same med You/and baby can take if you get thrush.

The Dr's first statement was about the foam floor mats being a huge culprit/carriers of it. She asked if I had taken him anywhere like a kid gym, playground or any other place that has mats and shared toys. (towels, hairbrushes, pools) And actually we have been to a few over the past weeks. Plus, my husband mentioned that when I was looking for day cares I took him with me and placed him on the floors/mats/play areas to see how he responded to the other babies/teachers.

I told her that I have indoor cats that have been taken to the vet every yr for shots/etc. but they have never stepped foot outside do not have the signs of patches of skin with no hair and such. She tends to think that it is highly unlikely that it came from our cats. She tends to think that it is harder to get it involving the pets. BUT you can bet that I am going to schedule an appointment for my cats regardless. My parents have an outside kitty. Also could be the culprit. We may never know ...Ugh Frustrating.

I gave him the oral med at 1:15 At 3 I picked him up from his nap and he felt really warm. I took his temp. 103.8 F. New milestone - First Fever. Immediately phoned the dr. I asked if it could be related to the med's since we were there at 10:30 am and no fever or any really sick symptoms. No real advice/guidance other than to give him Motrin and a bath. I was given a number for after hours care and an appointment at 8:45 am tomorrow.

It's been a day ... E just walked in the door from tactical training with a hurt/banged up shoulder with ice wrapped on it. .... Hoping it gets much better soon.

19 comments:

Cibele said...

Lyla has had diaper yeast infection.. I cried too! it is hard, we do our best, but we can;t protect them from everythibg. I hoepe he gets better . HUGS. YOU ARE A GREAT MOMMY!

Nicky said...

Think of it as strengthening his immune system. Every time LL is around something, I chant to myself that it's good for him. They say the healthiest adults are the ones who ate dirt as kids....

Jill Tice said...

HAPPY 9 MONTHS! Where was my pic??? :o)

Ahhhh pssssssshaw to ring worm! Wait until you have been to the ER like us once every year. :o) I lost the Mother of the Year award every February. This year I am still in the running as (KNOCK ON WOOD!) the ER has not been visited. :o) I am sure I just jinxed myself.

Hopefully that made you laugh. You crying shows you are a good Momma! I bumped Josie's head the other night while carrying her and bawled! She laughed. :o)

Lissa said...

Farah, my son had a patch on his forehead when he was around 3-4 months...took him to the dermatologist they said it was shaped like ringworm. I asked how he could get something like this, since we don't have a cat, the only people around him were me, my husband and, and my daughter - so I wasn't happy with that because they had no answer. They told me to do the antifungal thing, which we did and it just got bigger.

We took him again (to a different dermatologist), they said it must be eczema.

We put the aquaphor on it, and in about one weeks time it went away. When he gets a rough patch now, we immediately put the aquaphor on and it goes away in about about 2 - 3 days.

Cajun Cutie said...

aww.. It's o.k. I am sure there is nothing you could have done to prevent the ring worm. As a mom you totally rocked.

Anonymous said...

Kids get stuff. It is how you handle it that matters. And you handled this well.

I hope his fever is gone soon.

Amy B said...

Honey, I have a hard time believing it is ringworm. When Peter was 4 months old he had a patch on the exact same area as MT's and I thought it was ringworm b/c that is what it looked like. I took him to Dr. Immediately he said Eczema. He told me to stop using baby lotions and baby wash and to use Dove sensitive body wash and regular Aveeno lotion. We also used Aquaphor and it was gone in 2 days.
He still gets a couple patches here and there but nothing crazy.
Hang in there.

RBandRC said...

UGH. Poor little guy! Are they sure its not eczema though? That seems really common, especially within the first year? Anyway, I hope things got a lot better for all of you! ((HUGS))

Wordgirl said...

I remember I had much the same reaction when W came home with lice -- even though it happens...oh it was hard...well that AND I GOT it too.

*sigh*

Yes, kids do get stuff -- be easy on yourself my friend -- you're doing wonderfully!

Love,

Pam

Confessions of a momaholic said...

carson is only 6 months old and has a black eye. parenting is never easy!!! hugs!

Nic said...

Happy 9 months! If your cats had ringworm you would see patches of hair falling, scabs and crusts so if they look normal I wouldnt worry!!!

Photogrl said...

I hope everyone gets better soon!

((HUGS))

Malloryn said...

You did a great job handling this and trusting your instincts. I'm sure it'll clear up soon!

E. Phantzi said...

Don't feel bad! There is no way to completely control everything your baby touches, or know what invisible beasties might be lurking there. I had ringworm when I was a teenager, and let it spread to my arms (started on my chest) before showing it to my parents. I had over 100 little rings all over my body. The topical meds did a great job of getting rid of it. I also lived in a warm, damp climate like Florida where fungi thrive. Just to sort of "normalize" it for you, I hope.

E. Phantzi said...

p.s. we never had a cat, so I know it wasn't from that.
But whether it's eczema or ringworm, I know you're doing a great job of looking after your boy.

Unknown said...

AJ got his first fever a few weeks ago when he got sick. I hated seeing him with a fever.

Remember, don't beat yourself up over this. He will recover very soon and things will be back to normal!

Hyppychick said...

I personally got ringworm when I was 26... I was totally mortified until the doc said that it can be picked up ANYWHERE. He asked if I'd tried on clothing lately and said he'd seen cases spread that way. Yes, we need to be paranoid about EVERYTHING!!

Hang in there!

HereWeGoAJen said...

My mom and sister and all their (totally indoor) cats had ringworm. They all gave it to each other. No idea where the first case came from.

Amanda said...

HAPPY 9 MONTHS LITTLE ONE!

I really hope the ring worm/excema is much better, now.

And I'm definitely going to get some of the aquaphor. Trip has a "rash" that keeps popping up on his left ear and cheek and a "rough patch" on his left leg. I'm pretty sure it's all excema.