Roseoh-no… AKA Roseola

You know you’re having a rough week when you tell a fellow mom that you took your son to the vet for a rash… I’ve not only got a toddler with 4 molars breaking through, but we just learned he contracted Roseola and I do have a dog with a large abrasion that’s irritated on his stomach so this pregnant mom brain literally can’t even.

When your child has a two day low grade fever, not all of us will run to the doctor (not I anyways) especially when there is nothing else it could be associated with except for the fact that he’s cutting 4 molars. His fever never went above 100.4 so I figured we’d let it run its course but continue to heavily monitor him. He was also terribly cranky for those duration of the week, but I of course, attributed it to those rotten (but splendid) molars coming in.

 

It was morning of day 3 and I noticed his fever broke but he suddenly had this awful rash, mostly covering his torso/trunk area. The odd thing in his case was the minor eczema he had from our Holiday weekend at the Colorado river, which appeared mainly on his torso and random flare ups here and there. But, the morning of day 3 the rough skin, which felt sand papery but was not visible to the eye was now bright red and patchy. Due to my already chaotic week I made a call to the doctor and just wanted answers.

Before you consult Dr. Google and worry your child has contracted measles (a serious common mistake), take a chill pill or in mom words, drink a glass of wine and take a breath…. Your child likely has this very common, unfortunately very contagious, run of the mill pathogen that appears in a fever and rash combo.

So how does it appear and what can I do?
Roseola is a mild illness caused by a virus and is highly contagious. It typically affects children of six months to two years of age and is very rare after the age of 4. While there are no treatments or medications needed, there are some holistic remedies that can help soothe your child’s crankiness and discomfort.

Common symptoms:

• low or high grade fever that lasts 2-3 days
• loss of appetite
• irritability
• sudden rash on trunk when fever breaks
• rosy-pink rash may spread to arms, legs, neck and cheeks

How to Relieve:

• Cold over Hot
  • keep your little cool, heat will only further develop and show the rash
  • avoid hot car rides, being outside or in the sun
  • turn on a fan and keep in little to no clothing
•  Baths
  • run a cool bath as heat and warm water will accentuate the rash and may feel uncomfortable to your child
  • try an oatmeal bath to sooth the skin **To make your own, buy a bag of oats or reach into your pantry for what’s on hand and toss a couple cups into a blender and blend until fine. Store in an airtight container and use as needed!
  • include a chamomile rinse by adding chamomile flowers to the bath or the oatmeal mixture for added soothing properties
• Calendula Oil
  • use this oil to sooth skin irritations. **Be sure to buy pure calendula oil (which is calendula flowers in a base of olive oil) over a pre-made salve as they can have added ingredients that can further irrigate the skin
• Essential Oils
  • create a soothing lotion by diluting Lavender oil in coconut oil and rubbing into skin
  • diffuse oil blends such as balancing blend & calming blend to reduce irritability and your own stress
  • apply diluted protection blend onto the bottoms of feet to boost immunity so your child can fight off the unwanted bacteria quicker

 

While the week may drum on due to the crankiness of your child, roseola will pass and you will be back to normal within a week or so. Doc says lots of rest and mom says lots of cuddles, so I’ll take them while I can.

-Essentially a Mom