My son came home from school today and said he was told he had fifths disease. I never received a call from the nurse or his teacher, and by the time we got home it was too late to phone the school. After turning to old reliable, google :), I believe he does have this virus. He has the flushed cheeks and a slight rash on his arms. Anyone else have experience with this??
I also want to add that we are supposed to be leaving tomorrow for a week long cruise to the Bahamas...should I consider staying home? Ugh.
Go to the bahamas....he has the rash so he has already been contagious...probably for about a week. The rash is the last part of the 5ths disease and you should have a fine time in paradise. Have fun!
One of my daughters had it when she was younger. It ran it's course and she was up and running around in a day or two. Just give him Tylenol if he spikes a fever and keep him away from pregnant women.
I'm sorry the school didn't call or get a hold of you somehow!
As the others have said, once the rash occurs you are no longer contagious & it is a virus so there is nothing the Dr. can do. My son had it and the school allowed him to attend because by the time you know they have it the damage to others around you is already done. I would not worry about staying home. Obviously as with any illness there can be complications, but overall it usually just runs it course. Enjoy your vacation!
By the time they get the rash, any contagens are supposed to be gone and the 'worst' of it should have passed. This is likely why you didn't get a call, although I think that's remiss. If I was told by my son that he had a 'disease', I would have liked to have heard about it from a qualified adult!
My son has had it more than once (it can recur). There is nothing a doctor can do for this as it is a virus. It is most contageous before the rash occurs so others may have already caught it (nothing you can do about that). The rash can last up to 3 weeks (sometimes much longer in rare cases). The only thing you need to treat is the fever (if he has one).
My son didn't have any symptoms other than the rash. He was acting normal both times he had it so I didn't limit him in any way.
I just want to add (after your add) that exposure to the sun can make the rash much worse but it does not mean that the disease has got worse, it's just an effect of the sun on the rash.
I just wanted to add that they will probably ask you when you board the cruise if you have had exposure to any sickness, even a cold, so be careful what you say. I'm not necessarily advocating lying, but choose what you say and write carefully b/c they can say you're not allowed to come. I'm sure that wouldn't happen with this kind of a thing, they are more worried about things that will contaminate an entire ship with vomiting, etc. but I just wanted to give you a heads up! Have fun!!
It's been awhile since my son had it, but I don't rember it being anything serious. Google and read about it or call a nurse. Usually, school will send something home indicating they've been to the nurse at school. Call and talk to them. I don't think you need to cancel your vacation, but read up on it and get some answers. Good luck............
First of all, I cannot believe the school nurse didn't call you! I agree that once the rash appears, they are no longer considered contagious. So, you shouldn't worry about taking him on the cruise.
I would call his doctor and be sure he is not contagious anymore. Fifth disease can be dangerous to someone who's pregnant. Also, in rare cases there are side effects. When my daughter had it the virus settled into her ribs and she was in a lot of pain. She could not stand or lie down without help. It took her almost a full year to recover completely.
Call and discuss it with his doctor. As the pp said the consequences for a pregnant woman who is exposed can be devastating. I have a friend that lost her baby at 18 weeks because of exposure to Fifths and another that had to be monitored very carefully for her entire pregnancy because she was exposed early in her pregnancy.
I don't know much about Fifth's in children, but did want to mention that adults can get Fifth's disease too... and it can be severe if they didn't have it as a child. I was exposed to Fifth's at a friend's house about eight years ago (her 4 year old son was sick). I got super sick - like the worst flu ever - and then several weeks later I got arthritis symptoms. I could barely get out of bed, and couldn't even brush my own hair. It was awful. At the time we had no idea it was Fifth's disease so I went to multiple doctors to be tested for Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lyme Disease. After two weeks of tests they figured out that I had Fifth's disease. I took anti-inflammatory drugs and after about two months I was mostly back to normal.
I mention all this just in case anyone else in your house starts having symptoms... but yeah, I'd still go on the cruise!
