Rash! - Coolidge,AZ

If you call your pediatrician there should be a doctor on call that can answer your questions and either agree to see her right away or direct you on how to treat her until Monday. You shouldn't just assume that the doctor is closed or won't take calls on the weekend.

The reason is that rashes can be tricky. It could be an allergy, but it could be a bacterial infection like ringworm or it could be a virus or something else, all things that need immediate treatment... all which need different types of treatment.

The cream, whatever it was, obviously didn't work so don't use that again. Since the rash got worse instead of better you really need to call the doctor.

Viruses can cause rashes too but it could be an allergy. You could try giving her Benadryl. Fyi... per my daughter's pediatrician... Rashes are typically much more concerning to the parent than the child.

Updated

Viruses can cause rashes too but it could be an allergy. You could try giving her Benadryl. Fyi... per my daughter's pediatrician... Rashes are typically much more concerning to the parent than the child.

Rashes of any kind need to be addressed as this is the body's way of telling you that either something on the inside has been irritated or offended or the outside skin itself is throwing a reaction to something it finds offensive. Rashes can be caused by several things......allergic reactions, viruses, strep gone wild which causes Scarlet Fever, and auto-immune diseases also cause rashes. Is the rash localized on the face only? Is it the shape of a butterfly and starts on the cheeks and crosses the bridge of the nose? Does the rash look like your child has slapped cheeks and is overly flushed? These are tell-tale signs of different illnesses that can cause specific rashes. Your pediatrician will know just what to look for and how to diagnose something that will pass in a short amount of time from something more serious. I will say if your child looks flushed or has the rosy cheek look to her at this time, it could be a very common childhood illness called Fifths Disease. This usually happens to toddlers or grade schoolers but in my case, my oldest daughter got this at age 17! Unbelievable! It's a virus and it causes a localized rash n the face that settles onto the cheeks for a few days and then poof....it's gone. Because you are pregnant, it is also important to have your daughter looked at because there are certain viruses that cause rashes that might not be good for you to be around right now. Be careful about that.

My rule about rashes are if they are not bothering the kid, they shouldn't bother me. Rashes come and go for a variety of non-serious reasons, just keep an eye on it and if it doesn't go away in a couple days then maybe think about the doctor. I wouldn't put cream on it either (you don't say what kind of cream you used) as some may actually exacerbate the problem. My son has a little bug, this morning he had a rash on both his legs and his tummy. By dinner it was almost completely gone. Rashes happen.

Is it localized to her face or mouth? Could be a food allergy or sunscreen allergy. If it increases to include her chest/belly it could be a virus. Sore throat, fever? Strep.
Whatever it is will prob be ok till Monday. It would be best if you kept her away fom other children or pregnant women till you know what it is.

ETA: because you are pregnant, you need to get her seen. And you need to let your OB know. It's probably not hand, foot and mouth because that's lacy and on arms usually and you probably had it as a kid, but erring on the side of caution is a good idea. Call the docs.

Lots of different rashes - did she eat something new? It's not uncommon to have skin irritation from a new food - even if you don't have allergic reactions to EATING it. My DD would break out if pepperoni touched her face - though she was fine if she ate it carefully, and didn't make a mess. We have a friend who is the same way with ranch salad dressing. They eat it just fine - it just irritates her skin.

But if it helps, I'm a big fan of the Baby/Toddler 411 books. They have a companion website that includes Rash-O-Rama. It has pictures of both contagious and non-contagious allergies:

https://windsorpeak.com/baby411/bonus-materials/rash-o-rama/

It could be so many different things. If she's not in discomfort, I wouldn't worry too much. If it continues to worsen, though, you will want to get it checked. Have you tried some children's Benadryl? That's what our pedi. always tells me what to give mine when things like this pop up.

Good luck! Let us know what happens.