Rash and Fever in 16 Month Old

Updated on March 12, 2008
C.P. asks from Charlotte, NC
27 answers

Quick question; my daughter was running a fever for 2-3 days in the 102s. She is 16 months old. Took her to the doctor and they thought it was just a virus or cold. This morning she woke up with a rash on her torso, not raised just red and splotchy. Back to the MD, just a viral rash. But now, the spots are starting to be raised and have spread to groin, buttocks, lips and back. No fever at all now. 98.7. Has anyone heard of anything like this? thanks.

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So What Happened?

Thanks for your input. I did not have to take her back to the doctor. The rash stayed one more day then faded. All is well. Maybe it was roseolla? My friends son had a similar experience at the same time as my daughters and they thought that for him...I guess we'll never know :)

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J.G.

answers from Hickory on

when my son was about 1 he stsrted breaking out in red bumps that soon would change to hives everythime he ran a fever or got sick. after many times to the doctors and the emergency room a doctor told me that that is just how his body reacts to the virus and that his daughter did the same thing and that he would eventually grow out of this. The doctor was correct he eventually quit breaking out I don't think we have had a break out in a year. The only thing I was told to do was to give benadryl to keep the spots and the hives down so they didn't itch him. Good luck

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W.M.

answers from Richmond on

Old school thoughts...chicken pox, roseola, strep throat,heat rash, allergic reaction to detergents, soaps, bubblebaths, foods? Have you tried oatmeal baths, Benedryl (either pill and /or cream form)?, It may be an end result of the virus, so the topical treatments may work best. I am a mom of 3 (now grown) children and went thru plenty of undaignosed rashes. Hope this helps...W. M.

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R.A.

answers from Norfolk on

My daughter had that when she was about the same age. It was roseolla(I cant spell). I freaked out and my husband had to come pick me up to take her to the er. When we went she didnt have the rash yet, just the fever. After a day or so she got the rash and then she was fine. If you have had her anywhere you might want to let them know, like we would go to YMCA and I called to tell them. The dr said my daughter had either got it from a shopping cart or from the YMCA.
The dr also told me that with that high of a temp it isnt as bad in a child as it would be to you or me.

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R.R.

answers from Raleigh on

The rash is due to the fever. It happened to my kids a few times. I freaked out because they did not seem to be linked because the fever had already broken. The rash has a name, I just can't remember it. Anyway, if it was scarlet fever, she'd still have a fever.

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M.R.

answers from Asheville on

To me it sounds like roselloa or 5ths disease. I am not sure though. M.

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R.D.

answers from Charlottesville on

Hi C. - you've gotten good advice here already. There are a bunch of childhood viruses that display variations of the same symptoms...roseola, fifths disease, coxsackie (hand, foot, mouth virus)...etc. I know variations of coxsackie virus have been going around Crozet and Charlottsville. Unfortunately, it justhas to run its course since it is viral. Always good to check with your doc though. With these viruses, the rash usually appears when the fever breaks. Good luck!

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J.M.

answers from Greenville on

i had it when i was a baby and my son had it around 7 months. it cleared up after 4 or 5 days. it bothered me more than him but was just a viral rash. he didn't have the fever the days before but most babies do.

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D.P.

answers from Raleigh on

My son recently had the same type of virus, and had a fever of around 102. The pediatrician told us not to be alarmed when he developed a rash after the fever broke. She said it was the body's reaction to the virus/fever, and that it would clear up in a few days on its own. Sure enough, when his fever returned to normal, the rash came and spread all over his body. It cleared up on its own (although he looked much worse than he felt). Give it a few days. If it doesn't clear up by then, it wouldn't hurt a thing to call the pediatrician again.

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C.T.

answers from Norfolk on

Did you find out what it was? Was it shingles?
C. ____@____.com

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C.K.

answers from Charlotte on

Sounds like the same thing that my 2 yr. old daughter had this past fall. It is Roseola, a very common childhood illness that once the fever breaks the child will develop this rash. Just keeping her comfortable is all you can do. It isn't a threatening type of illness. When they are viral there isn't much you can do, but to let it run it's course. The doctors won't prescribe an antibiotic for viral infections unless there is an underlying or secondary illness. Below you will find information that I copied and pasted from www.askdrsears.com which is a wealth of information for many things. I'm a mother of 3 (10, 2.5 and 8 months) and I believe I've worn out the website! : ) Hope this helps. I will tell you that if the fever does come back you need to call the doctor. That is what they told me. As that can be a sign that there is a secondary illness. Not to scare you, just prepare you.

WHAT IS ROSEOLA?
It is a usually harmless illness caused by a virus. It occurs almost only in children age 3 months to 3 years, most often between 9-12 months. It is probably the most common cause of fever in this age group.

WHAT DOES ROSEOLA LOOK LIKE?
This virus generally causes 3 days of high fever (often over 103). The fever then subsides, and the child breaks out in a flat or bumpy red rash, usually starting around the neck, back and chest, then spreading out. The rash lasts a few days to a couple weeks.

Dr. Sears Clue: Roseola is about the only virus in which the rash appears after the fever breaks.

Sometimes this virus will cause 3 to 7 days of high fever, with no other symptoms and no rash. Some children will have swelling of the glands in the front and back of the neck, runny nose, cough, ear pain, vomiting or diarrhea with this illness. Children can have one or all of these symptoms.

Dr. Sears Clue: The characteristic of Roseola is that infants don't seem very sick and act almost well when the high fever comes down.

WHEN IS IT CONTAGIOUS AND HOW IS IT TRANSMITTED?
It is contagious from about two days before the fever starts until 1 or 2 days after the fever is gone, even if the rash continues. Children who are fever-free for 1 or 2 days can return to school, even if they still have rash. It is passed via saliva, runny nose, or cough. The incubation period (time from when your child is exposed to the time of actual illness) is around 10 days.

HOW DO I TREAT ROSEOLA?
You essentially just treat any symptoms that are bothering your child. There is no actual treatment for this virus. The main thing to keep in mind is that this virus can cause high fevers. Try to be diligent in treating moderate to high fevers.

DO I NEED TO SEE THE DOCTOR?
There is no urgency to see doctor for this illness.

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T.B.

answers from Norfolk on

C.,
Working in day care, I see this all the time. Everytime a child comes back after being out for a few days with a fever, the parents will say they had gone back to the doctor because of a rash that appeared. They all get the same answer, it is a virus that causes the rash. They all tell me that they are told that the child was most contagious just before and during the fever stage of this illness. So, everyone in the class has been exposed before the illness shows its ugly head.

I don't at this point think that it is something to worry about, but if the rash lasts more than a few days or seems to bother her, I would call the pediatrician just to be sure.

T.

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A.H.

answers from Norfolk on

Sounds like Roseola- Our daughter now 5 had the same symptoms. It looked scarier than it was- I took her to the doctor to make sure, but they reassured me that it was nothing to worry about- I would check with your pediatrician.

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C.M.

answers from Dothan on

One of our daughters and I both ended up with something like that one year and it is normal. The only difference was mine was a little itchy and I used Callimine lotion on it to help. It shouldnt take long for it to go away. Hope this helps you.

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R.C.

answers from Richmond on

Was she checked for Strep??I know they say(now at least) that babies under the age of 1 don't get strep(usually)but sometimes a rash and fever are the sign of strep.My daughter will break out in "viral" rashes when she gets sick,she's now 23 months,but when she was younger and got sick that's how she would react,it is quite upsetting.

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J.C.

answers from Raleigh on

We went through this with my son (now 3) when he was around 18 months and again recently with my daughter who is 17 months old. Our pediatrician said it was Roseolla and that really there is nothing you can do for it. I did research on the web and found the same thing. The rash didn't really seem to bother her and it faded in about 3 days.

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P.L.

answers from Richmond on

Sorry, I was responding to something else

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L.M.

answers from Charlotte on

Hi C.- My daughter experienced the same thing and my doctor told me it was the fever "leaving the body." It could also be a heat rash from the higher temperatures. I know you can use a cortizone cream on it if you'd like.

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H.R.

answers from Raleigh on

Hi C...my son had the same thing twice and it was diagnosed as "hand foot and mouth. My son is 2 1/2 now but he had the same thing around that age. He ran a high fever and got spots in the same area. There is nothing you can really do from it except maybe medicate the fever. Hope this helps. I think the real name is the cocsackey (not sure of spelling) virus. H. (just joined...thought you might be interested in my experice with it.)

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J.J.

answers from Greenville on

Hi there. My children just got over theirs a couple days ago. Mine too had the fever of 102 for three days, they both had the white splotches on the back of their throat, and then at the end they both had rashes that covered their faces and torsos and backs. I took them to their pediatrician and he too said a virus, but when my daughter's rash a few days later turned to a raised one that itched I took her back and he still said it was just the end part of the virus making its way out of her body. After her rash had changed it then went up and down her legs, on her butt, and her feet and hands and also made her feet and hands swollen. So I would say it is nothing to worry about because it sounds like the same thing mine had and was also told just a virus. All together it lasted close to a week and my daughters rash still comes and go. He didn't say how long it would last. Hope this helps.

They were both checked for strep on their first visit and that was negative. On the second visit they checked my daughters blood count and that too was normal. He just said continue with Tylenol for fever and Benadryl for the itching.

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A.M.

answers from Jacksonville on

Take her back to the doctors. Get an explantion of what it is. don't just let them tell you it is viral. I took my daughter to the naval hospital because she was sick and running a fever. They said it was viral but come to find out when I took her to her primary care physcian she had had mono. So now I don't leave a doctors office without an explanation. I would definitely take her back and get an explanation of what it is.

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P.C.

answers from Fayetteville on

Sophie might have a yeast infection. They get that sometimes. Have you tried butt paste? They sell it at the Wal-mart in a yellow box with a baby on it. Viral rashes just have to take its course. If it was bacterial they could prescribe something, but viral has to work its own way. Just make her comfortable and maybe try the butt paste.

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P.L.

answers from Charlotte on

C.,
Sounds like you have some good advice. Usually, if the fever breaks BEFORE you see the rash it does turn out to be viral. My daughter's VIRAL rash took 3-4 days to clear. It's also a good idea to check for strep. But then my daughter was allergic to the antibiotic and got another rash. That one took a week to clear and I just felt bad for her the entire time, but she didnt' seem to be bothered much by it!
Hang in there!
P.

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E.G.

answers from Norfolk on

sounds like maybe roseola. My son had it probably about the same age. It is very contagious before the rash. He had a high fever (102 - 103 for about 4 days, and mild cold syptoms (little runny nose). After the fever broke, I was set to go back to work, but he woke up the next day with the rash , which got progressively worse. Ths rash ended up being slightly raised and light pink. Roseola is related to Fifth disease.

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I.N.

answers from Raleigh on

One of my girls broke out into a rash from (possibly) a combination of penicillin and the flu virus. She had been taking penicillin for a minor infection when she contracted the flu. Blam! The next morning she started getting spots - a flat rash that spread in a couple hours. She looked TERRIBLE! Back to the doctor we went. According to the doc, the combination of virus and antibiotics caused it. Possible allergic reaction, but the doc said it happens sometimes and might not happen ever again. She was done with her fever by the time she broke out. She looked so bad; she was practically purple from the spots.

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K.C.

answers from Augusta on

My daughter will be 3 soon and we had this same problem this past weekend, started on Friday, yesterday everything was worse so I took her to the ER. She has scarletina (a form of strep throat also a form of scarlet fever) I was told it is going around and fairly easy to catch. She just had her 4th dose of antipiotics (1 last night and 3x today) and already she is looking MUCH better and the rashes are going away.

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H.C.

answers from Fayetteville on

It sounds alot alike 5th Disease. My neighbor's kids had this virus, and yes it is very contagious, but not uncurable. It just has to run it's course. Unless she was much younger I wouldn't worry too much, just use your best mommy judgement.

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