Conference moira::parenting

    David got one of these on his stomach when he started pulling 
    himself around on the rug.  
    
    --bonnie

    
    Well, by yesterday afternoon more of these dots had appeared all over
    Sean.  The doctor said it was a streptococcus (sp?) and gave us
    medicine and salve to put over the dots....but this morning there
    seemed to be more...spreading everywhere.
    
    If anyone has seen this type of infection, please let me know what
    to expect.  Our doctor speaks fluent French and I only speak
    high-school French so my ability to ask questions and get information
    is limited...(although he tries really hard to help me out ;-)  ).
    
    Regards,
    
     Carol
      

    	Hmmm, first of all let me make it very clear, I am not a Doctor.

    	However, I used to be a clinical microbiologist and if it were me,
    I would question the diagnosis of Streptococcal infection based on your
    description of the first sore and the additional spots coming out.

    	For the most part, there are two ways to get Strep. (which has a
    few varieties, the A variety is most potent). You can either ingest the
    organism (which leads to strep throat, strep mouth and nose infections
    and which can lead to Scarlet fever and Rheumatic fever) or you can be
    exposed to the bacteria by having an already existing wound (which
    *could* be what your baby has, the skin became broken and the strep
    entered that way). Ah, you can also get it sexually, but I'll leave
    that discussion off for now.

    	Strep has a very potent toxin (one of the reasons strep throat
    hurts so very much) and if it gets into the blood stream the toxin is
    what causes the rash known as Scarlet fever.

    	As mentioned there are other types of Strep that are not as potent
    and it is possible that your son is infected with one of those
    varieties.
    
    
    	A few questions, (I'm not necessarily looking for answers here,
    just things for you to consider) are the sores flat or are they "open"?
    (A blood infection might cause flat rash sores while an exterior
    infection would cause open, raw and very sore looking wounds.)

    	Does your child have a fever? (fevers go hand in hand with
    infections)

    	Is he 'sick" (lethargic, whinney?) (an interior infection would
    make him very sick)

    	Did they culture the wound by (I know this is gross) actually
    inserting the culture probe into the pussy part of the wound (the only
    verifiable way to culture for strep)?

    	Are the additional spots near the area of the first infection?

    	Are the spots forming in the shape of a "Christmas tree" on the
    body (trunk, upper arms and upper thighs?)

    	The good news is that if it is strep (any variety), antibiotics
    work very well and your baby should be showing signs of improvement in
    roughly 48 hours.

    	If it is strep, you will have to try and identify the source (we
    had some clients, whose children had repeat strep infections and it
    turned out the family dog was the culprit).

    	In any event, keep your eye on Sean and if things are not improving
    within a short time frame or if things are getting worse, you might
    want to contact your physician again with an English/French dictionary
    in tow.

    	Medical Science is difficult enough in English, I can't even
    imagine trying to discuss it in another language.

    	There is also (somewhere dir/title=strep) a few discussions about
    this in the Medical notes file that you might want to check out.

    			Wendy
                     

We saw a similar kind of problem occur with a fungal infection like ringworm.
Lots of tiny pin head spots growing in rings almost as described up to a
diameter of about 3" and then started again, so the effect was almost like
a bullseye. After the second ring (they aren't really well defined rings,
but it's the easiest description) it spread all over the general area.

Treatment was with a topical antifungal like clotrimazole (Canesten) in
combination with a topical antibiotic.

The spot started on the back of the legs where our daughter kept moving her
legs back and forth on the carpet.  Apparently, there are a lot of potential
fungii in our carpets that normally aren't a problem, but the skin abrasion
opened the skin sufficiently for an infection to start.

Strangely, that spot kept having flare ups of the same thing for many years.
I guess the spores laid dormant in the skin there for years!

Stuart 

    From you description in .0 I would have said it is ringworm (which is
    really a fungal infection) and as the previous note stated a topical
    fungicide will clear it up in 10-14 days.  I got it from one of my cats
    and had no problem clearing it up on either of us.
    
    I've never heard of ringworm spreading so fast though.  Good luck. 
    Maybe you could find someone fluent in English and French to translate
    for you next time you see the Doc.
    
    LaDonna
    

    Well the rash seems to be 'contained'.  It has stopped spreading and
    some of the red spots seem to be going away.  It is just the largest
    sore which will take some time to heal.
    
    Thanks for the help.  I tend to agree that it is a fungal infection 
    and think I probably didn't hear what the doctor said correctly!
    
    Cheers,
    
      Carol 

    Sean's rash has reappeared in a different place now.  The doctor had a 
    blood test done to see if his iron was low.  He said a low iron count 
    could be a reason why the infection keeps coming back (??).  His iron 
    was low and he is on a supplement for six weeks.   The rash stopped 
    spreading as soon as he was put back on the medicine from before and it 
    is clearing up again.  I am just curious as to why it might keep coming 
    back.

    Any more thoughts on this?

    Cheers,

      Carol


    

    Low iron will reduce your body's ability to produce antibodies. 
    I can tell when I need to start iron supplements because I start
    sleeping poorly, and then I start catching every cold that goes
    around...
    
    --bonnie

    Re: Rashes from Crawling
    
    My daughter has just started dragging herself around the living
    room.  She is getting rugburn on her arms and knees.  I have been
    just putting lotion on them every night before she goes to bed.
    It has been warm the past couple of days, and she is now wearing
    "short" suits.  Do they make baby knee pads?  :-)  Is there anything
    I can do to "lessen" the rug burn?
    

    
    Yes, they *do* make baby knees pads.  I believe I've seen them in the
    "right start" catalog. 
    
    A really good lotion helps too.  My pedi recommended "Kiss my face"
    lotion for the same problem.
    
    Jamd

Get some sweat bands from the drugstore or sporting goods store.  They cost
maybe $2.00 US and will fit a crawlers knees perfectly.  We used them for
a couple months to hold Elise's pants off her feet when she first started
walking.

Pat