Fifth and Bladder

An intersection in a city? A country road crossing? Alas, no. Just the diagnosis from the pediatrician this morning as to why Caitlin is covered in a blotchy rash and why she cries whenever she urinates.

Yesterday morning Caitlin woke up with one very bright red cheek. I thought she'd been sleeping on it, and didn't pay much attention to it until a few hours later when I noticed that the redness hadn't gone away. Later, after her afternoon nap, I noticed she had a bright red rash on her hand and up her arm. It was a little worrisome, but she wasn't itchy and the rash wasn't bothering her at all. In the middle of the afternoon, however, she started crying and telling me her bottom hurt. Of course, she had the same bright red rash all over her rear. She recently got over a bad strep-caused diaper rash. That rash looked like bad acne - full of blisters and pustules that would break open, leaving an exposed wound. It hurt a lot, and only cleared up after she was put on a round of antibiotics. Even after the worst of the diaper rash had cleared, her bottom was still red, dry, and hurt a lot. I bought some Arbonne baby body oil, which I'd heard amazing things about, and that seemed to help. Caitlin kept begging for the oil on Monday, so I'd put in on her rear, but it didn't help this time. She started peeing through her outfits. It took two times of her doing this for me to figure out she was having urination issues (she's in diapers for a couple days now), and that's when she was crying out that her bottom hurt. She's done this before, but last time we knew that it really was her bottom. And when we put on the oil, she stopped crying. This time, though, the crying got worse, and she'd even cry out in her sleep. It was a long night.

This morning - two bright red cheeks! However, one looked like a hollow rash, meaning that the middle part was less red than the outside. On top of that, rashes down both arms and both legs, and more crying while peeing. I made an appointment at the pediatric office this morning and they managed to get us in at 10:30. Not only does Caitlin have a urinary tract infection, but she also has Fifth Disease. Lovely. But at least we know now. The nurse and doctor initially thought she had hives, but ruled that out since the rash wasn't itchy. The nice thing is she isn't contagious anymore. Because the rash of Fifth Disease is due to an immune reaction that occurs after the infection has passed, a child is usually not contagious once the rash appears. I'll just keep her away from any pregnant women! Caitlin was contagious last week, but I had no idea. She had a few sniffles, but no fever. Cold-like symptoms are the precursor of Fifth Disease. She's had sniffles for weeks now - we all have - so I had no idea she had anything more than the aftermath of the common cold. Oops! I hope she didn't infect anyone. Caitlin was begging to use the bathroom once we got to the pediatrician's office. I thought it might be good to get a urine sample from her before our appointment. I'm glad I did, since they needed it to run some tests. Her urine even looked strange. I wonder how long this has been going on. I had no idea until she told me it hurt!

So now Caitlin is on another round of antibiotics to nip this infection before it gets worse. After a long talk with the pharmacist after one of Caitlins' crying while peeing episodes, she's also on Azo for a couple of days. While the antibiotic will kill to bacteria causing the UTI, the Azo acts quickly to quell the pain. It's a good thing, but it also turns her urine bright orange! The pharmacist said he's given it to his six-year old son, and he thought it was cool. I find it annoying, but then again, I'm not six! We should hear back about the test results in a couple of days, at which point I'll find out if we need to change her medication. When we're done with the meds, she'll need to do some lab work to make sure she's really clear of infection. UTI's can move into the kidney quite quickly, which wouldn't be good for her little body.

Poor girl! This is her third round of antibiotics since late January! She had one round for her strep diaper rash, another one for her ear infection, and now this! I'll be very happy when she's off the meds. I have nothing against them, but I still don't like it when my kids have to be on them. And, antibiotics are such a touchy subject that some practitioners in this area don't even like to prescribe them.

The odd thing we've noticed about Caitlin during these times of pain? She immediately wants to go to the doctor to make her feel better. She thinks the doctor can cure it all. She believes the same thing about band aids, too. While I don't want her to think that doctors know it all and can cure it all, this may be the start of a healthy attitude towards health care professionals.