Fifth's Disease???? - Killeen,TX

Depends on how long he has had a fever and how high was his fever when you actually saw the doctor? Fevers can be common with viruses too but usually no more than 24 hrs and usually not too high. 102, maybe. If it has been going on for more than a day or 2 and getting higher, sounds bacterial and needs to be seen again!! Could be an ear infection too.

Hi D.:

I'm a grandma now but both my kids came down with Fifth's Disease aka Slap Cheek Syndrom when they were 8 & 4. Their cheeks were firey red, they ran low fevers and were not especially sickly through it, even to the point of their doctor saying that if they continued to not show effects from the disease, I should go ahead and send them to school. He did not feel that this was a particularly contagious disease, in fact it wasn't seen all that much. That would have been in 1984. So I continued to send them to school and damn if a bunch of kids throughout the school suddenly came down it. I had some parents chewing me out big time but hey the pediatrician had been clear and the other kids weren't all that sick either.

It does not surprise me that your son is feeling poorly. That makes sense just because he is younger. Indeed this is the fifth disease to be identified in the rubella family. I don't remember that it lasted all that long, maybe a total of 4 - 5 days. But their cheeks really stood out, not just rosy, screaming red. If the doc has given you a diagnosis then I would say quit worrying, give your son comfort with cool baths and tylenol for the fever. Fluids obviously as much as he will drink. I can tell you from experience that my kids came down with all the weird, never heard of, no one else every had, bunch of diseases. And often, when they did this, they looked to be very, very, seriously ill. I was an absolute nervous wreck. I haven't run into another mother or grandmother who can say these same things but I can tell you that there are things out there that sound silly, the diagnosis makes you wonder if the doc knows anything, and my big question was always "how did my kids get this and no one else has?" It is perplexing. If you have a really good pediatrician, I would say relax but I also was a very careful mother who did observe my kids so I could go into the doc with the info I knew he would need. There were times when I felt I needed to press the doc harder or at one time, I did need to make a change in docs quickly. So be observant, know the typical things that your son does, i.e. is he fever prone, ear issues, throat issues, times of year when he is worse, any triggers, that sort of stuff.

Spring time is the "season" for Fifth's disease. It spreads very easily although usually it is not that big a deal for kids. VERY dangerous for pregnant women in their first trimester. If your son is prone to high fevers whenever he is sick then the 104 would not be too unusual. Sometimes they will have rashes on their hands and stomachs also-and occasionally achey joints. It can take a bit to run it's course, but I'd adopt a "wait and see" approach. If he gets worse, take him back to the dr. If he improves, then the diagnosis was probably correct.
Once you have had it you are supposed to be immune although I have gotten it twice as an adult-before I had kids! As an adult it has all the same symptoms but much stronger. The achey joints are awful and it lasts and lasts. Good luck.

I had the 5th disease when I was a kid. So its a real disease. I can't remember but I believe its some sort of off shoot from the measles. But I'm not a hundred percent sure. But there is definitely a disease called this

the red cheeks should look a little rashie i think. Are they just red or a sandpaper kind of rash? If you are worried get a second opinion. Maybe he has an ear infection now that wasn't there when you went to the doc. Could be why such a high fever.

5th disease rash is all over the body and looks like a spider web. My daughter's had it...no big deal. I wouldn't worry, but I'd follow the dr's directions. She's the professional, but if there's no spider web looking rash, I'd call and ask her if she could take another look at him

If he doesn't have a rash anywhere else and has always had rosy cheeks, I would definitely be skeptical. My daughter had it at age 2, but her fever never got that high (she was also covered in a rash). I would definitely keep an eye on it and maybe get a second opinion. Two different doctors have told me that rashes are very difficult to diagnose and I think Fifths Disease gets tossed around a lot when they can't find anything more serious going on. No matter what, if you're gut tells you something's up, follow it.

I had it when I was a kid. All I remember is having a rash.

Hi D.. Make absolutely sure that your child does not come into contact with any one pregnant. Fifths disease also known as slap face is very dangerous for pregnant women.

L.

That does sound like Fifths Disease. But go with your gut. Good Luck.

was he diagnosed by his dr or an er dr. my daughter got hand foot mouth and i was told it was fifths by the er dr because her cheeks were red. she had spots on her hands feet and around her mouth. no fever at all. her pedi. confirmed hand foot mouth at an appt. 2 days later. if you havent talked to his actual dr i would make an appt. either way its a viral thing and you need to have it run its course.

The MOST important thing to know is if your son has been around any pregnant women they need to be notified ASAP to be tested for it as well. If left untreated it can have devastating consequences for the unborn baby. Friends of ours lost their baby at 18 weeks because mom was exposed to Fifth disease and didn't know to be tested and monitored by her doctor.

It is part of the measles family-the 5th disease in the group to be discovered.

YEP. It is viral and children tend to run high fever with viruses. It should pass in a few days. The cheeks look really irritated but don't bother them.
This is the defining symptom of fifths. It will be OK!