Has Your Child Had a Virus W/a Mild Rash?

My son had a viral rash in November. It started as a runny nose and fever, and then I started noticing chicken pox like marks. It took about a week for the rash to subside. It was definitely strange, and I never realized that kids could get a viral rash, but they can. I wouldn't worry too much. It really should go away.

Yes, my son had a rash with a virus. But if it flares up during bath time. Two posibilites. 1. His skin is irritated with the soap. #2 the warm water is flaring it up. My son can not use the lavender sleepy time soap. It causes a rash for him. So Try a different soap, but it could just be the virus.

My older son almost never had this, but my younger had a rash with almost every virus or fever. I think it's pretty normal.

This is VERY normal. Our bodies fight virus' in crazy ways and one is with a rash or even with drainage in our eyes, nose, throat...etc. As a first time mom, I FREAKED out when it happened for the first time and had my son at the doctor's office 3 times in a week. Don't waste your money on the doctor's visits unless it gets worse or has a fever that doesn't break. As for tub time... Warmth brings the blood vessels closer to the surface of the skin, making the rash more prominent and causing a "flare up". My son turned 2 last month and has not had an incident in 3 or 4 months now, although it was a battle that we fought for the first 18 months of his life. He'll be fine mama~ Love him lots and snuggle him often! Two is just as terrible as everyone tells you! :) Take care and god bless!

My 16 month old son has had at least 4 rashes that have been identified as viral. After the last one, my husband and I made the connect that when my husband gets a bad cold or fever, he breaks out in a full body rash. Apparently, our son has inherited this trait. The rash our son and my husband gets is not raised and does not itch. Not worried about since it doesn't seem to affect how our son feels. Just becomes annoying to have to take him to the pediatrican to have them tell us it is viral so he can go back to day care.

Hi T.-
My daughter recently had a rash as a result of a virus as well and it took a few doctors and a few visits to finally identify it. That being said, I was told that with any rash it usually flares up after a bath because the warm water causes increased blood flow to the area. We were told to decrease the amount of time in the bath, use cooler water rather than warm and use Cetaphil cleanser instead of "baby" soap which can be very drying. I was also told that with the rash she had that it was common to have it on her legs and lower back. Sometimes it would look better then worse again, and never bothered her so we were told to just wait it out and let it run its course and after about 7 weeks it did. Not sure if the rash is the same or not, apparently what my daughter had is very uncommon, but hope this can help a little. Hang in there and if there are any more concerns follow up with your doctor, like I said we saw three different doctors with ours and finally got the correct diagnosis. Have a Happy New Year!

I am so glad to read all of the responses. My son is 6 yrs old and 2 yrs ago got a rash out of the blue, a day later he was sick. It went away after a week or so. I started keeping an eye on it. He would get a rash and then end up sick with allergies, cold or flu. The Dr. checked his blood and all was OK. Still, I worried and wondered why my son would get this. He said it was probably just how his body reacted to antibiotics. I found it weird being that he had the rash first. I took him to an all Natural pharmacy and I was told the same thing. It is just a way that his body reacts to an illness. I thought she was crazy and I still to this day worried. He broke out in a rash again today. I am so glad that I ran across this while trying to find an answer. It makes him itch a bit but that's it. I'm just greatful it is on the outside of the skin and not the inside hives I used to get. It makes me feel so much better that my son is not the only one that gets a rash when sick. Thank You so much. I pray he outgrows this as well pretty soon.

Yes, with both of my girls. I did find that after their baths, it did intensify and realized that that was due to heat. It didn't bother them and was not itchy, just frustratiing. Theirs lasted about 5 days. I, too, was thinking that their doctor was nuts, but they both went through it. As a mom, the best you can do is watch it, watch them and see if there is anything that changes about them during this time. Also watch and see if it has any correlation to the antibiotic. I did find out later that both my girls are allergic to amoxicillin. Trust your instincts, i have found that they served me well.

My son had roseola; it came with a fever, followed by a rash a day or two later. It didn't seem to itch or bother him. It covered his trunk, had a few spots on his legs and neck, but no spots on his arms. The rash lasted about 5 days.

A year later, my son had a rash on his trunk, arms and legs. I thought it was an allergy to new pajamas, lotion, strawberries, or something else that I couldn't pinpoint. This one was worrisome because it lasted FOREVER. We took him in to one doctor who had no idea and gave us the pat response, "It's probably a virus, call us back if it gets worse." 2 months later, for his 30 month check-up, we saw our regular pediatrician. He knew right away what it was, but I can't remember what he called it. He said it is a common childhood rash with no known cause (he noted that it is not a virus), and it would end around X number of weeks after our visit. Like clockwork, the rash faded when the doctor said it would. It was a total of 5 months of small, slightly raised, reddish bumps. Now, there are a few spots of faded pigment where my son tanned but the spots did not, so I recommend that you are diligent with sunscreen if/when your son's body sees the sun while he has the rash.

Good luck!

My child has not had this...but I did about 10 yrs ago. It was nothing. I even went to the ER since it covered my whole body in less than a day. Exactly like your son's...little red dots. They told me it was b/c of the virus I was fighting. It eventually went away as I got healthier. It never hurt me. Your son should be fine if that's why the Dr. says that he has it.

H.

Has your doctor told you to use an Oatmeal bath for him to calm the rash? I would use that and put him in a luke warm bath rather than anything very warm and just a quick one so he can be cleansed then out right away to reduce the rash flare up.

However, my kids used to get it on there torso and it would spread to their back. We were also told the same thing, about being a viral rash, otherwise a fever rash, and it would go away on it's own. Good luck and I hope your little guy feels better soon.

My older son used to get rashes every time he got a virus. He also broke out in a rash whenever his fever would break. That's just how his body responds to viruses. I would give him those oatmeal bathes and that seemed to help a bit.

There was one time it got so bad that daycare sent him home saying that he had chicken pox but when I got him home, I figured out that it wasn't chicken pox. But I still had to get a letter from the doc stating what it was because it looked real bad. But it didn't bother him at all and also went away within a week or so. The antibiotics should help get rid of it. My son is now almost 6 years old and it doesn't happen to him anymore. I guess it's safe to say he outgrew it. :)

C.

My daughter gets rashes quite often with viruses. It was more typical when she was younger, and now she is 4. The doctor explained it to me like this, some kids get fevers that signal the start of illness. My daughter just gets the rash, and usually something else flares up. Sometimes, it's a rash and then a mild fever. But for my daughter, the rash was the first thing to pop up when she started to get sick. So, I totally understand.

My 16 Month old had a similar experience last week. He had a viral throat infection and developed a rash that looked like heat rash (tiny red spots/ bumps) all over his body. It definately got worse after a bath or at least it looked a lot worse. It's been about 8 days since I first noticed it and it is basically gone. If you look closely there are still a few light pink spots on his legs, arms and back of the neck. We saw our pediatirican twice last week and she said it is common to develop a rash with a virus and that it often gets worse before it gets better.

My 2 yr. old had a very similar thing a couple months back. His rash was almost like hives. They'd even disappear for several days and then return. The Ped told me that after baths, because of the warmth, it will make it flare up. Also, warm jammies caused it to flare up w/my little man. They told me they'd had a lot of similar cases recently. They also treated him for an ear infection at the same time. It cleared up shortly after starting the antibiotics.