Being a newbie mom, I’m oblivious to the kinds of illnesses my child can be exposed to. Yes, we are thankful to our dedicated pediatrician who have monitored and cared for my son since Day 1, but sometimes, there are conditions that needs specialized care.
Last Sunday afternoon, Ziki developed some rash on his torso and on his legs. I was quite concerned because he had slight fever since Saturday evening and was vomiting every now and then. Come Monday morning, his rash was full blown, more prominent on his front torso, palms and soles and he had high fever too. I was able to get the fever down but then it went up again in the evening. So the next day we went to his pediatrician to check what this rash could be.
His pediatrician ruled out chicken pox and measles because of the kind of rash, which is small, red and pimply. She suspected coxsackie virus from the symptoms I reported to her the night before. But upon checking the insides of Ziki’s mouth, it was clear of any sores or rashes. I told her I fed Ziki squash for the first time last Saturday and asked her if it may be an allergic reaction to the vegetable. She said it was less likely the culprit and might actually be something I ate. I was trying to remember the food I ate since Ziki showed the symptoms, but there was nothing new that I wasn’t eating already. Then I remembered eating danggit on Saturday morning and had rashes on my arms, though it eventually went away. When I told her that, she mentioned that the rashes may be caused by papular urticaria. So I researched and thought this couldn’t be it since this is non-contagious and it is caused by insects, mites and bedbugs—and Ziki wasn’t exposed to any. The pediatrician said it may be something viral though she could not pinpoint what exact virus it is. She just gave him anti-histamine for the itchiness and deferred eating solids until the rashes are gone. Here’s how the rashes looked like:
Thankfully yesterday, Ziki’s fever was gone but the rashes was by now all over his body and was red and itchy. In spite of his condition, he was still a happy baby and we were able to celebrate his 7th month birthday.
Our pediatrician recommended that we see a pediatric dermatologist. The one she recommended wasn’t available until tomorrow so I had to search for pediatric dermatologist online sa aming mga suking ospital so we can bring Ziki today (pardon my newbie mom paranoia). Then I landed on a goldmine! TheFilipinoDoctor.com is a super helpful healthcare resource a mommy can ever have! Whoever thought about this is heaven-sent to newbie mothers like me or to anyone who doesn’t have a network of doctors they can contact. To make sure this isn’t a hoax site, I started searching the excellent doctors I have encountered in my life and they are listed here—complete with subspecialties, clinic locations, schedules and contact information! I’m so happy I just have to blog about it! However, it seems we’d have to go tomorrow since most of the pedia dermatologists near us doesn’t have clinic during Thursdays. Thank God Ziki’s not bothered about his itchy rashes so we can probably wait until tomorrow.
When you have a little one to care for, you never really know when something is an emergency so it’s important to have accessibility to information like this. As for Ziki’s condition, we’re just praying this is nothing serious and hopefully he gets well soon.