Strep

This poor kid just can't catch a break.

Two weeks ago he had the ear infection. We struggled and succeeded in finding dye-free/flavor-free Amoxycillin. Two days later, he erupted in hives. They switched him to Omnicef -- same struggle for FG compliant. Ten days -- no ear infection. Clean bill of health. And now this.

On Friday morning, Max broke out with a non-itching rash on his tummy and chest. Matt emailed me about it and I told him to put some topical stuff on it. Max has really sensitive skin, so this wasn't really a cause for alarm. But when I came to pick him up at school, the rash had spread over his entire body -- hands, hair, face - everywhere. And he had a fever. To the doctor we went.

Strep culture - negative. Consensus? A virus we had to struggle through.

We went home. Over the course of the next two days, Max vomited, had horrible gas and stomach pain, had cold symptoms, had a spiking fever over and over, and was covered head to toe in a pervasive rash. We couldn't shake it. I tried acetaminophen -- the only approved drug on FG for him. Not even a DENT in the fever.

Finally, yesterday, I broke down and gave him the dye-free but artificial flavor-full Children's Advil. I felt terrible about it but, by that point, he was so sick that I didn't care. We'd work through the reaction. He actually hasn't reacted yet, but that doesn't mean he won't -- we've given it to him twice more since the initial dose.

But, this morning, the fever was back, as strong as ever, and so was the rash, which had started to diminish. So off to the doctor we went. And this time? Strep culture - POSITIVE.

How do I feel? Happy. Really. Because even though this means another round of gut-killing antibiotics, I know that there is a source for this illness and it is treatable. I hate viruses -- hate the whole principle of "there's nothing to do but wait." It goes against all my instincts.

So, we're back on Omnicef. Since Max is having strawberries now on the weekend, I put enzymes in those and I'm going to sprinkle Culturelle on his dinner tonight. Hopefully we can balance things out -- and hopefully this will be the last round of ridiculousness for a while!