Anyone dealt with Fifths Disease?

mavs_girl07

It just dawned on me this morning that this must be what DS has had the last week.  He ran a fever all of last weekend, then Tuesday he broke out in a rash.  It's all over his neck, stomach, chest, back, arms, diaper area, and thighs.  It started as a ton of tiny red dots, then after a day or so I noticed they all looked lacy and connected.  Then yesterday his cheeks turned bright red, almost like a sunburn.  The pedi told me the fever and the rash were related, and it was all probably some sort of virus.  But now that his rash has changed, I did some googling and it sounds exactly like fifths disease.  How long does the rash last? 

winomom22

Yes. DD1 had it recently. She never had a fever though-just the rash. It started on her cheeks and progressively got worse and worked it's way down the rest of her body to her trunk, arms and eventually legs. It was lacy rash and looked terrible-similar to sunburn. She had the classic "slapped cheek" rash on her face. The doctor diagnosed her with Fifths disease. The rash went away after about a week and a half. It's extremely contagious, but usually only before the rash appears and it's not something they keep kids out of school for unless they have a fever. If adults get it, it's much worse-they can have joint pain for months. It's also dangerous to women in the early stages of pregnancy. A lot of adults are immune to it though because they have likely already been exposed to it. It apparently runs in cycles and is epidemic right now.

indika236

Yep, DD had it off and on from January to April. She had the fever only once the first time the rash showed up. The rash would last a week or two, clear up, and then come back. It seems to have finally cleared up. The pedi prescribed us some kind of cream to put on when it flared up. I should also note she picked it up at daycare and everyone else in her room had it as well. Sorry you are dealing with it

grr_aargh

Yup.  The body rash lasts a week or so, I think, but their cheeks can go bright red for months.  It took my DD about 6 weeks to lose the bright cheeks.