Childhood illnesses

Ever since becoming a mum I've become introduced to so many different childhood ailments I feel like no one had ever told me about any of them! To be fair I probably wouldn't have listened because prior to having kids I didn't really want to hear about it. And those that were parents before me probably didn't want to tell me about them because most of them are or at least look insanely minging. I mean, why to they all have to come with horrible looking rashes? We all know about chicken pox, but I feel like that's all I knew before my kids turned up despite presumably having had most of these at some point.

Three kids down the line I've seen most of the common illnesses by now; basically if you can't vaccinate against it one of my kids probably had it at some point. The toddler years are the worst offenders; admittedly they can catch these bugs at any age but that's the age when they have no understanding of personal hygiene and the conveniently put a lot of things in their mouths. One other reason we catch less of these as we get older is that we become immune to some (not all) of them.

Here's a wee list in no particular order of illnesses and rashes no one told me about before I had kids, I'll only relate them to what our experience has been as I'm not medically trained. If you think your child has one of them Google had lots of info to share and will let you know when seeking a Doctor's help is necessary:

Cradle cap 

All three of mine have had it - thankfully not as bad as some I've seen, it can be pretty gruesome looking. Thankfully one of the most harmless, it usually appears when they are newborns and is a flaky yellow scab that covers their head, it's not connected to illness but it can look gross. Regular washing of their hair helps control it. Most sites tell you it'll be gone by the time they're one, all of my kids have had it till the age of 2-3 (thankfully it's been barely noticeable after one).

Hand Foot & Mouth 

This super contagious contender is a mean bugger. It leaves it's victims with blisters around (and sometimes inside) the mouth, as well as the hands and feet, palms and soles. It's one of those that you can't take medicine for other than paracetamol to help possible soreness and/or fever. Our middle child had it when she was about one year old, she didn't get much around or inside her mouth. Her hands and feet were a state though and she cried every time she stood or walked. Now the youngest has it but it's his mouth that's caught the brunt of it.

Roseola or Sixth disease 

This is one of those you become immune to once you've had it, it's probably the mildest out of the ones on my list. It starts with a high fever and lethargy for a few days, only as you near the end you break out in a rash that covers most of the body (not bumpy to the touch). Most people don't even realise their child has had it as the rash can be very subtle, it resembles meningitis and shingles so can give you a bit of a scare. I think our eldest had it without us realising as I had never heard of it before the middle child got it as a baby, the youngest had it last year.

Slapped Cheek Syndrome or Fifth disease 

This owes its name to its rash which appears on the cheeks and looks like the child's been slapped. It can become a rash that covers the whole body, the rash may become itchy and a fever accompanies it along with possible headache and general malaise. Again all three have had it, the youngest just recently. Last year he had ear infections constantly, this year it's every tummy bug, rash and fever going instead.

Impetigo

Along with HF&M this is my least favourite, and not just because one of my children kindly gave it to me and it was itchy, sore and so horrible. It is another skin rash that starts with red sores or blisters, they then crust over with a yellow scab. It's not necessarily serious but can leave bad scars if it goes deep. Antibiotic cream helps it quickly so worth speaking to your doctor. Our eldest had it a couple of years ago and gave it to me, it left a scar on my nose for well over a year despite quick intervention. Our youngest appears to have it along with his HF&M at the moment - we were at the doctor's earlier today for the verdict of both.

As you might have guessed the youngest's double whammy is the reason for the post. He has literally just recovered from a string of colds, fevers and tummy bugs through December/January so it's a bit of a bummer. Last night he was up screaming ALL night long, he just wanted boob, in the morning I saw his mouth was full of blisters. I'm hoping they've settled a bit so he/we sleep(s) better tonight!

And just to end our day on a high, the middle child has a fever. She fell asleep at the dinner table, she's snoozing on me now and I'm worried she's going to come down with one of the terrors above.