Mysterious Illness

While in Oklahoma for the Prugh wedding, B came down with a mysterious rash that at first we assumed was just a really bad case of chiggers. We soon realized that it wasn't chiggers at all. We gave him Benadryl and used hydrocortisone cream to relieve the itching, but it was only temporary. He was also complaining of a stiff neck, but we assumed that was due to the drive out there and how he slept. On Sunday morning, we began the long drive home (10 hours) and did our best to keep him comfortable. He threw up about 1/3 of the way home, and by the end of the second third of the journey was itching so bad we stripped him down and covered him with cortisone cream and put a 'daddy' shirt on him so that the waist of his underwear and pants wouldn't itch him.

These pics below are the first ones we have of the rash on Saturday.

After we got home Sunday night, I put him in the tub with Epsom salts and cool water, but he wasn't much better when he got out than when he got in. I had made the boys and myself some dinner and went to get him to come to the table when I looked at him and he was just covered from head to toe with welts and almost blister-like areas. We decided at this point to take him to the ER, knowing that our medicine wasn't working anymore and we'd all be miserable through the night if we didn't.

These pictures below are from when we first got home Sunday night...before they got all blistery.

The ER doc said we'd probably never know what causes the reaction, but mentioned that it might be worth having him allergy-tested to see what his allergies are. They gave him a shot of hydroxyzine (an anti-histamine) and within minutes B was asleep. We kept him medicated all night and through the next day (yesterday) with the meds they gave us for the itch. The itch went away and the spots went down some. But by evening that changed again.

Around supper time last night, I noticed that his hands were really red again. So I checked his temp and he had a fever of 101. So we watched him through the night again and just kept track of the fever and the hives. But we decided at that point to definitely take him to the family doc this morning.

However, before i could even call the dr's office, T called me to let me know that there have been several cases of meningitis reported in our town. Oy! Then B woke up and was so swollen and puffy in his hands and face that he looked odd. :( He also walked down the hallway crying saying his feet were hurting to walk. So is this joint pain? Not sure. So I called the dr's office and got him an appointment. They questioned us on all sorts of things and the doc said he suspects it's viral and probably tick-borne. He acted like it could be meningitis, but didn't say for sure. He also ordered blood work and we're waiting for those results now. Hopefully we'll know for sure by this afternoon or evening. Doc did say that kids like this who get hives from viruses tend to break out several times over the course of months and that he expects B to be sick for another 1 to 2 weeks.

This morning at the dr's office...doesn't he look pitiful??