The Final Chapter of Fifth Disease...a quasi clinical view

I was hoping that Nathan and Rebekah would be spared the beautiful rash. They weren't. At least now I know we're done. (I don't have any more kids!)

I'm really hoping that Chad and I are immune to this because I don't want arthritic symptoms for a few months! (I haven't checked with Chad, but I'm assuming he feels the same.)

In case any of you would like to see the stages of Fifth Disease (also known as Parvovirus B19), here are some pictures.

Rebekah is just beginning. Her face is a little speckled and rosy. She has a fever. Nathan had one, too. I don't think Leah and Daniel did.

Daniel's face is actually getting better here. It spreads over the cheeks and creeps down under the chin a bit. He may have had a bit on his forehead. I can't recall.

Then it hits the body. Here are Nathan's arms. (Remember, you can click on these pictures to make them bigger.) His legs and bum are similar. (I'm not showing you some of those areas to avoid criminal charges.) It will be on the body for a couple of weeks, slowly fading. Leah complained of itching sometimes. No one ever complained of pain.

And though I'd like to blame their crankiness on something, I'm sure it had nothing to do with this rash.

Not an allergy

I think I'm relieved that I don't have to figure out what Daniel is allergic to anymore. Instead I'm trying not to feel too itchy. It turns out that we have a case of Fifth Disease. Apparently, we have nothing to worry about, unless any of us are pregnant. No one here is, and I hope no one we were around is. It shouldn't be more than 5-6 weeks of rashes. (Is that all?) Luckily, it's the type of thing that you usually only get once. Here is what Daniel looked like last week. Pretty, isn't it?