Today I want to talk about a little known disease but nothing serious that these days is afflicting my 10 month old baby. It is quite common in hot weather and usually occurs in babies between 3 months and a year, in some cases up to 3 years, but it is less frequent.
I tell you because it is usually quite disconcerting and the first few days worry a lot. It happened to my oldest daughter with 8 months, so the second time I was ready and I barely saw the dots on my face this time, I didn't hesitate.
I will explain. It is usually called sixth disease due to the fact that it was located after the other five best-known rash diseases: measles, scarlet fever, rubella, chicken pox, and megaloerythema. Scientifically it is called sudden rash or childhood roseola.
The baby begins suddenly presenting with a very high fever, over 39 degrees, but its appearance is normal, and the temperature does not alter its general mood beyond the typical fever discomfort.
For the age, I thought that the fever was due to the exit of the teeth since it has the most inflamed gums for three teeth that are cutting at the same time. But since the fever was very high, at 48 hours I took her to the pediatrician who told me that more than 38 degrees of temperature is impossible because it is only because of the teeth. He did a urinalysis to rule out a possible urinary tract infection and in addition, he noticed a somewhat inflamed throat, but nothing like 39 degrees.
We attribute it to the fact that maybe the pacifier thermometer had "lied" more temperature than the real one.
The next day, the fever disappeared, but pink dots appeared on his neck and face. With the experience of the eldest, I immediately diagnosed her, "she is the sixth." When he went to the doctor, he confirmed it.
The symptoms are as is. Very high fever with no apparent cause and at 48 or 72 hours a pink rash appears that starts at the chest and extends to the face and almost nothing to the legs and arms. It lasts a couple of days, it does not sting and when the skin is pressed with the finger the spots disappear.
It is very difficult to identify the source of infection, but it is usually another child with the same disease, it is increasingly believed to be of viral origin (that is, a virus) and its incubation varies between 7 and 17 days. It is not a serious disease or leaves sequels of any kind.
If your baby has these symptoms, there is no specific treatment. Only administer antitérmicos combined with other measures to reduce fever if necessary. You may find something annoying, so the best medicine is a lot of pampering. I'm on it.
