So you are probably thinking, why has such an avid blogger taken so long to update?? So I sat down this morning and 3 hrs later I have a massive blog update. So take time to go through and when you get to the bottom of each page click Older Post until you are all caught up. (you could be here for awhile)
This summer has been full of fun for us, that is partly why I have been so busy and haven't blogged, the other reason is that I have caught Fifth's Disease this summer, and it is a beast and has wiped me out.
This post is just more for me and my records. It is kinda lengthy, so I will not be offended if you choose to move on to the next post!
What is Fifth's Disease? It is a nasty virus!
In early June I started to wake up with really stiff joints and I just thought I wasn't sleeping well or something. Then I started to itch REALLY bad. It was keeping me up at night it was so bad. Then I woke up one morning and my hands and feet were so swollen and I couldn't even walk because my joints were so sore. It felt like I had worked out and pulled every muscle in my body. I couldn't even stand up straight or walk down the stairs by myself. It was bad. So I decided to go to Urgent Care (it was a Saturday and my dr. wasn't in). They told me to look down at my arms. I noticed I had a rash all over them!! They told me I was having a bad allergic reaction to something and asked me if I had changed anything in my routine. I told him I hadn't and we were both really confused. So he put me on an anti-inflammatory and an anti-itch prescription and sent me home.
So I took the medicine as directed and started to feel fine a couple days later. In the meantime Caleb got red rashy cheeks for a day or so. Then Brandon started to complain of achy joints and itching, then Caden got red rashy cheeks. By this time I am thinking something is up. We are all having allergic reactions to something! We hadn't changed the way we eat, tried new foods, or new soaps so I was totally confused. Caleb's rash disappeared and Caden's got worse, so I took him into his dr.
The second she walked into the room she said, "oh, that looks like 5th's Disease". Oh great, that sounds deadly! They also call it slap cheeks because the rash on your cheeks looks like someone has slapped you, which Caden's did. She explained that it is just a virus and once you get it you can never get it again. It mostly happens in kids from ages 5-15 and it is rare in adults, most likely because you would have had it when you were a kid. So I thought, GREAT! how do we fix it and get rid of it.......the solution.....nothing. Because it is a virus you just have to wait it out.
I asked his dr. how it manifests itself in adults. She said that you will get a rash, itching, and really achy joints. CHA-CHING! All my symptoms, and Brandon's symptoms. So I went and got tested and tested positive for it.
The bad thing about 5ths disease it is rears its ugly head for a long time. The boys seems to be doing fine, it went away and stayed away. Brandon still has the occassional itching and achy joints. But I got hit the worst (better me than the kids though). I was told I could have it for 10-12 weeks. I am not contagious anymore, but the symptoms stick around for awhile. So all summer on and off I have had serious itchy hands and feet, rash up my arms, and I wake up almost every morning with stiff joints. It really is an ugly beast.
So I am thinking I have about 1 more month and I should start to feel better. Some people on the internet have said they have had symptoms for up to a year. Let's hope that is not me! It is really just more annoying than anything. But once it is gone, it is gone for good!!!
This summer has been full of fun for us, that is partly why I have been so busy and haven't blogged, the other reason is that I have caught Fifth's Disease this summer, and it is a beast and has wiped me out.
This post is just more for me and my records. It is kinda lengthy, so I will not be offended if you choose to move on to the next post!
What is Fifth's Disease? It is a nasty virus!
In early June I started to wake up with really stiff joints and I just thought I wasn't sleeping well or something. Then I started to itch REALLY bad. It was keeping me up at night it was so bad. Then I woke up one morning and my hands and feet were so swollen and I couldn't even walk because my joints were so sore. It felt like I had worked out and pulled every muscle in my body. I couldn't even stand up straight or walk down the stairs by myself. It was bad. So I decided to go to Urgent Care (it was a Saturday and my dr. wasn't in). They told me to look down at my arms. I noticed I had a rash all over them!! They told me I was having a bad allergic reaction to something and asked me if I had changed anything in my routine. I told him I hadn't and we were both really confused. So he put me on an anti-inflammatory and an anti-itch prescription and sent me home.
So I took the medicine as directed and started to feel fine a couple days later. In the meantime Caleb got red rashy cheeks for a day or so. Then Brandon started to complain of achy joints and itching, then Caden got red rashy cheeks. By this time I am thinking something is up. We are all having allergic reactions to something! We hadn't changed the way we eat, tried new foods, or new soaps so I was totally confused. Caleb's rash disappeared and Caden's got worse, so I took him into his dr.
The second she walked into the room she said, "oh, that looks like 5th's Disease". Oh great, that sounds deadly! They also call it slap cheeks because the rash on your cheeks looks like someone has slapped you, which Caden's did. She explained that it is just a virus and once you get it you can never get it again. It mostly happens in kids from ages 5-15 and it is rare in adults, most likely because you would have had it when you were a kid. So I thought, GREAT! how do we fix it and get rid of it.......the solution.....nothing. Because it is a virus you just have to wait it out.
I asked his dr. how it manifests itself in adults. She said that you will get a rash, itching, and really achy joints. CHA-CHING! All my symptoms, and Brandon's symptoms. So I went and got tested and tested positive for it.
The bad thing about 5ths disease it is rears its ugly head for a long time. The boys seems to be doing fine, it went away and stayed away. Brandon still has the occassional itching and achy joints. But I got hit the worst (better me than the kids though). I was told I could have it for 10-12 weeks. I am not contagious anymore, but the symptoms stick around for awhile. So all summer on and off I have had serious itchy hands and feet, rash up my arms, and I wake up almost every morning with stiff joints. It really is an ugly beast.
So I am thinking I have about 1 more month and I should start to feel better. Some people on the internet have said they have had symptoms for up to a year. Let's hope that is not me! It is really just more annoying than anything. But once it is gone, it is gone for good!!!
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