ANOTHER Ear Infection and Rash

So, Samantha has been sick since the end of September. She’s had a runny nose and a cough that has not gone away. This led to an ear infection shortly before her birthday, which of course, may have led to the allergic reaction on her birthday from the penicillin. But, the runny nose and cough never went away.

This past week, she’s had a rash that mysteriously appears and disappears on all parts of her body randomly. It’s strange. She’s been sleeping A LOT and is pretty irritable when she’s awake. Brian finally decided enough was enough and decided to take her to the doctor. She has another ear infection and something called Fifth’s Disease. Fifth’s disease is a viral infection that caused the mottled rash. The doctor immediately recognized it and said that it was going around. We just have to let it take its course and it will eventually go away. We got a non-penicillin antibiotic for her ear. Brian made the theory that she gets an ear infection anytime a new tooth comes in (#7 is on its way and I think some back molars are coming in too). I’ve heard a friend of mine say that her son got an ear infection anytime a tooth came through, so I think his theory is certainly possible. Maybe one of these days, she’ll begin to feel better. You can tell that she just doesn’t feel well.

In other news, we hope to see you all soon. If not, have a Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Belated Birthday, Lauren!

No more Penicillin!

What a weekend! MamaLinda kept Samantha all day on Friday while I had a seminar. What a birthday treat! I know Samantha had a great time and I hope MamaLinda wasn’t too worn out.

It was good to see everyone at Samantha’s birthday party. Little did we know that we were in for a bumpy few hours afterwards. Samantha has been on an antibiotic because she had a bad ear infection. After 4 days of not getting better (high fever continued), we switched from amoxicillin to augmentin. After 5 days of that (Saturday afternoon) little bumps started appearing on her legs and started to spread rapidly. By Sunday morning, she was covered! We packed up hurridly from Huntsville and drove straight to Samantha’s pediatrician. They determined that it was a penicillin allergy! So, no more easy antibiotics. Her ear infection is gone and now she’s taking claritin for the allergic reaction.