You'll have to forgive me if you're a frequent reader of my blogs! I've been one busy Mommy taking care of a house full of sick kids. It seems like we've had one thing or another since the beginning of the year, but nothing has stacked up to recent events stemming from last Sunday.
Evidently, the kids contracted pink eye from somewhere and it has been spreading throughout the family.
There are 2 types of pink eye (conjunctivitis); one is bacterial and one is viral. My kids have had both. Viral is caused by a virus; sometimes a cold type virus and will simply have to run its course. Bacterial, however, will not go away on its own and will need antibiotics. In some cases, the doctor will prescribe eye drops to administer the antibiotics.
I have noticed that when it is viral (at least in my kids) the "pink" seems to pass over the eye and migrate across instead of keeping the eye all pink at once. For example, it will start in a corner and move across that eye and then go into the next one. I'm not sure if that happens for everyone, but it does here.
I thought that bacterial always turned your eyes really red, crusted them shut, etc.- that is until Zeke's case proved that theory wrong.
Zeke must have come down with pink eye last week, but had no symptoms until his face started to drastically swell on the left side! I noticed it after church and by the time we went to bed a few hours later, I was calling my husband to see if he thought it warranted a trip to the emergency room. We opted to go first thing in the morning to urgent care. By that time, he was looking more like the elephant man than a little boy. Our doctor diagnosed him with periorbital cellulitis. Not putting two and two together, it wasn't until later that we realized the source was pink eye! Yeah, who knew! And did you know that left for very long, it could turn into post-orbital cellulitis (going behind the eye) that more than likely would have required surgery? Scary stuff. So if your kids have pink eye, don't down play it.
Depending on the type, the incubation period for pink eye is from a few days to a few weeks. If your kids have pink eye, please think about everyone else that you might be giving it too. For communicable diseases, it's very contagious. Keep an eye on that "pink eye"!
Speaking of contagious, if Zeke hasn't been through enough, today he was diagnosed with Fifths Disease. It is viral, and also highly contagious. It is viral and is an underlying illness. He also sounds like he has the Croup, but the doctor assured me that the antibiotics would take care of any croup he may have.
Zeke's Swelling
Zeke's Red Cheeks
Fifths Disease can have an adverse effect on unborn babies, so if you are pregnant and have never heard of this disease, please make yourself aware - especially if you are around kids (teaching, daycare, family, etc.) This is the time of year where sickness abounds. We can't always keep ourselves from catching things, but at least we can try to help prevent spreading things.
If you get a moment, pray for Zeke and the health of our family. Blessings, friends!
