Itchy Bugs

The season of illness has not yet left us. The Fifth disease epidemic has indeed struck all 5 of us. Peanut and BB seemed to have gotten the worst of the rash. Poor peanut has been so very itchy this week. I got a little alarmed when he began to itch so severely that he would cry and sometimes be on the verge of screaming. Nothing I did seemed to help. I doped him up with Benadryl, slathered him with Aloe Vera, lotions with lidocaine, rubbed and rubbed his back, gave him cool baths and we were all so frustrated that we were at each other's throats. And Peanut remained miserable...and itchy. So, feeling defeated, I called the doctor and asked to speak to the nurse. I relayed everything I had done for the little guy. The nurse told me that the doctor wanted to see him because Fifth's should not be this itchy and I had done everything they would have suggested to me.

When we got to the doctor, he was not scratching too much because, bless his little heart, he was trying so hard to follow my directions to "not scratch" and try to distract himself. But I could tell that he was ready to jump out of his skin. Then the doctor looked him over and there was no sign of the Fifth's rash anywhere and yet Peanut is squirming with what he has now declared as "Itchy bugs". The doc looked in his throat and saw it was a little red and his glands were a little swollen. So he did a rapid strep test.

Positive! I was actually relieved that it was positive because at least I could give him something and I know that within a day or two he is going to feel a whole lot better. I was bracing myself for the doctor to tell me that it was just Fifth's and we were going to have to "ride it out" and keep on doing what I was doing for this poor, itchy kid.

He was really cute at the pharmacy when he asked, "Is it good medicine?" and then the pharmacist replies, "We only give good medicine. And you will feel better soon."

Then he says, "I have itchy bugs. I want them to go away."

While we were in the car driving home, we were talking about his medicine, which he insisted on carrying himself. I told him that he has little "bacteria bugs" inside his throat that were making him sick and making him so itchy but his antibiotic was going to make the "good guys" in his blood be able to kill the bugs and the itching will stop.

At dinner, he was relaying his version of my lesson on bacteria and white blood cells and medicine and apparently, it gave PH the creepy crawlies because he started scratching and leaped off the bench and said he was itchy and "I hate bugs!". I declared the conversation about the "Itchy bugs" to be finished.