Matt Down with Roseola

Been a rough week. Monday afternoon - Thursday evening, little darling was down with high fever ranging 38C to max of 39.3C. Fever finally broke Thursday evening, thank God, and some red spots started appearing on his face and neck. It was not until then and the appearance of the rash that the pedi was able to diagnose that Matt had roseola, and by then, he was already better. More spots erupted all over his body until Saturday night, and by Sunday, 90% has cleared.

I hate fevers in children. Especially when despite paracetamol, the fever advances rapidly beyond 39C and I am frantically waiting for that 2 hour mark before I can give ibuprofen. I dare not sleep at night out of fear that his fever climbs way up while I snooze. And I just want to be up to make sure he is as comfortable as he can get.

I also hate fevers for the discomfort it puts Matt through. If I had fever that high, I'd feel so awful. He remained amazingly cheerful, although more needy. He ate and slept badly. I can't help but wish that I could suffer in his place!

Matt's high fever always happens when hubs is away and I am home alone. That ups the fear factor for me.

Speaking of ibuprofen, I have 3 different sets of instructions from 3 different doctors regarding administration of this drug, ranging from 1 - 4 hours after paracetamol. Well, I guess some doctors are more conservative than others. Since I always kinda lose my mind whenever Matt has high fever, I am going to jot down for my own good -

Although ibuprofen is for when fever is >39C, it is okay to give if it's mid-high 38C. I often gave Matt paracetamol when his temp is mid 38C, then before the hour is even up, his temp is already above 39C. I learnt that paracetamol and ibuprofen are broken down by liver and kidney respectively. So, I would give ibuprofen 1 hour after paracetamol if really really desperate.

So glad this is over. I was SO tired. I hardly slept, and Matt only wanted me and no one else for everything. I was stressed, worried, clueless, helpless. And of all weeks, there was stuff to be done in the office. To put an end to the rough week, I fell down a flight of stairs near office after work on Fri :(

I am just happy that Matt is well again, and not feeling lousy. And good thing is, Matt will have immunity for life!