One of the things I really take for granted is the super mild and agreeable temper of my baby girl, Lauren. It takes just a few days of her extreme crankiness and irritability to get me down on my knees and thank God for blessing me with the sweetest baby ever. So when Lauren was down with Roseola, I knew never to take her for granted again![space]
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Roseola Symptoms – What You Can Expect
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See, the last week had us up every hour after 12 midnight, soothing and calming down an irate feverish goblin, that kicked, scratched and headbutt us each time she jolted from her slumber.[space]
When she was awake, she’d want nobody, nobody but me. If anyone dared or attempted to take her away from me, she’d be so enraged she’d tear down the house with the sheer power of her screams. Our neighbours came by to see if we were torturing her.[space]
And since it’s the 7th month, Ghost Festival, I even wondered if she saw things she shouldn’t have and got spooked. I sang prayer hymns and she screamed even louder.[space]
High Fever of 40.1 Degrees Celcius
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On Thursday night, she hit 40.1 degrees celcius, and her arms and legs had mottling which totally freaked me out so we rushed her to KKH children’s ER. They did a blood test and it turned out it was a viral infection. No idea what exact virus caused it though, it was too early to tell.[space]
Treatment? Sorry No Treatment
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Verdict? No cure, just let her battle it out, we were told.[space]
So after 4 days of high fever where paracetemol was totally useless, her fever miraculously went away. And on the 5th day, a rash appeared all of a sudden. Ah hah![space]
Rash Appears After Fever Breaks
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This is the demon of a virus that transformed my lovely sweet cheeks into the frenzied, incensed terror that had us totally clueless what to do. The only thing that worked to calm her down, was for ME to carry her and bounce on the gym ball until she dozed off.[space]
If I so much as move her, she’d arch her back, wince and let out her war cry so shrill it’d pierce through our hearts and make us bleed through our eyes.[space]
She refused to eat more than a morsel and only wanted to breastfeed non-stop. Looking back, she hardly walked the entire 4 days cos she had to be carried 24/7 and had her face buried deep into my boobs.[space]
So yep. For more than half a week, I couldn’t brush my teeth, eat breakfast, take a shower or function as a human being because I had a berserker baby on the loose, strapped to me.[space]
The consolation? Babies usually only get Roseola once. Usually is the key word.[space]
In any case, when Lauren grows up, I’d get her to nickname her enemies Roseola.[space]
Update 02 OCT 2017 – Joshie Becomes a Cranky Baby
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It happened again! ARGH! Not to Lauren but to Joshie![space]
This time, it was the classic case of Roseola. Joshie was a chirpy bird by day, and without any warning, transformed into destroyer-of-peace by evening time. There were no telltale signs at all, and after dinner, he was sporting a 40+ fever. Yup. No other symptoms apart from the obscenely high fever and an inconsolable meltdown.[space]
Joshie’s fever spiked so high during the nights, I felt as though I was sleeping next to a furnace. Sigh. And similar to what happened to Lauren, Joshie jolted every 15 minutes while sleeping. Not sure why, but it seems like the Roseola fever has the tendency to cause kids to jolt in their sleep, and cause them to be livid about it.[space]
After enduring 3 full days of whining and whining and non-stop whining, his fever suddenly broke. And then, his whole body was covered in rashes. I didn’t get any photos of Lauren’s roseola rash the last time, so here’s Joshie taking one for the team. And for the record,[space]
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95 Comments
Leanne
This was extremely helpful to read! Currently going through this with our daughter. Two evenings of a high fever and Thursday noticed the rash starting.. Friday evening rash was worse, eyes puffy, took her to walk in today, and they believe it’s roseola. Everything else appeared fine. She’s been inconsolable all night . No fever, hoping this only last a few days! I feel so awful for her
Jolene Liow
Hi Leanne, glad it helped! She should be fine now I’m sure, take care!
Terri
Omg thank you for posting this. I read this blog as if I had wrote it myself. My daughter is 12 months and everything you described has been my exact life for the last 4 days. Thank you for not helping me feel like I was not alone!
Terri
Sorry, for helping me feel that I was not alone. That didn’t initially come out right!
Jolene Liow
Hi Terri! Yes you’re definitely not alone. We all hate roseola! Haha!
Mo B
My 17 month old son got roseola. 3 days of high fever – 1 day of waiting and then about 2 days of rash. Not sleeping, crying every hour of the night and the horrible screaming tantrums over nothing. My question is, now that his rash is gone why is he still having these screaming fits out of nowhere? How long did it take for your baby to get over them?
Jolene Liow
Hi Mo, yikes! For my kids’ cases, the screaming fits were over once the fever broke. So they were fine even when they were sporting the rash. I’m sure your son is better by now!
Dawn
Just found out today my 12 month old baby girl has roseola. She had high fever for 3 days – no other symptoms, & not fussy. Day 4, yesterday, fever was gone & very mild rash began appearing, and by evening…..extreme fussiness!!! Up several times throughout the night, screaming like she was in pain, and completely inconsolable. Today, Day 5, fussiness has been hit and miss – going from happy to crabby in 2.5 seconds, and the littlest things will set her off….she’s just not her normal, calm and happy self!! Can anyone tell me about how long this post-fever fussiness will last?? We miss our happy baby so much!!!
Jolene Liow
Oh dear! But I’m sure your sweet baby is back to normal by now! Hugs, at least it usually only strikes once!
Mary Byrne
I have never been so relieved to read this. We are on Day 5 and the rash appeared this AM. The inconsolable crying this afternoon. I’m glad to know that is normal. We went to the doctor this afternoon and they confirmed roseola but I was not prepared for the screaming tantrums from our oh-so-mild mannered baby. Like you, I will never take for granted again just how good she is. Luckily we have a long three day weekend to get over this.
Jolene Liow
Hi Mary! Glad it’s over for now! Take care and enjoy your sweet baby!