Scarlet fever and sleep (or lack thereof!)
‘They have Scarlet fever’ the doctor said. ‘Scarlet fever?! Isn’t that a disease from the 1800’s?!’. I didn’t actually say this to him, I silently, stupidly thought it. Little did I know that scarlet fever is in fact a very common, modern infection, and it was making its way around our neighbourhood.
This all started a few weeks ago when we took our littlies camping overnight (not by choice…) and our youngest Eddie was, quite honestly, a horror. I don’t blame him. The weather was appalling, the tent was dark, damp and cold, and he was forced to attempt sleep while a live band was playing in the next field. I get it. But he was unhappy, uncharacteristically so, and didn’t sleep a wink all night. Every time we thought he had dropped off he woke up in hysterics, seemingly in some discomfort. As morning drew nearer, we accepted the fact that sleep was never going to come, and we packed up camp to head home. Eddie cried all the way back to London. And from a car lover, this again wasn’t like him.
And that was the start of two weeks of sickness and sleepless nights. He was initially diagnosed with a virus, probably because we’d assumed the rash he’d had the week before was heat rash (moral of the story – never make assumptions). When his sister Molly was sent home from nursery with a sunburn-looking rash and temperature, we traipsed to the out of hours doctor for the dreaded scarlet fever diagnosis. ‘Dreaded’ is an overreaction (due to severe sleep deprivation) but rest assured scarlet fever is common and treatable. It usually begins with a sore throat, swollen tonsils, fever, vomiting and sometimes abdominal pain. A red rash typically appears after this, however with Eddie, because he likes to keep us on our toes, he had the rash first. The rash may first appear on the neck, underarm and groin, and will usually spread to the rest of the body. It looks like sunburn and has the texture of sandpaper. This combination of symptoms can be overwhelming but once diagnosed, a doctor will typically prescribe antibiotics to speed up recovery and improve the symptoms.
As with any time your child is ill, it’s a stressful time for the whole family. Tensions and emotions are running high, and sleep is potluck. It doesn’t help if someone tells you that ‘rest aids recovery’ when your child isn’t sleeping! But, whilst frustrating, it is true that sleep helps the body to fight recovery and there are some ways you can help to ease your child’s discomfort to help them to sleep better:
Ensure you are keeping on top of the pain relief as recommended by your GP. This will really help to keep aches and pains under control.
A sore throat could be one of the main reasons that your child can’t sleep. The doctor may recommend a throat spray to ease this.
Keep your child hydrated. Breastfeed or bottle feed as often as is needed. For older babies and children keep water by the bed as they’ll likely be asking for it frequently.
If they are struggling to eat then offer smooth, comforting foods such as soups, smoothies and yoghurts. Don’t panic if they lose their appetite. Keep offering a range of foods to see what they fancy and if you use vitamins then don’t forget to keep giving them.
Make sure their bedroom is at a comfortable temperature and dress your child appropriately for sleep, especially if they are suffering from a fever (we recommend that you use safe sleeping practices at all times per the Lullaby Trust Safer Sleep advice).
Allow your child to nap whenever they want to nap. Don’t get too hung up about your routine during this time. Rest and sleep are medicine!
If the rash is bothering your child at night, then you might want to try an oatmeal bath before bed to soothe the skin and reduce itchiness. Ask your pharmacist or GP about an emollient or cream to help, and make sure nails are trimmed short to avoid aggressive scratching.
Keep that love tank full and administer cuddles frequently!
Finally, it is important that you accept that your usual routine will be disrupted. Ours was thrown into total chaos, but we learnt that life returns to normality, and that camping isn’t our thing…
We’d love to hear if your child has had scarlet fever and how you coped! Leave in the comments below.
It is very important that you speak with your GP or call 111 if you suspect your child has Scarlet Fever.
