Femme Power

Just got back from the doc.   We’ve confirmed that it’s German Measles that’s affecting my 7-year-old.   I finally completed the prescribed meds after asking the pedia to change the hard-to-find Hydroxyzine to anything equally effective against itching.  She came up with Diphenhydramine.

However, I worry about my daughter’s swollen eyelids.  It makes her face look a little puffy this morning.   Unfortunately, I didn’t get much answer from her pedia about it earlier (she seemed confused too) so I decided to search the internet for some useful information about German Measles.   I’m glad to have found a site that offers valuable information for parents about kids’ diseases and German Measles is of course there.

It somehow gave me a breath of fresh air to learn that German Measles is a mild illness in kids and that it “resolves on its own.”   I also found out that the puffiness around her eyes is one of the symptoms of German Measles (the doctor earlier feared possible complications that may have caused my daughter’s puffy eyes and it gave me the creeps when she mentioned kidneys!).  But the doctor said she’s not raising the alarm since my daughter’s fever has subsided, her blood pressure is normal so it could mean her suspicion is incorrect.

My research helped me understand that my daughter’s swollen eyelids and pink eyes could be mild conjuctivitis which could have been affected by some allergies or infections (like bacteria or viruses) which are also brought about by German Measles.   I also learned that the rashes typically last three days but the swollen lymph nodes may take about a week to cure.

Doctor’s advice is to continue monitoring my child’s temperature and give her the prescribed medication on schedule.   I am less tense now that I know more about German Measles.   I was getting quite paranoid when I was totally in the dark about this illness.

I’d like to give credit to the people behind the website kidshealth.org.  They have loads of useful information about children’s health that every parent must know.  I decided to keep them handy by including them in my Hall of Fame links.

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