Friday afternoon, Belén had her follow up appointment from her allergic reaction. By now, everyone at the doctor’s office knows Belén as this was probably at least the sixth time she has been there in the past month.  We were quickly taken to an exam room and after a few questions from the nurse, Dr. B. came in.

She checked Belén’s ears and was thrilled that one was completely clear and the other only had a little fluid in it.  I guess what my dad has been saying all along, “You don’t even have to give drugs for an ear infection…in Europe they do not treat them.”  was correct as she has not been any drugs since she reacted to the Rocephin and her ears are clear.

Dr. B. invited her doctor colleagues in to see Belén’s legs.  One was with other patients but another guy came in.  She explained Belén’s condition by saying something like, “I hope you don’t ever have to see this again, but this is blah blah blah, which I think was caused by a reaction to cephalosporins and I don’t think it is HSP because her hands and feet were swollen, yadda yadda.  While I felt she was very sympathetic to our cause, I also felt like she was kind of excited to show off her patient with the strange marks on her body.  I thought to myself, “why did I pay that $20 co-pay if this is the most exciting thing they have seen all week?”

The doctor was very happy to see Belén acting normal and happy (as are we!)  She did seem a little surprised that much of the skin over the bruised/red marks on her legs is flaking off.  When I asked her if she was expecting to see the skin pealing she said that honestly she was not, but it was not atypical for what she thinks we are dealing with.  She gave us some antibiotic ointment for some of the more raw areas just to prevent further infection.  I hesitantly applied it tonight because at this point I would like to avoid all drugs and be back to all nat-u-ral.  Unfortunately, I have a sinus infection so she  may be getting some trace amounts of amoxicllin in the breast milk too.

I am a horrible sick person and this applies to having my daughter sick.  I am patient for a few days but after some time (and in this case 3 weeks!!) I start to forget what it feels like to be healthy and basically just get grumpy and impatient.  It gets a little dramatic with me saying things like, “I cannot even remember what it feels like to be healthy.”  Way more dramatic than I would ever get under normal circumstances.

Anyway so I asked the doctor about the possibility of it being HSP and if we should take a urine test and she mentioned that she did not think it was that because of the “hives” ie swelling, but if we wanted we could take a urine test.  But, she mentioned a urine test requires a catheter which is difficult to do with children.  When I told my dad this, he said that you can actually get a urine sample by putting a baggie in the diaper and I think his confidence in our doctor is even further reduced.

To be honest, I don’t know what to think anymore…about this rash, about our doctor.  I just want Belén 100% healthy and then to stay that way.  I almost don’t remember what it feels like for all of us to be healthy anymore. (I know, DRAMA QUEEN!)

Related posts:

1. Drug Resistant Bugs My friends in Mexico are recommending that we explore various hot/cold remedies. A coworker in Brazil said to try garlic,...
2. Little B’s First Ear Infection Throughout the ordeal, Little B has been a great sport. It is quite clear she is not feeling well as...
3. Let me Consult with our Pediatric Infectious Disease Doc A similar pattern exists on the other leg and on her arms and even a slight bit on her ear....
4. I Interrupt This Meal For Loud Nasal Breathing I made her some mashed potatoes while she fed herself organic puffs and talked to me, "blah blah blah, da...
5. Character Building Parent Style Within two hours, he was loudly praying to the porcelain God upstairs. I finished up my dinner, continued to take...