Anyone experienced with a severe case of Parvo (Fifth Disease?)

[Hopeny]

my 3 YO (Lyme, immune issue Mannose Binding lectin deficient) has come down with a SEVERE case of Parvo. She has been extremely sick since Tuesday, high fevers (up to 104.6), extremely mottled skin, not eating, barely drinking. Ped has been monitoring WBC which was 2.6 then went to 3.4 (showing improvement/immune response) , and RBC is slightly lowered. I am getting worried as she does not seem to be able to kick this thing. This is day 6 of fever.

Has anyone dealt with a case this bad?

 

[Tamistwins]

Would your doctor be willing to prescribe valtrex it's anti viral?

[Hopeny]

Ped does not think it will help parvo, I asked on Friday. The limited info I was able to find was globulin. I'm going to reach out to dr b tomorrow. Dd seems extremely ill.

[sf_mom]

If I remember correctly your 3 year old is on antibioticss, correct?

 

One thing our LLMD had us do when our son had a severe case of the flu and was not easily recovering was to cut back on antibiotics. For some reason, the chronic infections along with flu made it difficult for him to fight everything at once. Once our son seemed to be on the mend we slowly added the antibiotics back in.

 

Perhaps consider letting up on things until she is improved. Once stable you might also consider an herbal anti-viral to keep things in check.

[Hopeny]

Thanks she's on bactrim/zith but I've barely given it to her, I think it's a good idea to stop. I have considered using some samento. I looked up parvo in Stephen buhners herbal book and it's not in there. I have samento amd banderol at home. Her fever just hit a new record 104.9 but we were able to get it down with a shower. Interestingly she developed an anxious obsession since she has been sick that she or us will wash down the drain in a bath.

[rowingmom]

I'm so sorry....poor little thing.

 

Buhner does mention in one of his books (sorry, can't remember which one, I will keep looking) that he consideres garlic and oil of oregano to be the best two antibacterial/antiviral herbs available.

 

You can try to contact him on his website (http://buhnerhealinglyme.com/) specifically about parvo, although he hasn't posted any new answers to questions for a month or so, and may be out of town. He does have an herbalist he works with (Julie McIntyre (julie@gaianstudies.org), perhaps you could contact her.

[Teri]

Just read your post this morning and wondering how your little one is feeling today? Any improvement? Sending good thoughts and hoping she is feeling better soon!

[sf_mom]

Are you sure its Fifth's? Are her eyes red, are her lips chapped, skin on finger, toes, palm's peeling, has the redness on her face spread to trunk, swollen lymph nodes in neck? If high fever continues after 5 days you need to consider Kawasaki's Disease. The persistent fever 'high' fever is an indication that it not Fifth's. It can cause a child to have a red face similar to Fifth's. Have you checked titers for Fifth's to confirm?

 

Again, I think stopping antibiotics temporarily is a good thing (consult with your PANDAS Dr.). Once fever breaks you can add them back in one at a time.

 

I agree with RowingMom that there are better herbal antiviral's. Samamento/Banderal together or individually can really knock your socks off especially if she has biofilms or undiagnosed chronic Lyme et al.

 

 

 

[Hopeny]

Thanks everyone. Last night was bad, fevers of >104. She has cracked lips but no peeling skin, She has lost 1/10 of her body weight since Tuesday, is not eating. The theory is that due to her immune condition she has a really exacerbated case. She was exposed at school, there was another case about 2-3 weeks ago. The ID doc we saw today ordered a cardiac echo to rule out Kawasaki (I'm impressed SF mom) but his gut is that its Parvo, will have echo tomorrow. Her platelets have been normal. Her Parvo IGM titers are negative and we are waiting on IGG, but ID doc told me because of her delayed immune response she may not have had antibodies when we tested last week. Another possibility is EBV, they are going to run that blood-work tomorrow The plan is that if she has fever for 2 more days we are going to need to go the IVIG route/hospitalize. Am worried about Sepsis exposure as well due to her immune issue and low WBC but have no real option. At this moment she does not have any real fever, so will see how tonight goes. I noticed her tongue has some yellow/white coating - I will ask ped for some nystatin when this is over. She has developed a few obsessions and anxieties since getting sick, this is my non PANDAS kid but she does have active Lyme from an infection in August. I am hoping since she has been on abx for a good many months since it will not turn chronic. The PANDAS kid seems totally fine and not sick, thankfully. Any my ped has been wonderful and aggressive about testing etc. A wonderful switch from my former ped who essentially did nothing. ASO, Myco and thyroid all normal. Garlic seems a good idea, I will look into that. I'm too scared to give her the Samento.

Edited May 7, 2013 by Hopeny

[Hopeny]

Wow this is crazy, I think this whole episode was from bactrim! The cardiologist suggested it, it can cause all the symptoms including high fever, rash, red cheeks, stomach pain and lack of urination that DD had. I stopped it this weekend and DD is back to normal today. She has never had fevers so high. I guess we will never know for sure but it really sounds like it. The cardiologist said it was off that dd got so sick suddenly with no other symptoms, runny nose etc.

[sf_mom]

I am so relived that she is doing better and you saw a cardiologist to rule out any heart related issue. Bactrim did a number on our older DS as well 'severe rash that got worse each day, fever', etc. Glad you stopped and glad she is recovering. I too thought you might need the hdIVIG if her fever continued.

 

Glad you are checking the IGG titers for Fifth and EBV as you might turn up an additional virus that is adding fuel to the fire in conjunction with recent Lyme.

[Hopeny]

Thanks SFMOM I am very relieved too. I had no idea Bactrim could cause this but when I googled it, it fit so well. I even saw it can lower WBC which is what mimicked the viral reaction. What's unfortunate is that for the 10 days or so she was on it, her teachers told me her sensory and attention issues were much better. She is pretty agitated coming off of this and now has some obsessive fears so will see what happens over the next few days. IVIG is on the future radar for her immune problem if things get bad, she gets sick so much normally although this winter being on Cefdinir/Zith she was not sick at all. They also did a comprehensive CBC on her along with sodium and other stuff so we will get a good look at everything. She did have a high EBV titer previously, cannot remember which one. However, normally she is extremely energetic

Even though she drinks milk, her Vit D came back low so it gives credence to the likelihood that the Lyme is active. She had a bullseye last August (older DD9 has chronic Lyme) and had maybe 5 months of abx, so we have been on the fence as to how much to treat, given her immune problem and seeming genetic predisposition to Lyme.

Most puzzling is that she has never slept through the night, When she started the Zith/Cefdidir combo after 4 days she started sleeping through. This lasted for 6 weeks until she got croup and 3 days of Prednisone, unfortunately did not have the same effect after. Melatonin will put her to sleep but not through the night. I am going to take her to our integrative to try to solve the sleep puzzle and get her some immune support, I don't want to end up in the same boat as with older DD.

[rowingmom]

You are one busy lady. Glad your little one is feeling better.