Rash on upper body

[3boysmom]

We have been busy with participation in research, getting the word out, and helping others in our area. Although I have been relatively quiet on this forum, I am on here... reading, studying, learning, crying,....Our ds10 has a story very similar to "Sammy." He has been on High dose Augmentin XR 1000 twice a day for 3 months now. Three days after the start of these antibiotics...face tics gone, next day Torrets type movements decrease dramatically! This all began Dec 2009, but actually we saw a weird beginning of this March of 2009 and then it kind of "went away" before we could figure out what was going on. In Jan. his first titers tests were ASO 1726 and Anti Dnase 1920. Antibiotics began March 3rd (took that long before we managed our way through all the different doctors and before we heard the controversial word "PANDAS". Then to find ANYONE to help or treat.) Well, compared to many of you, our timing was not very long. His Aso is now 1292 and his Anti D nase is now 1360. Three days ago we (as per suggested by Sammy's dr.) tried to lower the does...cut it in half.

 

Questions:

 

1. Did we do this too soon?

2. How long would it take for us to notice things "going bad " again?

3. If continued improvement is seen on the Antibiotics...do we still consider IVIG?

4. If slow rate drop of his titers, but still 1000 too high, will it take another year or so before they are in the normal range?

 

And for the question I have today.....

 

HE BEGAN A RASH on his upper body, the next day after we lowered his Augmentin dose......does not itch, is not red, dose not have a fever...just can feel little bumps all over his upper body, neck and arms. Any ideas? Afraid to call his doctor...don't want the doctor to say "take him off Augmentin" or anything similar. Maybe it is just a little viral thing he picked up? Can it be that easy and simple?

 

Every time I read on this Forum...I am amazed at how smart, informative, determined, and most of all how everyone cares and fights for not only their child but each other's as well! I am just as sad as I am proud to be a "member" of this fight with this group of moms and dads!

[norcalmom]

rash can also be symptom of strep. Think you need to call doc. allergic reaction, or strep..either one would not be good. I'd definately want to make sure he didn't have either going on.

[justinekno]

My ds got a rash on his arms, face and stomach (light raised bumps, not itchy) the day after he started Zithromax. I thought maybe it was a heat rash at first. Then we started thinking we could be dealing with herxing (we are testing for Lyme). Our dr said it didn't look like an allergic reaction but after two weeks we have decided to switch antibiotics (antibiotic was not doing much for PANDAS symptoms anyway). The rash on the stomach went away but the arms and face still have the bumps. It will be interesting to see if it clears up now that we have switched antibiotics. We'll also know if it was herxing when we get our Lyme results. So now we play the waiting game.

 

And for the question I have today.....

 

HE BEGAN A RASH on his upper body, the next day after we lowered his Augmentin dose......does not itch, is not red, dose not have a fever...just can feel little bumps all over his upper body, neck and arms. Any ideas? Afraid to call his doctor...don't want the doctor to say "take him off Augmentin" or anything similar. Maybe it is just a little viral thing he picked up? Can it be that easy and simple?

[3boysmom]

Can he get strep if he is on antibiotics? Can he become alergic to antibiotics after being on them for 3 months?

[justinekno]

Aren't strep rashes usually red though? Our's is more of a raised bump that you can feel more than you can see (although it is visibile).

 

I asked our pharmacist today what the timeframe is if you're going to be allergic to an antibiotic and he said everyone is different. He said for some people it's the next day, for some it can be after being on for months. Nice, huh? I was hoping for the "magic" time where you can breathe a sigh of relief but I guess not. He said to just watch for improvement on the antibiotic and that will tell you also if the body is handling it okay.

 

Can he get strep if he is on antibiotics? Can he become alergic to antibiotics after being on them for 3 months?

Edited June 17, 2010 by justinekno

[norcalmom]

I'm pretty sure the answer to both those questions is yes...but I'm not a doctor - you need to call him/her. I know that strep can break through the antibiotics, and there is a possibility that the strep was never eraticated in the first place.

[justinekno]

I agree. I would run it by your dr. Just to play it safe.

 

I'm pretty sure the answer to both those questions is yes...but I'm not a doctor - you need to call him/her. I know that strep can break through the antibiotics, and there is a possibility that the strep was never eraticated in the first place.

[3boysmom]

I am too afraid to call the doctor. He can not be alergic to this antibiotic!!! It is returning our son to us! It is NOT an option!! What is the alternative? A mental hospital? It does not look like strep rash....mostly looks exactly the way Justinekno describes it. Can it be a reaction to the change in dosage? changed to half dose 3 days ago. What else will happen if it is an allergic reaction? Can't I just ignore and live in denial? Can't we just have a few weeks to enjoy his return? He hasn't had an allergic reaction to this med in the last 3 months...so...how can it just happen now?

[DaleS]

Our DD developed a rash a little more than 1 month after starting abx. She was on Augmentin ES (amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium) 1500 2x per day and switched to Aug 875 2x after approx. 30 days (Note: our DD is 75 lbs, ASO in the 200-300 range and ADNAse in the 550-650 range). The rash developed shortly after switching to 875.

 

The rash we saw was similar to the Scarlet Fever rash (fine, red, rough textured) which is a caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Our Ped said this it may be a reaction to the Abx finally "finding" the strep in her system. The rash went away after a few days. Have your DS's ped look at it for similarities to Scarlet Fever rash.

 

I should note that at the time of the rash, we were a week from IVIG. Dr. K. was not concerned about the rash (as well as other new symptoms we were seeing the week prior) and brushed it off. Our DD IVIG finished yesterday.

 

I don't necessarily want to tell you what to do but you are not the only one that is nervous about lowering the abx. (Dr K wants us to lower to 500 1x/day when we get done with our current script of 875 2x) Unless the symptoms go away completely, IVIG should always be considered an option. Also, Dr K. told us that the titer levels don't necessarily correlate to the symptoms. Kids with relatively low level can have much worse symptoms than those with high levels.

[norcalmom]

Hi,

 

you just replied to my other post.."OMG you just described ds10!". The reason I want your son to SEE the doc (you're right, if you make a phone call, they hear rash, they will want to change antibiotics in case of allergy) is becasue I DIDN'T . Remeber the part of the story where my son had what appeared to be what I now know is a perianal rash - and I thought nothing of it, put some antibiotic ointment on it and waited to see if it would go away(it did) - I didn't go to the doc. Maybe if I had they would have identified it right away and we never would be on htis forum.

 

It will be OK. Its probably nothing, but you shold check just in case...so you can sleep tonight.

 

NCM

[wornoutmom]

I just wanted to say that I developed an allergic rash reaction to Biaxin after being on it 19 days. I thought it might be contact dermatitis, but it itched so I took a benadryl and it went away.. The next day it reappeared even worse about an hour after I took the next dose, this time with hives. Thank goodness it was my last dose. I was told the abx builds up in your system over time so you can definitely get an allergic reaction after being on it for a while, where there was none before. Have you tried giving Benadryl? If the rash fades after that, it seems it would be more indicative of an allergic reaction. If not, perhaps more indicative of a scarlet fever rash? Either way you should contact the doctor. There ARE other antibiotics that can work, so don't give up hope if you need to switch!!

[tantrums]

It sounds VERY similar to the viral exanthum (not sure that is spelled correctly) that my son used to always get. He would get them after an illness. In fact, that rash was onetime the way I found out he had strep throat! He always got them AFTER a pretty serious illness, but once got the worst rash I'd ever seen. I was really perplexed and ended up taking him in just for that as it was disturbing me. The ped found the strep after just checking everything.

 

The rash in and of itself isn't an issue - it's the after effect of another illness. At least that is how I understood it years ago from my pediatrician. No treatment needed and it would always go away on its own.

[tpotter]

That makes sense. My son has the same rash on his shoulders, upper back and upper arms. I'd never seen it before. It's kind of strange that all our children are getting it kind of at the same time? It's going away now.

[tantrums]

Probably not all that strange for all of the kids to have it. They could have all had some insignificant illness that they actually fought off and the rash was the end result.

 

My DS had very minor ones here and there that weren't enough to raise flags. Or they did come precisely after a bout of croup and were significant, but I knew the root of it. The really bad one though that came out of nowhere I find very interesting now since I had taken him in and found out it was strep. if not for that rash, he might've gone completely undiagnosed then. Could've developed pandas at that time if not for the rash.

[tpotter]

In another post of yours, you asked what else you can do. I would definitely go see Dr. K. or Dr. B. or one of the other docs on the list (Dr. L. will be out until August, but they are starting to make appointments, and she can do PEX in some cases, as well as IVIG.) The other docs do IVIG. Dr. T. only diagnoses and treats with abx. Personally, with ASO and AntiDnaseB levels that high, I would go the next route (PEX and/or IVIG.) It has made a world of difference for so many of our kids, including my own. Psych meds just don't tend to work well, if at all, on these kids (didn't work for Sammy, either.)