Scarlet Fever with complications

Posted , 4 users are following.

My 3 year old daughter was diagnosed with scarlet fever by the GP. Her symptoms were, high temperature, shivering, sore throat, swollen glands, eyes sensitive to light, no energy and a rash that begun on her neck and spread to the rest of her body and face. :oops: She was given penicillin, parocetomal and ibuprofen. After a few days the symptoms subsided and she seemed to be getting better. smile

Four days later, she started to get ill again and on return to the GP, she was given a course of ammoxocillin (anti-biotics). This seemed to sort things out and she returned back to normal and was better. :D

The day after she finished the course of anti-biotics, she woke up in bed and said her leg was sore, she limped around a bit but seemed fine. By tea time, her little knee had swollen up like a tennis ball. :? I took the to the A&E at the hospital and after a 4 hour wait, we were seen. The doctors did x-rays and examinations of her knee and after 2 hours we were sent by ambulance to the childrens hospital where they took blood for tests through the night and in the morning they put her to sleep so that they could drain the fluid from her knee and wash out the joint. :shock:

They sent the fluid to the labs for testing and they had the results by tea time. The swelling was the result of the scarlet fever, the infection that origionally begun in her throat, has spread to her knee somehow. I was told that if they hadnt have drained it, it could have damaged her joint permanantly. :shock: We were allowed to go home now but a nurse is coming to change her dressing next week and she has to go back to the childrens hospital the week after for a check up to make sure everything is ok. We were lucky the fluid was a straw colour, this meant the infection wasnt that bad, if it wouldve been worse, they said we would have had to stay in hospital for 4 days while they put her on anti-biotics.

She seems ok now, thank god, i hope this is the end of it. :roll:

1 like, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Posted

    my daughter, nearly six months on, has been diagnosed with arthritis, the knee that origionally swelled from the scarlet fever is still swollen and the arthritis affects that knee and her wrist. she has to take chemotherapy drugs to prevent her joints from becoming deformed, folic acid to prevent her bones from becoming brittle, attend physio and numerous hospital appointments and have blood tests every 2 weeks to ensure her liver doesnt become damaged by the drugs. They say the scarlet fever is not connected, but i sometimes wonder, i read that scarlet fever can cause joint probs. i just dont know.
  • Posted

    It sounds like your daughter might have developed a complication with scarlet fever. They can develop Rhumatic Fever which makes the joints swell. My daughter at the moment has just been diagnosed with scarlet fever, I knew straight away what it was as i too had it as a child.

    Good luck with your knee. xxxx

  • Posted

    Hello, my grandson had scarlet fever when he was three and a half years old. He is now four and i believe he still suffers from the condition," seven months on" he gets big blister like rashes all over his body . He complained his feet hurt, when we looked his feet were swollen and itchy. we took him to our GP who said its because he was given Ibuprofen which can cause the swelling of the blood vessels under his skin and can last from 3 years to 20? which means he has to take antihistamine medicine twice daily for what? the next 20 years??? we cant take him swimming anymore, he cant wear shorts in summer and has to cover up his arms because when the blisters come out, which is almost every day, we are worried people mite think he is contagious...
  • Posted

    Im a 27 year old that recently got diagmosed with scarlet fever my right leg is swollen from my foot to my knee i read your daughters knee was swollen and was due to the fever...out of curiosity I was wondering if you would happen to know that this is what's causing my swelling and really concerned I read your article and it made me want to go to the ER to see what they say what I am going but one of the poem I am put here first see with anyone out here with tell me my foot is swollen I have an appt at least 4 I've never had that before and its in between my toes but besides that due to the scarlet fever my right leg is swollen I put a sock on and it leaves a mark of swelling but have to leave it off and elevated once I continue to walk on it continues to get swollen which gives me a swollen foot

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.