Scarlet Fever

[Plantaholic]

Parents are on the alert locally since a little boy died last week from scarlet fever. A child in my GGS’s class has now contracted it and his mother has posted his symptoms on the school website. I believe there have been some cases in Wales. It starts with a Strep throat and then a prickly rough rash, not always a temperature. Very worrying

[Grauntie Mag]

Very worrying indeed Plant. DD2 tells me there are children in her school and the G son’s schools who have it!

[Gemini]

It is very worrying Plant.

The little boy of the lady who gives me reflexology has had it. She went to the GP twice with him and he got antibiotics the second time.
She said the rash was more like eczema or dry skin than a true rash.

[Nanto2girls]

It's caused by Strep A isn't it. I know there has been quite a few cases in the south.
As yet,not so many cases here up north. But, that could change.

[Daisy]

It is very frightening, and often symptoms can easily be confused with other illnesses. My heart goes out to those families who have lost children to this. xx

[Oma]

Scary how all these ailments are rearing their ugly heads again ,
I haven’t hear any this way yet but there was a few weeks ago a outbreak of Hand foot and mouth,
And Slapped cheek that’s another strange illness .

[Gemini]

Will we ever be free of illnesses to worry about

[Plantaholic]

Perhaps we didn’t hear about them before the media we have now. One report said it was as a result of the children not mixing during the pandemic

[Gemini]

Yes I heard that Plant . They were saying today's 2 and 3 year olds are the pandemic babies and have had less exposure to germs etc than older and younger children.

[Oma]

Just heard my friends GD has it , the first I’ve heard in our area no doubt there will be more now .

[Mimi]

This is so scary.
Gem I think we will never be free of any illness to worry about.

I know things were different when we were all children but back then most of us caught childhood diseases but we usually got over it
Are children more at risk because they don't seem to play outside much , taken to school and back in cars, not mixing enough to build up any resistance to infections?
You do have to wonder

Also here we have a few wards in the hospital closed because of Norovirus. Every winter is the same . What are we all doing wrong

[Daisy]

Mimi, I do think children are more at risk because they don't have those opportunities to mix freely with other children, and all the lockdowns made it worse, especially for the youngest children.

I wonder if parents and grandparents have always worried about childhood illnesses, but as medical science has progressed what we worry about changes. I remember my mother saying she had diphtheria as a child, which must have worried her mother a lot. Our generation was vaccinated against it. But our parents worried about us getting polio and TB. I worried about my children getting mumps (it was before the MMR vaccines). Let's hope this terrifying outbreak of Strep A has peaked.

[Mimi]

Daisy dad told me that when he was a child his sister died of the flu .
She was very unwell but they couldn't afford to have a dr as there was no NHS then . His sister's health giot worse and by the time the family had managed to gather together money to pay for a dr it was too late, nothing could be done to save her.

Many years later my sister had TB but this time there was the NHS and a huge step forward with medical science and she made a full recovery.
Hopefully there will be a breakthrough soon in treating Strep A . Its a huge worry for parents and grandparents alike

[Daisy]

Mimi, flu was certainly a killer before the vaccine came along. How awful for your dad and his family to lose his sister like that. No matter what the shortcomings are of the NHS, we don't have to try and find money for treatment any more. We're very lucky.

I remember there was a big flu epidemic in (I think) about 1959, and I can remember the headmistress at school telling us that a girl in the first year had died from it. We were all shocked and found it hard to believe. It was so sad.

[Plantaholic]

My mother and one of my sisters was in hospital with scarlet fever. I can remember when mine had measles followed by chicken pox, our doctor lived in our road and she brought her children to visit mine hoping they would catch measles.