So it wasn't hives after all. . . we made a second visit to to urgent care on Saturday since Max's hives were looking weirder and covering more of him, he had a fever, and his arms and legs and face were swelling up. At the urgent care, we learned that when you bring in a little boy covered in red and purple splotches, with a swollen face, they don't make you wait very long in the waiting room. They rushed us right back to see the doctor. The diagnosis? Erythema Multiforme. I was kind of weirded out by the fact that I had never heard of it before. He also has walking pneumonia which probably triggered the Erythema Multiforme which is a type of allergic reaction to an infection or sometimes to a medication. It can be really severe, but Max's case is not. He has been super tired, had achy knees and elbows and toes that are all feeling better, swelling in his hands, feet, joints, and face, an upset stomach, and the lovely hive-looking things all over himself. He was a super brave boy at the hospital where he had blood work done and an x-ray of his lungs. He is very proud of the three big stickers that he got there and the spiderman bandaid. He told me he was really close to crying. What a tough guy. He is looking and feeling lots, lots, lots better today, and I am relieved and so is he.
This afternoon, while Anna was at school I NEEDED to get him out of the house (the rash is not contagious and he's been on antibiotics for the pnemonia, but he still looks kind of interesting) so we ran to Kohl's to buy daddy's birthday present, and right when we walked in the door he lifted up his shirt all the way and said to the lady "Look! My tummy is feeling better" She looked kind of horrified. I didn't really know what to say, so I just smiled and we kept walking and made sure to check out at someone else's stand when we were done.
Anyway, that is the scoop. The hives really did warrant a trip to the doctors, and now we hope that we are saying goodbye to sicknesses and hello to spring. I understand if you don't want to let your kids play with my kids.
