Wow, I can’t believe Thanksgiving is here already. It will be a quiet one for us, as most of our children spend the holiday with their spouses’ (or possibly intended’s—we shall see) families. And that’s ok. Actually, it’s great. We are so grateful that our children have married into good families and want them to maintain the strongest of relations with them. We’ll have Ellie and Cowboy here with us on Friday, and with only four of us, we may stray from the traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner. Not sure on that yet.
Today, I am especially grateful for all of you who help me, either with supportive comments, or like Gwen with a fabulous sourdough cracker recipe, or like Exile, with book recommendations. A couple of months ago he sent a link for the Quick Guide to Common Childhood Diseases. It’s a 49-page book, with one page devoted to each of 36 childhood diseases—a quick guide—providing a brief overview of the disease itself, symptoms, signs, transmission, incubation, complications, and prevention. It’s a good one for anyone with children to add to the library.
One of the diseases addressed in there, our star of the show today, is fifth disease (erythema infectiousum). Of the now nearly dozen medical references I have here, only one—Armageddon Medicine—contains any mention of it, and that is limited to five sentences. All I could remember of it from readings over the years is that it’s commonly called “slapped cheek” disease, and that it affects children.
And I was only partially right, because it can also affect adults. And this is one reason why we should learn about it. The other is because when we encounter people with rashes, we need to know how concerned to be about preventing transmission—what the risks are.
Fifth disease, caused by human parvovirus B19 (virus, so no antibiotics will work), is yet another upper respiratory infection and presents with cold symptoms.[1] It’s one of those one-and-done illnesses, like chicken pox. You get it once, and you never get it again, so that is nice. About 50% of adults had it as children. Interestingly, about 25% of people experience no symptoms at all.[2] Another source says only 20% of people are symptomatic.[3] And I have to wonder about this, because all my children are adults now, and I’m sure I never saw fifth disease symptoms in them.
Fifth disease occurs most commonly in late winter, spring, and early summer, with minor outbreaks noted in the US about every 3-4 years.[4]
Fifth disease symptoms include:
- Flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, runny nose, headache) may occur 7 days before the rash appears.
- A raised, red rash appears on the cheeks (and this is usually only seen in children
- A red, spotty or lace-like rash appears on the arms, chest, back, and thighs
- After the rash fades, it may continue to reappear when exposed to heat (sunlight, bathing in warm water)[5]
- Adults, especially women, may experience joint pain (usually the hands, feet, and knees) that continues for weeks or months (but usually only 1-3 weeks) after the rash has resolved.[6] [7] [8] About 60% of infected women will experience joint pain, whereas only 30% of men will feel it. Of the infected women, 20% will continue to experience the pain for weeks to years.[9]
The fifth disease rash may be confused with rashes from other diseases, like measles, rubella, roseola, and scarlet fever.[10]
The incubation period lasts from 4 to 20 days after initial contact with an infected individual. The person is contagious for 7-10 days before the rash appears. One the rash appears, the patient is no longer contagious.[11] [12]
Fifth disease is spread by:
- Air droplets released when an infected person coughs or sneezes
- Touching the hands of an infected person when he is contagious
- Touching objects or surfaces contaminated with the virus
- Routine hygiene practices of washing hands thoroughly and frequently as well as coughing and sneezing into the shirt sleeve instead of hands will help prevent the spread of this illness.
Those at greatest risk from a fifth disease infection include:
- A pregnant woman who has not had it may spread it to her unborn child and thereby cause severe anemia, miscarriage, or stillbirth, though this is rare, occurring in about 5% of cases.[13]
- A person with a weakened immune system
- A person with chronic hemolytic anemia, like sickle cell anemia, may have life-threatening complications
Treatment
- Drink plenty of liquids[14]
- Use acetaminophen or ibuprofen to reduce the fever and relieve pain[15]
- Prevent scratching by trimming fingernails and wearing gloves at night[16]
- Reduce itchiness with a cream or lotion[17]
- Wear loose-fitting cotton clothing[18]
- An antihistamine may be beneficial with extreme itching[19]
Links to related posts:
Managing Scarlet Fever When There Is No Doctor
Colds, Influenza, and Illnesses that Look Like Colds
References:
Quick Guide to Common Childhood Diseases http://www.bccdc.ca/schools/Documents/EN_Guide_Childhood_Diseases.pdf
[1] Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 237.
[2] http://www.bccdc.ca/schools/Documents/EN_Guide_Childhood_Diseases.pdf
[3] https://medlineplus.gov/fifthdisease.html
[4] https://medlineplus.gov/fifthdisease.html
[5] http://www.bccdc.ca/schools/Documents/EN_Guide_Childhood_Diseases.pdf
[6] http://www.bccdc.ca/schools/Documents/EN_Guide_Childhood_Diseases.pdf
[7] Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 237.
[8] https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthlinkbc-files/fifth-disease-parvovirus-infection
[9] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019643992200037X
[10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513309/
[11] http://www.bccdc.ca/schools/Documents/EN_Guide_Childhood_Diseases.pdf
[12] Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 2012, 237.
[13] http://www.bccdc.ca/schools/Documents/EN_Guide_Childhood_Diseases.pdf
[14] http://www.bccdc.ca/schools/Documents/EN_Guide_Childhood_Diseases.pdf
[15] http://www.bccdc.ca/schools/Documents/EN_Guide_Childhood_Diseases.pdf
[16] http://www.bccdc.ca/schools/Documents/EN_Guide_Childhood_Diseases.pdf
[17] http://www.bccdc.ca/schools/Documents/EN_Guide_Childhood_Diseases.pdf
[18] http://www.bccdc.ca/schools/Documents/EN_Guide_Childhood_Diseases.pdf
[19] http://www.bccdc.ca/schools/Documents/EN_Guide_Childhood_Diseases.pdf
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