A Pox on our House

I took Matthew to the dermatologist today for a few bumps he'd gotten on his tummy. He got the first one this past spring, and I originally thought it was just a clogged pore - but it didn't go away. His pediatrician said, "Oh, that's a common thing kids get - it will eventually go away." So we didn't really do anything about it. Over the past month, it grew bigger. And more of them started appearing. So the pediatrician referred us to a pediatric dermatologist.

Turns out, it's a pox. A virus with the term "contagium" in the name. Get it? CONTAGIOUS. The information sheet she gave me said, "We suggest that your child does not bathe or swim with others while the lesions are present." Oh great. NOW you tell me. Matthew went swimming this summer with his cousins (sorry Liz and Leslie!) and has bathed several times with his brother. So far, Brandon hasn't had any break outs of lesions. As the information sheet put it - 'lesions' - reminds me of leprosy for some reason. Maybe because the sheet also says the 'lesions' will fall off.

The dermatologist told me that she would put some medication on the places - don't worry, it won't hurt him. Oh, by the way, the medication will form blisters over the pox in the next 2 to 24 hours and he may feel some discomfort. Some discomfort? The poor kid is going to have about 8 blisters on his tummy. So far, only one place has blistered. So tomorrow is going to be fun staying home with a four year old who's probably going to wake up with blisters. Good times.