For the past 2 days Aidyn has had one really bright red cheek and ear, which are very hot to touch. This has also been accompanied by a high fever. The fever was quite high for the first day, but he responded well to panadol and nurofen, so we said we would take him to the Dr's this morning if he was not feeling any better.
Well, I'm happy to say that his fever is only low grade now... but his right cheek is still flaming red and hot...
Has anyone ever had something similar happen before?
I've been thinking its teething, cause he seems to be in agony with his gums...
But I'm also wondering if it could be a reaction to his MMR vaccination last Thursday...
Or something else... isnt there something called 'slapcheek' or something like that? Though its only on one of his cheeks...
Aidyn's pretty young for it to be slapcheek, generally that symptom shows up in kids aged about 4-8, from memory. Slapcheek looks just like its name - big, bright red oval patches on the cheek. If the ear is red too, it's more likely something else.
I'd be more inclined to think it's teething related or an ear infection, molars moving in the gums can be pretty harrowing for a few days. Do keep a close eye on it, if it's an ear infection you'll want the doctor to prescribe something, if it's teething then you are already doing all the right things.
Ok, well we took him to the Dr's today.... and not even the Dr was 100% sure.
She looked in his ears... they seemed to be ok, but she did say that one was a bit 'pink'... but then said nothing further.
Then she checked in his mouth, and thats when she noticed this huge lump on his bottom gum. She said it was definately abnormally large, but as it didnt seem very red or inflamed she wasnt sure if it was infected. Plus, it was on the left side - whereas his flaming red cheek & ear were on his right side. He has a smaller lump on his rightside gum though, which has gotten progressively bigger as the day has passed.
She wasn't happy with putting his fever down to just teething though. Cause it has been really high, and he has had it for almost 48 hours now on and off. So she suspects an infection somewhere, but she's not sure if its in the gums, or if its something unrelated like a UTI... so I took a wee sample from Aidyn today and we handed that in, just to get that checked out so we are covering all bases.
anyway, I can't say I'm that happy with the Dr's prognosis... or lack-thereof. But if he is still ill tomorrow I think we will get a second opinion.
Can I ask, has anyone else ever had their babies develop massive lumps on their gums that were infected??
We have another appt booked in this afternoon to see a different Dr at the surgery... We like this Dr better, and hope he can give us a proper diagnosis.
Aidyn is still sick today, and we had another bad night lastnight, with his temperature climbing. At least the Nurofen and panadol are bringing it back down though. He is normally such a happy and placid baby... so the fact that he is crying and grizzling whenever he is awake is worrying me heaps
Aidyn is feeling much better now... The 2nd Dr didn't really know either, but put him on antibiotics anyway... cause his fever and symptoms seemed consistent with an infection. His urine test was all clear though, so we are definately thinking it was his gums.
Since being on the antibiotics his fever has come back down to normal, and even his gums are looking less swollen... and he is generally looking much healthier and happier today... thankgoodness!!
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BellyBelly Life Member
One BRIGHT red hot cheek, plus fever...
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