Dot to Dot...

In five short months we have quickly found out that the life of a parent is a troubling one and that we'll probably never stop worrying about Alfie! His first causes for concern are well documented... however in the following five months he has managed a stinky ear infection, a cold, cradle cap, croup and another cold amongst other false alarms. We are regulars at our local surgery but we're pleased that we get it right most times and that we catch things before they develop into something more serious!

Our latest visit to the Docs was on Thursday after the cold that seems to have been hanging around since his Sydney visit to A&E started to be causing him bother again. We had also developed a small rash around his belly button and under his arm! We were told not to worry about the rash as they were hives and would disappear on their own. She thought that maybe the rash was linked to a viral infection that has been hanging around. With a potentially infectious Alfie on the loose we decided that we better not go away for the weekend, however he was happy (as were the people we were going with)and so off we went.



As the weekend progressed the spots spread up his chest and down his legs, they became so numerous that it was hard to spot where the rash was and where his normal skin colour was. It got a whole lot worse than the picture shows and this morning his legs became very swollen, bright red (purple and blue!)and painful to the touch. It had also spread to his neck and face. As its a Bank Holiday here so we took him to the local hospital to see the after hours GP, and were promptly referred to A&E. We met the most fantastic doctor who was able to diagnose "Erythema Multiforme" which literally translates as "many red bumps of different shapes and sizes" He thinks that this is unlikely to be caused by an allergic reaction to anything (although this is something we need to watch when we start looking at solids next month!) but his body's way of dealing with the viral infection.

We'll keep you posted on how he goes but it was great to see him improve even in the three hours we were at the hospital. Alfie seems quite happy around Doctors and likes nothing better than a chance to show off, grab their stethoscope or attempt to eat their shirt cuffs!