My son David came home early from school yesterday covered 
from head to toe in bumpy rashes, they are all over his body, as well as his face. The doctor instantly diagnosed them as Urticaria caused by an allergic reaction. They look very much like a heat rash.
David had been having a pretty normal day at school and we have no idea how he became infected. He is a very healthy 17-year-old, and this has never happened before, it came totally out of the blue. He also looks very pale and drawn. What could he be allergic too? How will we find out?
It reminded me of when my younger son James fancied a day off school, he was only about seven at the time. I had always told him he could only be off sick if he had a high temperature or diarrhoea. One morning he asked me to feel his forehead, which was burning, and I used a Feverscan thermometer to confirm he was indeed poorly.
But it seems Dr Seymour had been conned. A few weeks later, James admitted he had put his forehead on the radiator to make it hot so it appeared he had a high temperature! It worries me that he is such a good actor, he certainly had me convinced.
He can’t be the only one to fake it, so what sickee scams have you done, and did you get found out?
The only one I ever did was many years ago after a very alcoholic weekend. I took a sickie onthe Monday and felt so guilty I ended up going in!
I do remember my grandmother telling me that she had the ability to make her nose bleed. Whenever she felt like an afternoon off school, all she had to do was tap her head on her desk lid and the nosebleed would start. It’s never worked for me though!
Jennyta, it sounds like she got that off to a fine art. I’m afraid my little soldier has just woken up and is much, much worse today. His rashes are bright red and he is hot and feverish. I must go and mop his brow with a cold flannel.
I’ve just read this article and I think David caught this from a cold virus as he has just had an earache and didn’t seem to recover from it, he does look a sorry sight, let’s hope it doesn’t last six to 12 months.
http://www.bad.org.uk/public/leaflets/urticaria.asp
I don’t think people take enough days off when sick – I remember one odious colleague who purposely coughed and sneezed over me/us and insisted on using my phone because he had a virus and thought everyone should share in his misery and what a strong, noble self-sacrificing hero he was for coming into work with his virus! What a selfish odious twit.
I was a particular target because I’m not robust and would go down like a ton of bricks with any illness and it always ended in a chest infection. Some men in the office thought this very funny.
Best wishes to your little soldier Ellee – I’ve had mine off too and he has a long history of rashes like that which is why I can’t give him the MMR; I don’t know what he’s allergic to and it’s too risky. I would be pleased if someone could tell me where I can get single jabs and am willing to pay.
Hope your boy is better soon x
Pip, I was also very conscientious about going to work when I was sick because my news editor was a bully. I often used to return from holiday sick and one occasion I returned from Russia with amoebic dystentry which was very uncomfortable, especially as I was on the office first aid course and my legs were tied to planks of wood as a case study for treating a broken leg when I desperately needed the loo…
On another occasion, I returned from America with viral meningitis and was in agony and still went to work. I had to go to the gp during mid morning because it had affected my bladder and was in agony because I could not wee. I still remember being asked by my news editor if it was really urgent, did I have to go there and then to the doctors. I was, of course, instantly admitted to hospital.
No wonder my husband prefers Centre Parcs…
Pip, I feel sorry for your little soldier, I hope he gets better soon too.
Oh my goodness you poor thing. Sounds awful and all my youngest wants to do is to be a foreign correspondant and go to Russia and China *gulp*
Your editor sounds the Max Hastings type. Men like that invariably hate me because I always find them rather ridiculous.
My son is fine and is now back at school – he loves school and hates being sick. Hope yours is fine soon x
On a completely different subject; I’ve been looking at the effect of nutrition on children, as you know, and came across an edit war on Wikipedia about ADHD. It seems those with a strong personal motive are resistant to publishing doubt about the condition and if it must then they couch that mention in dismissive terms. This gives the impression that the condition diagnosed by some medics is in fact not doubted by others, which is not right, it IS doubted. This has lead me to look up some of the doubts/studies and it seems there’s quite a lot of concern about additives in food and the effect they have on children.
Perhpas this topic is not so different after all as your son may have reacted to something he ate or drank. Apparently E122 (amongst others) has been banned in some countries. I think this is wrong Ellee, we feed our children in all innocence and I’m not suggesting a ‘nanny state’ but ordinary people do not understand what these things are or what they do. We cannot police our children every minute of the day when they tuck shops at school etc. It really is the governments job to protect society and rather than damning parents, to better allow them to avoid todays toxic childhood.
Sorry, ‘some countries’ should have been in italics, I am FOR banning harmful substances in food.
We once had a chap at work who’d put “Heart attack.” as a reason for two days sickness. Idiot.
lol Elle, teenagers & women
can’t live with them can’t live without them. Either way bound to give you a headache sooner or later. Thank God for Paracetamol.
Dr Seymour thinks she has solved the mystery and two friends have said the same, one of them a nurse. They believe that David could have been allergic to the antibiotics he was given for his sore throat. One of them said her uncle also suffered from Urticaria after he had antibiotics for a sore throat. Now we just wait for the rashes to go down, they look pretty horrendous at the moment.
Hope he’s better now. People here can’t just “take a sickie” because your employer sends the “medico fiscale” round!