Posted on 08/07/2009 12:02:45 AM PDT by dannyboy72a
MY 7 yr old, autistic son, Matthew came home from his mother's house today with blisters on his arm and leg. I have tried to call her repeatedly to find out the source of the blisters, but no return call. So, I'm hoping some of the parents here will have seen something similar and can tell me whether it's something i need to be concerned about.
There are four burns on him. Two on his inner forearm, a large grouping of blisters on his inner calf, and a small one just above the large one on the leg. I don't know if these are fire burns, chemical burns or burns at all.
With Matthew being autistic, he is unable to tell me how he got them and his mother either is not aware of them (which is not impossible as she tends to pawn the kids off on grandma or others the limited time she has them) or is aware of what happened and does not want to admit to whatever it is. Either way, the sores cannot be more than three days old as she picked them up Monday morning and dropped them off Thursday afternoon.
If anyone can tell me whether this is something to be concerned about, whether it merits a doctor's visit.
My thought would be that you might take him to a doctor and just ask, "Does this look like poison ivy? My son is autistic and can't tell me exactly what happened here."
The problem here is that if it's something to be concerned about, then you want to know. If it's nothing, you risk stirring up a bunch of unnecessary trouble. I don't really know of anyone who can really tell you whether it's something to be concerned about, except a medical professional. I don't know what the reporting-to-authorities requirements of medical professionals or, or what the potential consequences of just going to see a doctor might be. I suppose if you personally know a doctor or a nurse, you could ask them.
I’m sorry some folks are like this. It looks like a reaction to something or it could be early staph.
Doesn’t look like a burn or intentional.
Hard to say...but it looks nothing like the posion ivy my number 4 has right now in the healing stage.
if it bothers him try benzocaine cream or foille if they still make it...it was the cats pajamas for blisters in my day but smelled funny...no one here probably even remembers it
Did you even bother to ask where he was when he got this “poison ivy” Do you even know if he was let outside? If so why wasn’t he supervised? Take some Midol and get out of this thread.
Let us all know what the doctors say, how’s that?
I’ve told you by far the most likely cause of your son’s blisters, and that not good because you want it to be something worse.
Here’s a little tidbit for YOU.
FRiend, I am a nurse with two kids of my own.
1) Take him to a MD. Better safe than sorry.
2) The two, non-blistered lesions appear to be staph. No way to know for sure without a culture.
3) The elongated, clear fluid blister: not at all sure but I am betting against a burn - no characteristic redness aound the site that i can see. Often, kids will pick up a viral infection from some environemntal factor (soap, laundry powder, etc.) that can lead to a localized blister.
4) TAKE HIM TO A DOCTOR! The two staph-looking places will get worse w/o treatment!
Since not only do you have a MD in dermatology you also seem to have a degree in Psychiatry with a fellowship in factitious disorders. You should know Munchhausen is almost always caused by the mother and the caretaker often has detailed medical knowledge that even the doctors do not know. Also they would seek out a doctor right away instead of asking an internet forum for help.
Unfortunately, I can't tell if it's bothering him. He doesn't communicate except through disney excerpts or when he wants something from you he'll ask. When you ask him a question, he parrots what you ask or he can give yes or no, but you have to discern whether he's answering the question or trying to get you to leave him alone. So, it's a challenge.
You left out that Munchhausen is extremely rare, which should have clued you in to my using it as a foil, but you are obviously a literalist.
I would agree ... it is classic poison ivy.
No, one does not have to have it on anlkles or wrists ... in fact, many times those that are ultra sensitive to poisoin Ivy can pick it up from another person or perhaps a pet that has wandered through and brushed up against a plant.
And .. it makes no difference in spring summer fall or winter .... even dormant poison ivy still will cause blisters if someone senitive tangles with it.
. it grows everywhere, it shows up in my garden at times, no doubt dropped by a squirrel or birds.
And again, a dog that has contacted the plant, rolling in the yard can leave enough urushiol (the oily poison of the plant) on the grass that someone who is sensitive can play in it and pick it up that way as well.
I can practically stand on the plant and not be bothered. My wife will break out like crazy if she pets a dog that has at some time been in contact with it.
From the photos I would bet dollars to donuts is that it is poison Ivy. It will not spread .. once the urushiol is absorbed it is gone.
If it is poison ivy, i’ll say great. You don’t know me from adam and you think you know my psyche. You think you’re surrounded by idiots, because you’re the idiot who is wrong about everything. When you go to sleep tonight, why don’t you think about why it is no one wants to be around you. I’m sure your wife has left you, if you’ve ever had one, your kids won’t speak to you except when they have to, and your best friend is the local bartender. Your life is a steaming pile of excrement and you one enjoyment is sitting on FR being an assh#ole to everyone else. You’re gonna love purgatory. But I guess I should say things like that because i don’t know you from Adam (although it’s likely true from your personality).
But God love ya, it’s America and you have every right to be as big an assh$le as you like.
Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is. When I take him to the doctor, if he says it’s NOT poison ivy, i’ll send you the bill (along with the documentation) and you can pay for it - no insurance, you pay the cash price (about $100). You pay the bill. If it is poison ivy, i’ll send you my apologies and a $100 gift certificate to the restaurant of your choice.
Thanks Hiram. He’s been camping many times and he’s never gotten it before. That doesn’t mean anything, but if he was ultra-sensitive to it, I would expect he would have gotten it as some point. He is autistic and he splits his time between his computer, his television, and the pool (except for the occasional family outing to the lake). If it is poison ivy, then your explanation of a dog might explain, as his mother does have a lab (although they don’t really live in a wooded area). Either way, I appreciate your well reasoned response to my questions. There’s another gentleman who has hijacked this thread that has pushed poison ivy as well. I’ve decided to let a doc decide in the morning.
I’m sorry for your son’s blisters. They look uncomfortable, even if he can’t tell you what causes them. I hope it turns out to be something easily treatable.
About 15% of the population does not react to poison ivy, and I seem to be in that category, so I have no idea what poison ivy rash/blisters look like. However, addressing the issue about “one thing after another” with your ex: If you don’t already have one, you need to start a journal chronicling your son’s health whenever you hand him over to her, and then again when you get him back. Make complete notes and put down dates, and also take pics of anything like the blisters. You might want to get a friend to witness and sign it when you are chronicling injuries that he has when he returns to you.
Hopefully, someday you will end up with a totally useless diary of all his little problems, and nothing will ever come of it. BUT if he ever gets some big injury (God forbid) or it simply becomes obvious to you that he is not safe in his mom’s care, you will have some ammunition when you go to court about it. Good luck!!!
The doc is a very wise choice .... I wish you well!
Looks like Rubella, aka German Measles.
Thank you. And thanks to all of you for your time tonight. I will try to remember to post what I find out tomorrow. At least I still have a private health care plan to ensure my son gets the best treatment :).
As an aside. Right now, Insurance companies can turn away children with autism. Before my current job, we had to put Matthew on public health plan because Blue Corss Blue Shield denied him coverage. That’s not right. If they want to fix things, they could start with requiring insurance carriers to cover children with special needs. They will undoubtedly lose money on them, but they will more than make up for it on my 50 years of premiums.
First thing always with burns — irrespective of source or cause — is to get them properly medically treated. Do not risk infection because infection is no joke.
Speculating on the cause of the burn? I’m not sure that’s too helpful — the pictures could depict burns from a thousand different sources. Main thing is to get it treated immediately.
I’d avoid attributing lurid explanations to this: it could be as simple as an electric blanket malfunctioning, or something similar. Just get it treated.
One other thought. I’m sorry that this thread has attracted so many sillybuggers and know-it-alls. I hope your boy is OK — your doctor will have a better idea what caused his injuries than any of us here. Cheers, mate!
It does look like poison ivy, especially the small blisters. Go to the store and get some calamine lotion to put on it. And he needs a bath to get rid of the poison ivy oil to keep him from rubbing the oil onto new areas.
If you get it near the eyes, a doc will give you steroids.
We once mentioned to our pediatrician that we were sort of embarrassed about the number of bruises our kids had. And the doc said he would be more concerned if the kids didn’t have some bruises. And they weren’t autistic, they were normal kids.
Poison ivy is very hard to prevent. In fact, if some idiot burns poison ivy a mile down the road, you can catch it from the air.
Has he ever had chemo? I hope not but if he is being treated for cancer it could be a reaction by the chemo attacking mosquito bites etc. My wife would get a mosquito bite and it would blister like that. If not I would say it is a spider bite.
I'd be curious to hear from someone with a medical background here.
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