Being a parent right now is downright scary with this flu outbreak. The CDC estimates that influenza has caused the death of 30 to 80 children in the last year and should claim up to 150 by the time flu season is over.
That’s why mother Brodi Willard of Nebraska is warning other parents of the strange symptoms that appeared on her son when he came down with the flu.
Willard, who is a hospital nurse said she noticed a rash on her 6-year-old son that appeared to be hives. She kept trying to remedy the rash to no avail. She called her pediatrician and was advised that there were other children who had similar rashes but tested positive for influenza.
She told Newsweek that she has seen lots of flu patient as a nurse but has never seen any with rashes. She made a Facebook post to warn other parents about uncommon flu symptoms which ended up going viral.
Here’s what she wrote:
“PLEASE READ AND SHARE: My son came home from school with hives. Every time he would scratch, more would appear. We tried changing his clothes and giving him a bath, but nothing helped. I called his pediatrician. They said they had two kids come into the office that day with the same symptoms and tested POSITIVE FOR INFLUENZA.
I took him to the doctor this morning, and he tested POSITIVE for INFLUENZA B. He has had NO symptoms. No fever, no cough, and no runny nose. He only has hives. Please keep watch on your children so if they develop hives, please call your pediatrician. I have never heard of this symptom but it is obviously something to be on the lookout for.”
There is some speculation over whether or not a rash is a true flu symptom or not. According to Newsweek, researchers in British Columbia published a paper in 2015 that referenced rashes that occurred during outbreaks of influenza B.
The CDC lists “fever with a rash” as an emergency warning sign that a child needs urgent medical attention.
That sign was listed in a page developed during the 2010 H1N1 pandemic. However, Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, says he doesn’t believe Seb’s rash is a symptom of the flu.
“We’re inclined to believe this was a coincidence,” he told Newsweek adding that it is possible for children to have the flu without appearing sick.
Brodi, however, isn’t buying that and feels that the rash and flu are related.
“He’s a normally healthy child,” she told Newsweek. “He doesn’t have skin problems or irritation or anything,” she said. “I just want people to know that this is out there.”
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