I think my 4 yr. old son has Pleva/Plc...any opinions?

[christianrain2005]

My 4 year old son had recently been ill with the "stomach flu"....vomiting, diarhea, fever; also slight head cold. Around a week later I notice 2-3 little red bumps on his neck. Nothing that really stood out to me, but I did notice...then a few more on abdomen and back within the next few days...I thought he may have got the chicken pox...some sores were smaller, some were larger, all with a crusty/blistery looking appearance...I took him to the dr.....they first suggested fungal infection, and sent him home with special shampoo. That did not help. His stomach is still hurting him off and on...and the sores are just covering his entire trunk...stomach, back, neck, shoulders...now they have moved to a couple behind his ear, a few on his forehead, 1-2 on a wrist, ankle, a couple between his legs....He says they do not itch. I notice him scratching very rarely. Sores are all at different stages of development, some crusty and brown, some red and new...some have blood at the top..those are the ones that are in his armpits...they seem to hurt him the most...The last time I took him to the dr., they said chicken pox possibly; He was tested and it was negative for chicken pox...now, he has an appointment to see a dermatoligist in two weeks. That's not really soon enough for me, because I'm worried...his eye is swollen now, and red and hurting him, runny yellow/green stuff....I'm wondering if he has one in his eye since he has a few on his face? As fof today he also has them all over his private area... etc...He's slightly cranky, his stomach still hurts him occasionally...

Ok. That's all the factual stuff on his case that I have. I also have the pictures...

I researched hours and hours, every possible rash, cause, the length, the symptoms, where they first occured, etc....I first decided it was Herpes Simplex Virus...but wasn't completely satistfied with that. I also thought Scabies, because the rash does look alot like the pictures I saw on the internet....I didn't pick that one though because for the most part, they don't itch, they hurt...and Scabies generally starts in creases/folds...between fingers, buttocks,etc. His was primarily the trunk, and just a few scattered through out...there is also no pattern or burrows...scabies has an obvious trail of where the bug has been....and 6 people live here and nobody else has a spot and it's been going on for more than a month....so, my final personal uneducated opinion was PLEVA/PLC....he seems to be a text book case, the way they broke out, the location, the length of time, the old with the new, the stomach pain....

So, I just wanted to see if anyone else agreed with me after comparing pictures and history. If you have it or if a loved one has it, I’d love your input. My album is on here, but not sure if it will post with this comment.

Thanks!

[itchychick]

Ooh, the poor little guy!  That looks very sore...

I'm sorry I can't offer any insight here, as I'm not familiar with pleva/plc.  Have you taken him to a derm?  If not, I would strongly suggest you get a referral ASAP.  Family docs/paediatricians don't have the breadth of experience that you often need to get a correct diagnosis.

Good luck!

[Uncle Matt]

Oh how nasty for Zach.

Send him some Skincell from us all. Gently, of course..

I'm with Itchy. GPs are good at general stuff, but you really need a derm to diagnose a skin condition properly.

I will say, though, I can recall at least one other case on here (PLEVA, I think it was) that presented in a rash very similar to Zach's.

Have a look at the PLEVA section in our gallery, if you haven't already. The pictures are there.

Uncle Matt.

[MJC]

You can click on my screen name, MJC, to read about our successful treatment of my 9 yr. old sons' PLEVA...scroll back to 9/05, that's when he was diagnosed.
We were PLEVA free within 3 months!

I would not wait 2 wks for the derm.  I would DEMAND that he gets iIMMEDIATE
attention!!  Zach needs a biopsy to confirm PLEVA & start his treatment plan.
It seems that the quicker you start treatment, the more successful it is.

Unfortunately, a lot of Dr's. have no experience with this disease...and many peeps get mis-diagnosed, hence the biopsy for confirmation.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Good Luck,

Deidre (MJC)

[totalfolly]

Hiya, christianrain, and welcome to SkinCell!

I'm so sorry your son is having this problem.  I hope you can get to the derm soon.

totalfolly

[christianrain2005]

Just thought I'd update and say that he had a dermatologist appointment and they diagnosed pleva....and I didn't even tell them that is what I had already guessed, just in case I accidently planted the thought...lol. So, now we know and can at least move on and try to heal his sores. Luckily, it seems to hurt me more than him...they don't itch and only a few hurt...but they look miserable!!!

[Uncle Matt]

I'm glad you've got a diagnosis.

With some conditions, it's the hardest part.

I hope things start improving for Zach

Matt

[emmamae]

Hi Chrisitan, I am sorry, I have not been on in awhile. Yes your pics look EXACTLY like Pleva. My daughter came down with it at age 4 as well. She was diagnosed within 2 weeks of her first spots and only had it for 6 weeks. She to this day has still been pleva free. I am always on watch though. I am getting nervous now as we are getting close to the one year mark and to the same activities she was doing prior to coming down with it in the first place. Just know for most of the little ones it does seem to clear up sooner and yes getting the diagnosis quickly I believe helps. My daughter did not seem to itch at all either. We did 2 rounds of zpack and a topical steroid cream which to me really seemed to help her right away. Everyone responds different to pleva. When your little guy has a bath or gets hot it will stand out more so try and keep him cool, but in saying that, you also want to make sure he gets some unprotected natural sunlight everyday as well. My derm told me to have my daughter run around naked in the back yard a little everyday. BUT DO NOT LET HIM GET BURNED! My daughter started with 2 spots on her back and within 2 weeks she had them on her entire body including pits and groin as well. When they went away, they left the way they came. Back first and feet last. She did not have any eye irritation though.

Hang in there, it can go away....