OUR FAMILY CHAOS

Stomatitis, or viral stomatitis, is a common infection in kids - usually between ages one to two years or so. The child will typically run a fair amount of fever, drool quite a bit, and will be very uncomfortable. You may see some sores on the tongue as your first clue, or perhaps sores around the mouth. There are three main causes that I can think of:
the Herpes labialis virus (cold sore virus), and which tends to produce the sores towards the front of the mouth, lips and tongue
another herpes-related virus that tends to affect the rear of the mouth around the tonsils (called Herpangina but inexplicably not caused by the Herpes virus but by a related herpes-type bug called Coxsackie virus)
the stomatitis of hand-foot-mouth syndrome None of these infections are really very treatable beyond symptom relief at present. You theoretically could paint Baby Oragel® or prescription viscous lidocaine on the ulcers for pain relief... theoretically. Just try that with an upset two year old!

Now that you all had a medical lesson today - this is what Mason has - we went back to the doctor this afternoon when his gums swole up and started receding beyond his teeth! Yes pretty painful for me too! So the oral zovirax is supposed to do the trick - Mason has always been really good about taking his medicine, but man is a toot now with this stuff in his mouth and doesn't want to take the medicine to make it better. I found myself trying to reason with a 2 1/2 year old - duh that won't work. Honey if you take this it will make you mouth feel better - no I want my Daddy - it taste yucky. Finally I snapped out of it and told him he was going to get a spanking if he didn't take the medicine -- with force he took it! While we were waiting for the doctor this afternoon I asked him if he was hungry and he said yes that he wanted tacos - try explaining that you can't have a taco to a sick child with ulcers all in his mouth. I told him it would hurt his mouth so he then told me he wanted ice cream and diet coke! Crazy child .. So he got the ice cream and milk - he decided against the diet coke.

I just really can't wait to see the guitar I got for him -- they were teasing me at work saying that I couldn't have gotten a real guitar that cheap -- My boss said it is going to be so small that you will have to play it with a toothpick! The other joke was a ukulele hahaha.. I told momma that I requested music from Uncle David and she says don't you have to know how to read music before you can teach it. I said I think the kid kind is color coated or something! hahaha Or maybe will have to do lessons. Piano and Guitar lessons - my child will be saranading his girlfriend in kindergarten! hahaha

Well all for now - maybe more later tonight if something else interesting happens.
Love Beth