Have you had any experience with toxoplasmosis, especially in young children? If so, tell me if you think this sounds like it. I've already looked up all the signs and symptoms and done my reserach online and that is why I think this might be toxoplasmosis.
I am thinking our children might have caught toxoplasmosis from their recently adopted 6 week old kitten. Our 1-1/2-year-old daughter started running a 102 fever about Thursday and it has only seemed to break today. She's been very cranky and irritable, complaining of pain (at one point she complained of pain in her vagina but has also been complaining of leg pains), and last night she developed a rash. The rash started on her chest but then today it covered the entire front of her body, her back, down into her diaper and top of her thighs, then went up her neck (front and back) and onto her face. Her pediatrician put her on amoxacillin yesterday morning for a possible UTI or strep. We didn't know if the rash that developed at 9pm last night was due to her illness or an allergy to the amoxacillin so we took her into the urgent care today. Our daughter tested negative for both a UTI and strep and the doctors don't know what she has but told us to take her off the amoxacillin in case of the rash being an allergy.
After thinking about it... our 3-year-old son was complaining of being "cold" the beginning of this week and he did feel rather warm to me. He was carrying his blanket around with him to go grocery shopping and it was 100 degrees outside. He was also complaining about his throat hurting this week and his eye got red and irritated for about two days. I didn't think too much about it because he has severe allergy and I thought it was just another allergic reaction to something outside. Thinking back though, benadryl didn't make the swelling go down like it always does.
Symptoms of toxoplasmosis are: flu or common cold like symptoms, sore throat, fever, fatigue, body aches, swollen lymph nodes, rash that covers most of the body, inflammation of the eye(s).
Our daughter had/has: fever, rash, flu like symptoms, aches (??). Our son had: fever, fatigue, inflammation of the eye, flu like symptoms (??).
What ya think? I know this is supposed to clear-up fine in healthy children without the help of medication... but I am curious because I am 28 1/2 weeks pregnant and while I doubt it would cause a so called "miscarriage" this late... I read it can be pass to the baby through the mother's blood if she should contract the parasite which wouldn't be good for the baby.
I have never seen a rash listed in symptoms of toxoplasmosis. You get it from cat litter. It is highly dangerous to a fetus.You are never supposed to handle cat litter as it is the feces that carry the disease.
Obviously I can't diagnose over the computer but I can pass on some information I got from my Dr and vet.
I had cats before getting pregnant with my first. I've had them ever since. So of course it came up. There is a blood test that can be run on a person to see if you've ever been exposed to it that you can do to make yourself feel better if you want to. You can not test a cat until they're dead. They can only pass it once after being exposed. But I was told outright that unless I am all but taking the poop out of the box and eating it the odds of getting it were very minuscule. So long as I was washing hands after dealing with the cat box and not touching my face before washing with soap and water they told me not to worry.
Getting this is rare... and you are just as likely to get it while gardening/playing in the soil or eating undercooked meats.
You can have a blood test taken on all 3 of you to see if you have had it or do have it. Ask your Pediatrician to get a blood test for the children and your OB for a test for you.
In the last 13 years, I've had over 15 cats - ALL were strays and most were gotten as kittens I found outside. I tested negative of ever having that. My daughter DID get Cat Scratch Disease - Bartonella - which was caught early and 100% treatable, you may as well get tested for that too while you are getting a blood test.
***As an aside... those symptoms also sound A LOT like Epstein Barr virus (mononucleosis) which can also be tested in a blood test! This is 95-98% common in Americans and is usually first contracted by the age of 10 y/o.
I seriously doubt it's toxo. Sounds like the flu and a reaction to antibiotics to me.
BUT, better safe than sorry. Take the kitten in for a blood test. Today. Or have the kids tested. We aren't looking at your cat or kids, so we don't know. If you want to know for sure, have them all tested. I'd be willing to bet, though, that it's not toxo. (You, personally would have had to accidentally gotten cat feces in your mouth to contract it. Maybe the kids would do that, but you? Very doubtful.)
Like the poster below me said, toxo is rare.... cats get a bad rap around pregnant moms and kids. But it's easier to get it from working with raw hamburger, or gardening.
My understanding is that it is only a risk to fetuses if the mother's *first* exposure to toxoplasmosis is during pregnancy. For all subsequent exposures, the mother's immune system protects the baby.
I'd only be worried if this is the first time you've ever been around cat poop. If you've been around cats and/or their poop for most of your life, the baby should be fine.
Blood tests showed I was exposed to toxo during my pregnancy. We had no problems. I never had cats as a child, but our sandbox was uncovered and "shared" by the neighborhood felines. I'm certain I was exposed as a child and developed immunity.
I honestly wouldnt think it is toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is transferred through the cats feces. Unless if your kids are playing in the litter box, i doubt that is what they have.
I have a feeling one of them caught a bad case of the flu/cold and it is making rounds around the family. My son has a cold right now that just wont quit, even with amoicillan.
If you are questioning whether the cat has toxo, take him to the vet and they can test him.
Good Luck!
Toxoplasmosis is not common. I would consider the fact there could be a cat allergy at play here. My son was recently diagnosed with a cat allergy, and displays some of these symptoms off and on. Your son's symptoms sound similar to his reactions. As for your daughter, sounds like she might of had a virus or something. A fever will leave a rash afterward, esp in the fever was relatively high. It's just the body's reaction to a fever with small children.
Take kitty to the vet and have her tested. It isn't too expensive, my friend who does surrogate pregnancies has her cats tested at the beginning of every pregnancy. That way you would have peace of mind about your unborn little one.
Toxoplasmosis is contracted by drinking contaminated water, Eating contaminated food or soil, eating under cooked meat from infected animals or from mother to unborn child. I highly doubt your children are eating kitty litter so I doubt that is what made them sick.
What does the rash look like? Flat, raised, Lacey, splotchy? Did it start before or after her fever broke? My 9 year old just had roseola he had fever, fatigue, sore throat, headache, body ache and the day his fever broke he broke out in a flat lacey rash. Some kids get it so mild they hardly seem sick and don't always get a rash. Sometimes kids just get rashes it's the body's response to fighting the infection. My oldest used o get a rash every time he had a stomach bug.
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/resources/toxo...
I don't see rash as a symptom it states most get mild lu like symptoms, swollen lymph nodes, and/or muscle aches
My sister had it when she was about 2 or so. I was 16 (I'm 40 now) so I can't remember all the symptoms. I know she was sick for awhile and just couldn't get better. She went to a homeopath and treated it naturally since the meds were harsh and my mom didn't want to put her on it so young. It helped. My mom got it and miscarried twice but once she was treated, she had my brother. She miscarried at 6 weeks because she had it already when she got pregnant. She didn't know she had it until she had tests done after her miscarriages. I'm sure you're fine, just don't change the litter box.
i think it is best to consult a doctor... you need also to be checked because you are pregnant and there is a possibility that you can acquire the disease from the cat and your baby... there is a diagnostic procedure to check if it is really toxoplasmosis and there there is treatment..
it will not resolved without the help of medication.. in the first place if your child is healthy he would acquire the disease.. it means he is not well because you see all the symptoms on him... please have him checked and you as well because the baby inside your womb has an undeveloped immune system.. imagine what harm it would do to your poor baby...
researching about the disease online is good but to have yourself and your son checked is better...
