Mystery Rash

My 5 year ols daughter became very sick last December with Pneumococcal septicemia, from which she recovered quickly. In February of 2008, she developed what we thought was scarlet fever. It started with abdominal pain, then a typical scarlet fever rash (although it was not sandpaper like).  Then, the next day, her joints, particularly her ankles, her knees, her elbows and one hip became inflamed and red. She also, in addition to the scarletta rash, developed red, 5-6 inch circular spots randomly on her body. Her strep test was negative, as was her strep titer. She saw a rheumatologist, who determined it must have been Streptococcal scarlet fever. She has since had her tonsils removed because on ongoing infections. She no longer gets sick, but every day she developes the following: first itching skin, then red skin, then inflamed welts and hives on her trunk, mostly on her upper back. She says that her skin burns when this is going on. The mysterious rash disappears within 15 minutes, but can happen up to three times a day. The red skin is very similar to the original “additional” rash she had along with the scarletta rash. The Dr’s are not sure if it is an allergy as it behaves so mysteriously. This all started after the February Streptococcal scarlet fever episode. I have a feeling they are related, but can find no information on that. Do you have any opinions on this matter? I am desperately looking for answers.

[Bmo311]

I hope you find some answers.  I am sorry I can't help you, but know your frustrations with rashes.  My daughter (5 in March) recently had a high fever that later developed into a rash and after several tests the docs said it was a viral thing.  Since then another rash developed(about 2-3 weeks since) and looked similar to the one after the fever.  This time it was accompanied by 6-7 small purple spots on her ribcage.  The rash and spots occurred by morning and no other symptoms or pain associated with them.  The rash disappeared the next day but the spots are gradually going away (they now look like old bruises).  I am sick of taking her in and hearing that these things are viral, but now I am second guessing myself thinking that I should have taken her back even though she "felt" fine.  Today she is saying that it hurts to swallow, so I am waiting to hear what tomorrow morning brings.  What did your daughter's scarlet fever rash look like and did it accompany the fever or did it appear after the fever broke?  And what is Strep Titer that you mentioned?  The spots on your daughter, do they blanch out or have they turned purple color?  Sorry to bombard you with questions when you are seeking answers, but maybe we can rule out different things our doctors are saying.