Whats wrong with my 13 month old??

My 13 month old has only been sick twice since he was born. Once was Strep Throat and once he ran a high fever for 2 days, nothing too serious. He got behind on his shots and so when we took him in they gave him 5 instead of the normal 3. For the next 3 days he had fever and was grouchy and not his self, I called the doctor and they told me it was normal to just wait it out and rotate Motrin and Tylenol.. 4 more days I decided to just take him in because not only was he still running a high fever he also got little red bumps all over his back stomach and face. The doctor told me it was a viral infection, did blood work to double check and sent us on our way. The next week we had to go back because she called and said she needed to re-test his blood because they found a bacteria in it that they assume was from an outside contaminant. Again we were sent home and now another week later my son is once again breaking out in little bumps, he has no fever this time and there has been no change in diet, clothing, laundry detergent, milk NOTHING! The doctor told me it was strep throat. STREP THROAT!!! My son has had strep throat and it was absolutely nothing like this and I refuse to give him medication for something he does not have. The bumps are not itcy and not pusy or oozy they are just tiny little red bumps. Does anyone have any ideas on what this could be? Any help is appreciated! Thank you!

[AnnieBrooke]

Did your doctor say "strep throat" or just "strep"?  I think it sounds like your son has impetigo from Group A strep.  I would take it seriously.  My nephew got an extremely serious liver disease from strep that the family ignored for a while.

Here is from a medical website:

Streptococcal infections (strep for short) cause a variety of health problems. There are two types: group A and group B. Antibiotics are used to treat both.

Group A strep causes

    * Strep throat - a sore, red throat, sometimes with white spots on the tonsils
    * Scarlet fever - red rash on the body
    * Impetigo - a skin infection
    * Toxic shock syndrome
    * Cellulitis and necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease)

Group B strep can cause blood infections, pneumonia and meningitis in newborns.  Strep B can cause urinary tract infections, blood infections, skin infections and pneumonia in adults.

[tiredbuthappy]

I work with young children, and have seen this many times. Some children do get a rash from Strep. I know you are frustrated with the doctor, but the cultures do not lie. I would go ahead and treat him with the entire course of antibiotics.

[amberd5191]

Strep is something you MUST take VERY seriously, he needs to be treated if this is what he has. Doctors aren't going to just treat a 13 month old for strep unless they are 100% that is what they have.

[TristynsMama1oh1]

Thank you for your advise. The doctor said that he has Strep Throat. I just dont understand why he would be having NO other symptoms other than a little redness on his tonsils.. The bumps are just too weird to me. You cant feel it if you rub your hand on it and it just looks like hundreds of tiny red bumps under his skin not really like a rash and its not oozing or splotchy so I'm not sure.  

[AnnieBrooke]

Hon, if it is strep it should not be ignored.  My nephew was in the hospital for two weeks because a strep throat that the family did not realize was strep (it did not seem that serious) turned into a liver infection.  Strep can manifest in a different way each time.  Your son's doctor ran tests and probably did a culture (which takes a while to grow in the petri dish) and gave the diagnosis of strep --  I don't understand why you would decide to ignore a diagnosis of something so potentially serious.  If you REALLY don't trust the doctor, get a second opinion.  In the meantime, look up impetigo on Wikipedia or just google it.  Maybe it will be familiar looking once you see the photo.

[Me2mommy2b]

Word of advice:  don't ever agree to have so many shots at one time.  I know it's not related to the issue being discussed at the moment but I just wanted to add that in my opinion, it's not that great for their little bodies to handle so many shots at one time.  I hope your baby gets better soon and best of luck.