Ever Hear of Fifth Disease? I hadn't either

Apparently Fifth Disease is considered a common childhood illness. It's cousins are measles, chicken pox and the mumps. It's a.k.a is Slapped Cheek Syndrome. From what I have been told, it's very, very common. I had never in my life heard of it. I must be living under a rock.

In early March Princess woke up with bright red Raggedy Ann cheeks. We kept on asking if she felt okay. She kept giving us the thumbs up that she was doing great. A few days into the bright red checks, a lace-like rash started all over her body. Against the wishes of my pediatrician, I went to the resource every mom finds reliable.. the Internet. My 'Mom' diagnosis came up with Fifth Disease. Off to the doctor I took Princess to confirm my ,which was correct. The doctor said that in a few days, Princess' cheeks and rash would clear up. As he was walking out the door, he looked over his shoulder and said that if adults get Fifths they can have chronic joint pain for up to a month. Oh okay,I respond, not thinking about it much.

Flash forward to the middle of May.... Dear Husband and I both got Fifths in the middle of March and I don't wish it on my worst enemy. It was the sickest I have ever been. Apparently it affects adults much worse and differently than kids. And... apparently the joint pain is worse for women. Let me just go on record and state that I can sympathize with every older person that suffers from arthritis. I never understood the pain, I do now. I am now 2 months into the 'joint pain' and it is awful. Though I am told it will eventually go away, I still struggle every day with the pain in my knees and hands.

The moral to this story is... if you too are living under a rock and have never heard of Fifth Disease... stay away from anyone with bright red checks.