The parents of a young Scottish schoolboy have shared how they "nearly lost him" after his sore leg and temperature was actually strep A.
Rushed to hospital with a suspected blood clot, five-year-old Jordan James Sood's symptoms had seen him "screaming in pain" when his parents tried to move him.
First appearing to have a temperature on December 4, Jordan James, known as JJ, was thought to be suffering side effects of a tooth extraction he had undergone earlier that day.
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Appearing to improve after taking some Calpol, 48 hours later JJ began complaining of a sore left leg that was difficult to move. When things took a turn for the worst, JJ's parents rushed him to A&E, a decision which saved his life.
Mum Danielle Sood, 34, told the Record: "All went well with JJ's tooth extraction but the next day his temperature shot right up to 39C. We were worried about him so we gave him Calpol.
"That brought his temperature down, but now I think it just covered any symptoms of strep A until a couple of days later when he told us his leg was hurting him and he couldn't move it.
"We continued to give him Calpol and also Ibuprofen, but then we moved him to give him some soup for his lunch and he started screaming in pain.
We then knew something was seriously wrong so we carried him to the car and went straight to A&E."
Danielle and dad Pankaj, 34, were worried that JJ's leg pain was a symptom of a blood clot but they couldn't imagine what was to come next when an examination by a doctor revealed an infection in the bone of their young son's knee.
JJ had his bloods taken and was admitted to a ward at 10pm that evening. The following day, results confirmed he had invasive Step A.
Painful and tender joints, most often in the knees, ankles, elbows and wrists are often a sign of rheumatic fever developing as a side effect of Strep A. Symptoms usually appear 1 to 5 weeks after infection.
Danielle continued: "It's all a little blurry now, but at some point in the night we were told that the infection had gone into his blood so they started him on medication. We just couldn't believe it when they confirmed it was strep A."
JJ was started on an IV antibiotic straight away to help his body battle the infection. His parents have been told he will have to remain in hospital for at least a week so doctors can we certain the antibiotics are working well before they will re-test his blood.
Danielle added: "I can't believe how close we were to losing him. If he hadn't developed the pain in his leg and we hadn't acted on it, he would have died. That doesn't bear thinking about."
Joanne Edwards, Acute Director at NHS Ayrshire & Arran, said: "There has been an increase in the number of scarlet fever cases across Scotland in recent weeks and so we are asking parents and carers to be vigilant of the symptoms and to help stop the spread.
"Children with suspected scarlet fever should be reviewed by a health professional. If you think you, or your child, have scarlet fever:
- Contact your GP Practice or contact NHS 111 as soon as possible out of hours for a proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
- Make sure that you or your child take the full course of any antibiotics prescribed by the doctor.
- ∙Stay at home, away from nursery, school, or work for at least 24 hours after starting the antibiotic treatment, to avoid spreading the infection."
A fundraiser has been set up to help the family with living costs while JJ is in hospital. You can donate here.
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