Out damn spot

I apologise for my lack of posting which anyone who ever reads this may view as the concern of a Mother with a sick child on her hands. Sadly for the wonderful world of motherhood, this is not so.

The truth is that firstly, I took my jetlag in my hands and went away for a long-planned boozy weekend with friends and left my poor boy in the hands of my frog, who we have now established has had the pox and is therefore perfectly capable of nursing his poorly little tyke. Secondly, by the next morning, most of the spud's spots had gone and those that were left were tiny and non-pustular, making this the third chicken-pox scare he has escaped and now I'm bored with the whole chicken-pox thing. Pox schmox, that's what I say.

Every time this has happened, 'this' being my son feverish and covered in spots, we've rung the doctor's office, got ourselves an emergency appointment so we don't have to wait in the lobby ready to infect the whole planet, scurried in for a bit of shirt-lifting and every time we get the same diagnosis: one of the common, low-level viruses which sometimes bring kids out in spots. Last time the doctor went as far as to say that it could be an allergy.

I reckon we're now experts on how to diagnose the actual pox and this time we was so sure. It looked classic. He had a cluster of large red spots on his belly with little raised bumps in them; he had a raging fever, he was scratching... but no... the next morning he was bright and breezy and practically spot-free. Once again I felt so let down but this time I've decided I'm over it. No, really I am. I refuse to get excited about it again. Chicken pox doesn't want my son? Hell with the thing.

No other child I know has had so many damn spots and now I'm worried that there's something more serious lurking - not that I've gone as far as actually researching it or anything because that would require energy and energy is something that I just don't have these days - but we may have to go for allergy tests at some point as it is ridiculous.

Anyway, we're still on hold for chicken pox and by the time it finally arrives we are likely to completely dismiss it - but at least we'll have a cupboard full of remedies ready and waiting.