I’m finally back, after a long silence. It’s been a long recovery this time. Yes, I’m sick again (poor me) for the 3rd time during this pregnancy. Have been battling with a fever and a bad throat, which eventually turned into an iritating cough and a stuffy nose. But this time, I hardly took any medicine (except for the first day to get the fever down), which was also another reason why it took so long to recover.
Maybe part of the reason was also because my daughter was sick too. I suspected that she passed the virus to me and hubby, and after she had recovered, we passsed it back to her. So, that’s why we’re sick one after another, like a merry-go-round, just that it’s not a tarry merry at all. But what troubled me the most was that my daughter suddenly got red spots all over her body, after her high fever (38.9′C) went off. The first thought that came to my mind was – is she having measles? But she’s had her MMR vacination a long time ago. If she’s really having measles, this would be really risky to the baby that I’m carrying now.
We took her to her paediatrician right away. He didn’t think that she’s having measles, but rather suspected Roseola instead. Roseola differs from measles in the sense that the fever goes down when the rashes occur, while for measles, the fever will increase. So, we were just given some allergy medication (Zirtex) and I’ve never given much thought to that. Even the paediatrician didn’t warn me to keep away from her, so I think it should be alright. He however, warned us that the rashes will become more and more in a few days time, which is another symptom of Roseola.
The following day, we noticed that instead of having red spots on her exposed area (face, necks, hands), they have spread to her whole body and legs. MIL suspected that it’s really measles. And my Mom was hysterical when she knew about it. She advised me to avoid contact with Sze Yi immediately. Well, for the past few days, I’ve been in close contact with her, except that I avoided sharing food and sleeping with her. Hubby took over and tucked her to bed (and she eventually showed preference for him over me now 
).
Slowly everyone started to get worried and MIL took her back to stay with her so that she’ll not be in contact with me. And that’s when I started to google up these topics to find out how much a risk have I been exposed to. According to the sources, if it’s measles, then my baby might be affected if I got affected. If it’s Roseola, and if this is my first exposure to the virus, it might cause my baby’s immune system to be affected too, but if this is the 2nd or 3rd time, then I should be alright. Well, I knew I would be ok if it’s Roseola because Sze Yi had got this when she was 5 months old and hospitalized due to this (and I was with her in the hospital all the time), so at least this is not my first exposure to it. But what if it’s really measles? I was given the impression by my mom that even if I’m not affected this time, my baby might. Terrified, I called my gynae for consultation. She just asked me one question, “Have I got measles when I was small?”. I told her yes. Then she said I should be ok, it won’t affect the baby. And she went on to add that if it’s Roseola, I should be ok too, as the virus shouldn’t affect adults or pregnant ladies.
I was so relieved, but when I called back to check on Sze Yi’s conditions, MIL told me that even though her fever has gone down, the rashes marks were still there. The marks made her more certain that it’s German Measles. I still felt that it should be Roseola, so I called up my paediatrician to ask him. He also thought that it’s very unlikely to be measles, since her fever had gone down, and he suspected some virus instead. But when I asked him if this would affect me if I’m expecting, his reply was more on the conservative side – try to avoid contact if possible.
So, that’s why I have time to blog now. But I missed her terribly, and wished that I could be with her during this time. Anyway, hubby had gone to see and play with her, and he told me she’s alright. I called her and tried to talk to her on the phone several times, but she always ran away and prefer to play instead! That’s my girl 
