Wednesday, 2 February 2011

What's the differential diagnosis?

Subject 1 (6 years old), symptoms:
Day 1: red and white spotted rash on torso.
Day 2: rash on torso spreads to face. Clears up on Day 3.
Day 5: diarrhea. Subject stays home from school.
Day 8: cough and general malaise. Subject stays home from school. Experiences night-time vomiting.
Days 9 through 13: cough

Subject 2 (4 years old), symptoms:
Day 9: sudden onset of nighttime vomiting
wheezing whistling laboured breathing
barking cough
ER diagnosis of Croup.
Responds to nebulizer and steroids.
Days 10 through 12: cough but breathing returns to normal.
Day 13: vomiting but hearty appetite.

Subject 3 (2.5 years old), symptoms:
Day 11: diarrhea and cough
Day 12: diarrhea and cough; low-grade fever. Responds to children's tylenol.
Day 13: diarrhea, cough, bright red cheeks, listlessness, fever, leaking from nose
and eyes. Extreme grumpiness.

Subjects 4 and 5 (age unknown) symptoms:
Tired and underslept but otherwise unscathed.

Welcome to our home... enter at your own risk!

2 comments:

__ Eric Martin said...

Oh my god, what a couple of weeks. I'm so sorry. Glad they're all starting to feel better.

Laura said...

I wish, today Kirstin was struck done with the worst of it. When I got home from work she was lying on the couch, face bright red, burning with fever, eyes droopy, nose running, eyes watering. She was a sight. Gave her tylenol right away. Don't want a recurrence of what happened in October. :P