Eczema

So, Jacob has had these little dry spots on his skin for a few weeks now. I've been monitoring them, but not really worried about them. Well, last night after his bath I was checking out all the spots...and there was a round one on his thigh that looked like ringworm!! Eeeeks!! We are supposed to be leaving for Florida on Thursday, and there was no way we could go see Mike's sister with 2 6 week old babies if Jacob had a ringworm.

And so began all the research. Online for an hour, looking at pictures. Remembering that our oldest cat had a strange lesion about a month and a half ago that I attributed to him wrestling with the other kitty in the house...Now I was panicked. The cool collected side of me was still in charge, but inside I was a mess! I pondered the probability of a strictly indoor cat that was 7 years old randomly picking up ringworm somehow. Although the chances were slim, it was possible.

This morning I called the doctor's office. The nurse who answered asked a few questions, told me it sounded like eczema, and advised that I lotion him up well at every diaper change. I then told her I was supposed to be going to Florida. She said, okay, well, see if it improves with lotion, and call us back tomorrow. I then told her I had a cat who had a strange lesion last month. She started laughing, and said if I wanted to come in today, there was an appointment in half an hour.

As soon as we got into the room, I took off Jacobs pj's and looked at the spot. I looked at Mike. It's totally NOT ringworm, I said to him. It looked better than the night before, and the edges were irregular, and more ovalish than circular.

The doctor walked in. I looked at her and said- it's not ringworm. She laughed and said that whenever she looks in the appointment book and sees suspected ringworm, the whole office giggles. It was pretty amusing. She looked at Jacob's skin and said it was more than likely eczema. Winter time and wood stove heat can really dry a kid's skin out.

So, off to the store to buy Dove Sensitive soap (6 bucks a bottle!!) and some oatmeal lotion. The whole ordeal reminded me of when I was a vet tech and people would call about having a tick stuck under the dog's skin. It almost never ever happened, and as nurses, we knew it was highly unlikely, but we had to amuse the owner and let them come in for expert advice anyway.

Well, at least we are back to Florida!! I'm sure this won't be the last time I make what seems to be a silly trip to the doctor.....