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Child With Headache, Sore Throat And Stuffed Nose. Rashes On The Face, Swollen Lymph Nodes. Poison Ivy Rash?
Hi. my son is 14 yrs old, about 5'11" and 160 lbs. he woke up yesterday morning with a headache and a bit of a sore throat and stuffy nose. this morning when he woke up, he has a poison ivy rash on his face beside his nose and has extremely enlarged lymph nodes (on sides of wind pipe), headache, stuffy nose, fatigue, and sore throat. this is the second time this year he has had a poison ivy rash. he claims his symptoms are not related to his current rash. my gut tells me to take him to the doctor immediately. do you think his symptoms are related to the poison ivy or just a coincidence?
posted on
Wed, 29 May 2013
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Wed, 29 May 2013
Answered on
Wed, 29 May 2013
Last reviewed on
Dear user,
I presume you are calling the rash a "poison ivy rash" only because it resembles one that you might have seen/experienced/heard of from allergy to poison ivy. In reality, this is unlikely to be due to poison ivy and more likely due to the main illness that he is having, which may be streptococcus, some virus or something else. Indeed, it would be advisable to consult a doctor on an urgent *but not emergent* basis. I think it is a virus, since there are symptoms of nose stuffiness, fatigue etc, in addition to the rash, the glands and the sore throat.
- Dr. Taher
I presume you are calling the rash a "poison ivy rash" only because it resembles one that you might have seen/experienced/heard of from allergy to poison ivy. In reality, this is unlikely to be due to poison ivy and more likely due to the main illness that he is having, which may be streptococcus, some virus or something else. Indeed, it would be advisable to consult a doctor on an urgent *but not emergent* basis. I think it is a virus, since there are symptoms of nose stuffiness, fatigue etc, in addition to the rash, the glands and the sore throat.
- Dr. Taher
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