Teething rash.

The rash's second appearance.

This past week, we went through a bit of a "teething battle" with 13-month-old Linna. She's getting her molars (I felt them with my finger, as they were breaking through the skin), and this has been the worst teething experience yet! What I thought was a combination of teething and a cold (runny nose, cranky, decreased appetite), actually turned out to be teething symptoms. However, earlier this week Linna broke out into a horrible rash, and of course, I panicked!

Because of the constant crying, runny nose, and rash, I immediately thought she caught some sort of horrible deadly virus in Singapore. There's nothing like being in a completely foreign country when your baby might be really sick, right?! I googled all of her symptoms and illnesses like Roseola and Measles popped up. The photos of these illness-related rashes looked pretty similar to what Linna had. So of course, I freaked out and got ready to take her to the doctor (some parents at AJ's office gave us some recommendations). Before we headed out the door, I took her temperature, but she didn't have one.

As we were leaving to go to the doctor, Linna's rash started to disappear. Plus, besides being cranky and tired, she wasn't acting weird. She was still playing, crawling around, etc. So I googled her symptoms again, and all of the illnesses that she COULD have, said they came with a high fever. Linna didn't have a fever. After an hour, her rash was completely gone. So I decided NOT to take her to the doctor, and just "wait it out". I also googled "teething rash" and all of her symptoms matched the teething symptoms... including the rash. I knew the rash wasn't some kind of allergic reaction, because she hadn't tried anything new in the last few days. I also knew it wasn't heat rash, because her rash would show up when we had been in the air conditioning OR the Singapore heat/humidity.

Linna's rash the first time around.

I finally felt satisfied with our decision NOT to take her to the doctor, and then, one day later, her rash came back. This time is was worse. It was on her thighs, legs, butt, and arm. It looked horrible. But again, we decided to "wait it out". Linna was playing, didn't have a fever, and was acting pretty normal. Within an hour, the rash was gone. It's been a couple days, and the rash has not returned.

For a first-time mom, rashes can be very scary, and for many of us our first reaction is to take them to the doctor. However, after reading through my parenting books and searching online, almost everything says NOT to take your child to the doctor, unless they have a fever over 102-degrees, they aren't eating or drinking at all, etc. Linna had been acting "normal", except for the her symptoms that perfectly matched teething symptoms.

If I would have "assumed the worst", I would have wasted both my time and the doctor's time, bringing in a baby who was simply dealing with teething symptoms. Yes, her rash was scary, but I'm really glad that I decided to wait it out. I didn't have to take Linna to a hospital (that's what they do here for "urgent care"), where she'd be surrounded by sick people, and catch an actual illness. I'm not a doctor, but I am a mom, and I think I have a pretty good instinct when something is actually wrong.

It's a hard decision for first-time moms to make: Do I take the baby to the doctor, or do I wait? I'm learning every day that childrens' bodies do weird things, especially when they're teething. EVERY symptom, fever, etc., does not require a doctor's attention. Deciding whether I should take Linna to the doctor or not, was not an easy choice to make. However, I'm glad I didn't "over-react" this time, as I've done plenty of times in the past. Today, Linna is back to her happy little self, and the rash has not returned:)

Would you have made the same choice if you were in my position???