Yo yo yo - I think we've got staph!

I don't like to be one of those know-it-all moms who diagnoses her kids' ailments on the internet. Yet, I am, and I did; and I have a strong hunch I'm right on with this one. Poor little Thing 1 has a staph infection . . . on his face of all places. It started last Friday when he and Thing 2 were warming up for their big break with the WWF (wrestling federation, not wildlife you tree huggers out there!). David kicked Pete in the face and he got a slight little bump above his lip. By the next morning it was red and started to look more like a little cut, almost a blister. Within another 24 hours, 2-3 other little blister areas were popping up right next to it. They were starting to look pretty gross, and were oozing a bit of honey-coloured goo (that is my non-medical terminology, lol). Finally he had a couple more, one near his eye and then, today, one on his chin. A dad from Pete's preschool mentioned he had something that looked similar - and that it was a staph infection and was fairly common.

I raced home and googled "staph infection" and learned that staph is the shortened name for Staphylococcus, a type of bacteria. These bacteria can live harmlessly on many skin surfaces, especially around the face. But when the skin is punctured or broken for any reason, staph bacteria can enter the wound and cause an infection. BINGO! When I scrolled down through the staph infection info, I read about impetigo. It described Pete's symptom's to a T ("an impetigo skin infection begins as a small blister or pimple, and then develops a honey-colored crust. . . impetigo doesn't usually cause pain or fever, although the blisters may itch and can be spread to other parts of the body by scratching") - YES, that's what he has!!! Apparently it often clears up on its own, but since Pete's is not clearing up so well and is in such a difficult area of his face to keep clean and have him not touch, we're popping into to see the doc tomorrow. He now looks pretty gross and I feel bad about other people/kids looking at him funny.

You know, Thing 2 had the exact same thing on his tummy two weeks ago. We thought he had a rash or something weird from his diaper, but it looked exactly like this and took a week or so to disappear. Pete must have contracted it from him.

The impetigo-faced child had his first night of organized soccer this evening! It was so freaking cute to see him running around the field in a real little uniform (yes, we are pathetic "sporty/competitive" parents who stuck their poor four year old in a real soccer club), shin guards and cleats to boot. I can't believe I forgot my camera. You'd think if I could gather and haul enough crap for three kids to a soccer field less than five minutes from my home, that I could remember a camera. There were several of Thing 1's teammates having complete meltdowns and tantrums out on the field, while their worn and ragged parents were trying to coerce them back out with the rest of the players. As Pete ran around the field chasing the ball with the other kids, not needing instruction or urging at all from his parental units, it reminded me (proudly) of just how far that little boy has come in the past year. I mean, as of last September the child had never been away from me and I had concerns he would never go to preschool . . . and here he is playing soccer and graduating preschool next week.

*sniff sniff*