My four year old son was diagnosed with HSP two weeks ago. He started with high fevers, the doctor said that he had a throat and ear infection. Later in the day he started complaining about a sore foot and said that he was unable to walk. We noticed a big bruise on his foot and that his foot was very swollen. Took him back to our GP who said that he had a spider bite and said we must give him antihistamine. Later that night we landed up taking him to the ER where he was immediately diagnosed with HSP.
He was hospitalized for 2 days in which he was given low doses of steroids. The medical staff felt that this was not helping to reduce his swelling so took him off it. Throughout his hospital stay he had no appetite. He was discharged from hospital and we were told that we would need to keep checking his urine for protein. Also we would need to become an outpatient for four weeks and have weekly visits to the hospital where they would be able to check his urine and blood pressure.
A few hours after being discharged, he became totally listless and started vomiting. We took him back to the hospital and they re-admitted him putting him on a drip that was connected into his nose. His vomiting increased so eventually they put him on an IV drip. He continued to vomit considerably so they turned down the drip and kept giving him medication for the nausea. He vomitted for five days. His swelling and bruising spread to the other foot, his feet became full of spots/bruises. There are also spots all over his backside and his testicles are very swollen. It is heartbreaking to watch out precious son in so much discomfort and pain.
He had X-Rays to see if his pancreas and liver had been affected and if they were perhaps the reason why he was vomiting. All came back clear. Eventually after a week in hospital he was discharged and has come home. The specialist he is under has also picked up a heart murmur which he says has been the result of HSP. Our little boy is miserable, tired, has no appetite and is lethargic. He is constantly trying to scratch himself. He has become self conscious about the way his legs look. We have two other little kids, one being a new born baby. We are so exhausted and drained, feel like we are in hell. Such a long road ahead. Wonder if it could have been brought on as a result of his four year old immunizations that he had about a month ago. We can't see the light at the moment and don't know how much more of this we can take. How many more weeks until he starts to make a recovery? Nobody could ever understand what we are going through until they go through it!