2nd verse,

same as the first.

Dealing with cellulitis again with Tatum.  She had her swim lesson last night at the pool, we made it home, ate, bathed, and I didn't notice anything (but also didn't closely inspect her feet for bites, either).

I guess I need to add that to our daily routine, because when we got up this morning and I was helping her get dressed, I noticed that the area around her ankle was red, hot and VERY swollen.  I drew the outline, gave her Benadryl, and we headed on with our day.  Once I got in the office, I gave her doctors office a call and scheduled an appointment for her for mid-day and he confirmed my mommy-diagnosis - cellulitis.  Again.

Armed with a prescription for the same two antibiotics she was on barely a month ago, I dropped her off at school for her nap, dropped the prescription off at the pharmacy, and went home to have lunch.  While I was home, I stripped her bedding, all of her loveys, and the numerous stuffed animals that accompany her to sleep and threw them in the washing machine on hot. Just in case. I also took all of her crocs, minus the ones she was wearing, and soaked them in clorox-water in the sink. Just in case. Then I went to pick up the prescription, headed back to day care, woke her up to take her meds, then stayed with her until she went back to sleep.

So now I'm on a mission to see how in the world we can avoid this from happening again.  Antibiotic ointment on anything resembling a bite or sting is apparently a must for her. Daily. So is insect repellent with high concentrations of DEET.  Note to self: I need to look at what they're using at day care when they go outside. One of her teachers did tell me that they put the insect repellent on them twice for each period of time that the kids are outside.  Not twice a day, twice per outing. You would think that would be sufficient, but apparently not.  Unless we go to the pool for swimming after school during the week, we aren't outside. It's not that I don't like the outdoors, I just can't handle the heat right now. So she isn't getting the bites from being outside after school (which is good, since the mosquitoes that vector the west nile virus are out at dusk). On the weekends we might go and do things, but it's different every weekend and again, I can't really handle being outside too terribly much right now.

So, I'm trying to clean and disinfect everything I can, even though that's probably not the cause of her infections.

I'm open to suggestions if anyone has them!