Not impetigo!???!!!!!???

Imagine my shock and surprise when the doctor took one look at my son's icky chin and said, "Why, that's not impetigo, that's a cold sore!"

It's always been cold sores, apparently. There are things that can trigger the problem, and he thinks that the sunburn that my son got on Saturday (you know, when he refused to wear sunscreen for SIX HOURS), triggered this one.

So, we got a prescription for an oral anti-viral, and a recommendation on a tube of medicine to keep on hand to apply at the first sign of a flareup.

I am still just reeling at the thought of how this was misdiagnosed when he was a toddler, and how the fact that they always told me to not bother to bring him in for treatment, just apply the antibiotic ointment (which BTW does nothing for this except protect the cold sore from getting a secondary, baterial infection). Because I did not insist on having him seen again for it until now (because it is so severe), he's suffered more than he had to.

I could just kick the original physician's assistant (which is all my hometown had when we lived there). Not to mention the times my mother took him in to the new clinic when he had a flareup while staying with her, and no one ever questioned the original diagnosis.

So, we are definitely NOT going to the zoo this weekend. We are going to sterilize the house anyway, because it needs it, and focus on getting his medication taken. Maybe later I can laugh at this, but right now I am angry.