What Disease?

I have sickly kids. They also seem to be more sick than other kids. For instance, one little girl at daycare will get a cold, my little girl will get strep throat. When strep throat is going around the daycare, my child gets Scarlet Fever. They also get bizarre illnesses, too. Last spring, Bethie got Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. The doctor explained this was a variation of Hoof and Mouth Disease that is present in cattle. I got confused (I just had my C-section and was still drunk with exhaustion) and thought she was saying that my child had Mad Cow Disease. When I asked if Bethie was going to die, it was all the doctor could do to contain her laughter (I was already crying at that point!).

So, I guess it should be no surprise that the twins have just been diagnosed with Fifth Disease. As far as illnesses go, this is a pretty good one to have. The girls don't even realise they are "sick".

It's called Fifth Disease because there are "five classic rash-associated infections of childhood". They are as follows:

1. Measles
2. Scarlet Fever
3. Rubella (German Measles)
4. Fourth Disease
5. Fifth Disease

Really? Who came up with these names? They only needed five names, but bailed on the last two. It cracks me up!