Mother thought that her son had chickenpox, but the situation was much more serious

A mother initially thought her son had chickenpox, but the situation turned out to be much more serious. The baby boy is covered with angry red lumps due to a rare medical condition, and they even appear on his tongue and eyeballs. Oscar Langham has a rash that looks like chickenpox all over his tiny body, which is only getting worse the older he gets. It is so severe that strangers are scared to touch him because they think he might be contagious. He was diagnosed with Langerhans cell histiocytosis—a cancer-like disease of the immune system—six months ago.

This is a condition where the body accumulates too many immature Langerhans cells, a type of white blood cell that normally helps fight infection, which can cause tumors and organ damage. Despite being treated with chemotherapy and steroids, Oscar’s spots have remained, baffling doctors who don’t know how the disease will progress.

His parents, 20-year-old Daniel Langham and 26-year-old Steph Webster, are desperate to know what’s causing their son’s disease. Miss Webster, from Leek, Staffordshire, said:

“When Oscar was born, he had a few spots all over his body. At first, we didn’t realize there was anything wrong. We thought it was just something normal like a neonatal rash, but a midwife soon realized there might be a problem.”

Since then, the spots have gotten progressively worse. While the disorder is not contagious, the angry-looking spots caused by the condition leave strangers shying away from Oscar. Miss Webster continued:

“People always ask if he’s got chickenpox, and they often stare at him and point him out in the street. People don’t want to come near him because they think they might catch it. At Christmas at the Trafford Centre in Manchester, they tried to stop him seeing Santa because they thought he was contagious. Once I explained it wasn’t chickenpox and it’s not something you can catch, he was allowed in. It does sometimes upset me, but if you let every little thing upset you, you’d never leave the house, so we just get on with it.”

The condition means Oscar also faces a host of other problems, including an enlarged liver and spleen and a weakened immune system, as his blood cells and bone marrow don’t reproduce properly. The spots on Oscar’s eyes could hamper his vision if they get any bigger. Most worrying of all, the disease is linked with cancer, although its exact cause is unknown. Doctors do not know what causes it, although it does have a 90% survival rate according to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. Miss Webster says the lack of information about the condition leaves Oscar and his family in limbo:

“We don’t know what’s causing it. We’ve just been told to hope for the best.”

Since he was born in May 2015, Oscar has undergone countless blood tests, weekly blood and platelet transfusions, six bone marrow tests, and two skin biopsies. At just 11 weeks old, he started weekly chemotherapy sessions before being diagnosed with Langerhans cell histiocytosis at around 15 weeks. In the UK, only about 50 children a year are diagnosed with the condition, and Oscar’s spots make him an unusual case. Miss Webster said:

“For a baby to be born with spots is almost unheard of. When Oscar was born, doctors at the Royal Stoke told me they’d never heard of that happening before. We’re just at a loss and need some answers about what’s happening and what the future holds.”

Miss Webster’s pregnancy had gone smoothly; however, her mother and cousin passed away in the early stages, leaving her heavily stressed. Then, Oscar was born 16 days late by emergency C-section after doctors induced her into labor. At birth, his parents and doctors thought nothing of the spots, believing he would grow out of them, but they continued to get worse as he grew. Now the family is waiting for a referral to see a histiocytosis specialist. Miss Webster said:

“Everyone’s just crossing their fingers and hoping Oscar gets better on his own. So little is known about it that no one knows how to help him. It’s a worry because we just don’t know what the future holds.”

She continued:

“He’s got spots all over his body, even on his tongue and eyeballs, which makes me worry about what’s going on inside.”

However, she says despite his condition, Oscar is a happy child, and she and Mr. Langham don’t care about his appearance as long as he’s healthy. She said:

“As long as he’s happy and healthy, we don’t care about how he looks on the outside. We just want to find some answers.”

Dr. Sarah Thompson, a consultant pediatrician at Royal Stoke University Hospital who has been involved in Oscar’s treatment, said:

“Little Oscar has a rare version of an already very rare condition. In essence, Oscar’s immune system is over-responding to a skin condition. Oscar has been treated with a combination of chemotherapy and steroids, but unfortunately, his condition has remained. We’re awaiting a specialist opinion from the national expert.”

Oscar continues to be monitored at the Royal Stoke University Hospital. Unfortunately, his parents have a hard time convincing others that Oscar is not carrying a contagious virus, so he doesn’t have many friends. The only way to improve this is to raise awareness, getting the word out so this disease is better known and people can be more tolerant of it.