Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease

[LisaNJ25]

Have anyone delt with their kids having Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease? Monday my teenage was diagnosed with strep... come thursday my 3yo had a sore throat and a nasty canker sore on his tongue. Fever and painful swallowing. Took him to the drs friday who diagnose it as strep but didn't test him but gave him amoxicilan. Yesterday morning my 4yo wore up with a fever and sore throat.. she sleep all day.. by last night by 9yo has a fever and sore throat.

So this morning.. my 3 and 4yo have a bunch or sores in their mouths, hurts to swallow and the palms of their hand are covered with the red dots.

They had this exactly a year ago also.. I could of sworn than the Doctor said once they get it they were immune to it? I am giving them tylenol for the pain.. and still deciding if I should call the Dr tomorrow. It looks like it has to run its course.

I am going to spend the day today cleaning and washing everything down with a bleach/water solution.

I just feels so bad for them because the are so uncomfortable.

 

[MamaCoog]

My son had Herpangina, which is like H,F,M but just affects the hands and throat. He had sores in the back of his throat and on his fingers. He got it twice because he sucks his middle fingers and the fingers took alot longer to heal. His ped said that he would build an immunity to it but he may get it a few times before that happens. He ran high fevers and had trouble eating. We just alternated baby tylenol and motrin and fed him lots of soft food like yogurt, pudding, ice pops, and soup (the ped said sweet soft food would be easier on his throat since it wouldnt burn). Good luck with your little ones!! Thankfully once we got rid of it the second time, he hasnt had it again and that was a little over a year ago.

 

[mjkacmom]

I know my son had it more than once - nothing you can do but let it run it's course. Now that I think of it, my twins haven't had it get!

 

[PaDisney02]

My son had it last year...and gave it to his brother and cousin, so watch it is contagious in kids. I took him to the doctor and they gave me a gel called Lidocain (sp?) I had to put the gel on his sores with a qtip. They said the gel was just for pain and that it would run it course. It lasted for a couple days but the first day was the worst! If I remeber correctly, he had a fever the day b4 the sores appeared. Good Luck!

 

[tammy1210]

I remember saying the same thing when my son got it for the second time - I think it's like chicken pox - most people don't get it a second time, but there's always that chance! Good luck - I hope it's over soon for all of you!

 

[Binnie]

DD3.5 has had it at least once, but I think she might have had it twice. It sucks. It wasn't as bad as when she had stomatitis. That's just sores on the tongue (we thought it was HFM to start with).

Lots of popcicles and pudding and applesauce until it runs its course. Sorry your little ones are sick!

 

[ilovedisney1]

I had that last year the day before I left. I only had it on my hands and feet. It sure affected walking at Disney. Also I didn't have a fever.

 

[seashoreCM]

I'm suspicious about the goodness of soda pop and ice treats (and ice cream). These burn/freeze the throat and can lengthen the illness.

 

[audeodream]

My DS had hand-foot-mouth-disease when he was one. It was miserable, he wasn't able to talk well at that age and all he could was moan, it was horrible. The sores were in his mouth and I have sat here racking my brain trying to remember the trick a nurse told us to use (I remember it was pink, maybe benadryl (?) that she told me to swab on the sores in his mouth and it helped to ease him quite a bit). He was miserable, the fever seemed to be constant. In my opinion it is worse than chicken pox. I never want to go through that again. I hope that your son starts feeling better soon.

 

[RMulieri]

My 5 yr old had it 2 months ago...nothing to do but let it run its course

 

[Ellwood]

My daughter had that when she was three, and was miserable from all the sores in her mouth.

There was a combination of 2 medicines that we used to swab the sores, and that helped a lot. I think it was an antacid and some benydryl, or something like that.

Ask your doctor, or do an internet search. I bet you will find the remedy!

 

[VAYankee]

my son had this when he was about 18 months. The ped said it was from drinking the water in the kiddy pool - it didn't have a filter system like the big pools! We gave him baby tylenol for the fever and pain and if I remember (this was 14 years ago!) I would dip a q tip in pepto bismol and I think it was mixed with something else like kaopectate and just swab the sores in his mouth. I would check with your pediatrician before trying this. I think the mixture numbs the mouth for some pain relief.

 

[disneymamaof2]

Both my kids had it and the pediatrician had me mix 1 tsp maalox and 1 tsp benedryl and use a cotton swab and dab it on the sores. My friends kids had it too and was told to do the same thing.
Hope they feel better soon.

 

[jennifer293]

both of my dd's got it after our 2nd trip to Disney in 2006...Dr. said more thna likely it was from being in the pools or the waterparks there...

 

[Manda]

There are different strains of the virus that causes HFMD, so it is possible to get it more than once.

 

[Mom2SamandJames]

My sons' school had a bad outbreak of HFMD because two moms didn't want to stay at home with their kids and sent them to school sick. Fortunately my boys didn't get it as I had them at home with me doing something special the day the sick children were at school. Our pediatrician said that once the child has the symptoms of HFMD, they are contagious for 3-5 days, even if the fever breaks before then.

I am sorry your children are sick with HFMD. It is horrible. Maybe you can put on a Disney movie for your kids to watch and forget about it for a little bit.

Sending you get well vibes!!!!

Dawn

 

[DISNEYFOS]

My sons' school had a bad outbreak of HFMD because two moms didn't want to stay at home with their kids and sent them to school sick. Fortunately my boys didn't get it as I had them at home with me doing something special the day the sick children were at school. Our pediatrician said that once the child has the symptoms of HFMD, they are contagious for 3-5 days, even if the fever breaks before then.

I am sorry your children are sick with HFMD. It is horrible. Maybe you can put on a Disney movie for your kids to watch and forget about it for a little bit.

Sending you get well vibes!!!!

Dawn

My kids currently have this. I believe my youngest actually contracted it at the doctors office last week while she was there for strep. The doctor said the symptoms last for 3-5 days but they actually carry the virus in their intestines for months after. Frequent handwashing is really the only defense for this one.

 

[Mlissa88]

My infant son caught Hand,Foot, Mouth at daycare because at that age, they are constantly drooling on everything...toys, eachother etc.

I was mortified because I had not heard of it before. Apparently it's pretty common in daycare and school settings.

It showed up as blisters all over his hands, some on his legs and a few in his mouth and face. It lasted for at least a week. It's extremely contagious and by the time they have it, others were already exposed to it for sometime already....

Nothing cures it...just time and it goes away. My dr told me there are at least 30 strains of it out there....some are worse than others but that it's pretty common once warm weather hits and especially when the pools open for teens and younger children.

 

[lillykat]

My DD#1 had coxsackies at 17 months - it was NOT fun. The poor thing had sores in her mouth and she couldn't eat or drink for several days - it was very difficult. I don't remember hearing that it was a once in a lifetime type illness - in fact he mentioned that many kids get it repeatedly over the summer from pools. I'm sure there are many strains so maybe they can't get the same strain but there are many others. He did mention that not all strains come with sores in the mouth, or sores on the hands etc.

I hope they all feel better soon!