OT: chicken pox or HFM disease?

[Mrs. Bradbury]

What a week we've had at my house!!!

My youngest son, who will be 17 in a few weeks, came down with either chicken pox or hand foot and mouth disease. Apparently HFM disease is going around our HIGH SCHOOL??? I thought that was pretty strictly a toddler disease!

In the night last Saturday night, he woke up with a headache, and as he is prone to headaches occasionally he took something and went back to sleep. I was away from our house most of the day Sunday, and when I came home my husband told me that DS had been asleep most of the day, which is unusual. I went in to his room to check on him and he clearly had a fever. Treated that, and decided to stay home with him on Monday to see what was going on. Monday morning he woke up and walked into the kitchen and said, "Look at my face!" which was covered in spots. And he now said he had a terrible sore throat.

So off he goes to our doctor, who tests him for strep (in case the rash is scarlet fever - negative), and says it's either chicken pox or hand foot and mouth disease. He prescribes an antiviral in case it's chicken pox and sends him on his way.

My son had the chicken pox vaccine before he started kindergarten. NEWSFLASH: apparently it does not give you lifetime protection, which was news to me. My two older kids had chicken pox so I know what it looks like. None of my kids have had HFM disease so I have no experience with what that looks like.

I was out with DS all last week. His fever and sore throat were over after a few days. He is COVERED all over his body with chicken pox-looking sores that are extremely itchy. He does NOT have any sores in his mouth, which I thought was critical to a diagnosis of HFM disease. He does have sores on his palms and bottoms of his feet.

He was pitiful, but is getting better, thank goodness.

My question for you experienced parents and/or medical professionals - is there a way to tell the difference in the two? It occurred to me, with our doctor being younger than me, and with the advent of the chicken pox vaccine, that he may not have seen too many cases of chicken pox in person.

Thanks for your help!

 

[danygirl]

Hfm on my kids was mainly on hands feet and mouth - not the whole body. Chicken pox was on every surface and in EVERY orifice. Big difference

Hfm they usually got in the summer in the baby pool

 

[ellone]

Chicken pox would start on the belly region then show up elsewhere. If it's everywhere, it's probably pox.

Get him to eat coconut oil & fresh garlic - both are antiviral. In fact coconut oil helps break down virus walls.

 

[Lynne G]

Sounds like just pox to me. Itchy, yes. I agree, only time I saw HFM is just that, in the mouth, and on the hands and feet. Not itchy spots all over.

Poor guy. Let him soak in a bath with an oatmeal type of soap/bubble bath.

Lucky, once he's got it, won't get it again. Unlucky, the virus stays in your body forever, and can cause shingles later in life.

I hope he feels better soon.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Chicken pox would start on the belly region then show up elsewhere. If it's everywhere, it's probably pox.

........

Untrue. The rash usually starts on the chest and face.

OP, I had chicken pox twice, at age 2 and 15, so it can happen (this was long before the vaccine was available). The rash sounds like chicken pox.

 

[stsomewhere]

You don't happen to live in my city?

Hand foot and mouth are going around our midlles and high school.
Chickenpox in another city over.
\
My daughter has missed 12 days of school ( not including weekends) due to the D68 virus. She was hoping to go to school today.

 

[ctc917]

could he have a case of Hives? my older son gets them and I do believe he did get that at least once after being sick...They are itchy and go on for days and days. Our dr just has him take benydrl. Just a thought..



ctc917

 

[Psychodisney]

My DD's high school also has a HFM outbreak over the past couple of weeks. Also a related virus which causes herpangina which I guess is sores in the back of the throat versus the front of the throat. Strange that HS kids are getting these viruses!

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

Thank you everyone. I am going with chicken pox. I hadn't really thought much about which one it was until this morning when my son said, "Mom, (a friend of his) just texted me that hand foot and mouth disease is all over the school. I don't want to get over chicken pox and go back to school and then get that!"

I sent a picture of his face to my daughter, who is in her last semester of nursing school, and her reply was "Oh my God, ew. That is so gross!" Nice professional opinion, Gracie.

I called our doctor, who still seemed unconcerned about making a diagnosis, and he said they could do bloodwork if we wanted to.

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

You don't happen to live in my city?

Hand foot and mouth are going around our midlles and high school.
Chickenpox in another city over.
\
My daughter has missed 12 days of school ( not including weekends) due to the D68 virus. She was hoping to go to school today.

We live in Georgia, so nope.

That's terrible about your daughter! I hope she recovers soon!

 

[PatMcDuck]

I work for a pediatrician (I am not a nurse) and we give a booster shot for the chicken pox shot. This practice started several years ago. I wish I could remember what age they give that booster, I am blanking out on it.

There will be issues like this cropping up as people continue to opt out of vaccinations. I am not saying good or bad, just it is what it is.

 

[Twende]

Thank you everyone. I am going with chicken pox. I hadn't really thought much about which one it was until this morning when my son said, "Mom, (a friend of his) just texted me that hand foot and mouth disease is all over the school. I don't want to get over chicken pox and go back to school and then get that!"

I sent a picture of his face to my daughter, who is in her last semester of nursing school, and her reply was "Oh my God, ew. That is so gross!" Nice professional opinion, Gracie.

I called our doctor, who still seemed unconcerned about making a diagnosis, and he said they could do bloodwork if we wanted to.

It does sound like Chicken Pox. I had Hand and Foot one time and it was painful spots on my palms and the bottoms of my feet. It was unpleasant.

In the long run you are fortunate. Being exposed to someone with chicken pox will build your immunity to Shingles thus making it much less likely that you will get Shingles later in life. I wish I could spend some time with your child to build up my immunity. This Chicken Pox vaccine is not doing adults any favors. The Shingles rate is higher than it has ever been.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

.......
In the long run you are fortunate. Being exposed to someone with chicken pox will build your immunity to Shingles thus making it much less likely that you will get Shingles later in life. I wish I could spend some time with your child to build up my immunity. This Chicken Pox vaccine is not doing adults any favors. The Shingles rate is higher than it has ever been.

It is very uncommon for someone who has never had chicken pox, but who has been vaccinated, to develop shingles.

I would never knowingly expose myself to someone with chickenpox to try and build my immunity to shingles (not sure this works anyway). Seems easier to get a shingles vaccination.

 

[lilandvisma]

My Son was about 2 when he got HFM (Still don't know how he got it to begin with). It was all over his little body, back and arms and legs...thought it was the pox but it was indeed HFM. He also ran fevers, was achy, etc... It was AWFUL looking, took about 3-4 days to fully go away

 

[holycow]

I've been reading about the healing properties of bentonite clay.

Takes the itch out. Wished I would have known about it when I had them.

Hope he feels better soon.

 

[lelalittlelegs]

Regardless of whether it's hand foot and mouth or chicken pox, coconut oil is what you need (you can take it in addition to anything a doctor would prescribe). A good raw organic one preferably. I am across the pond in England and am one of those annoying crunchy mums who doesn't vaccinate and eats her flip flops (I kid) but coconut oil is antiviral, anti fungal (amazing for thrush) and antibacterial. You can eat it by the spoonful, cook with it in replacement of your regular oil, drizzle it over ice cream and smother your body in it. It has the most amazing itch relief properties. An oat bag in the bath helps too. I hope he feels better soon.

Edit: I'm not a doctor or an advocate for or against vaccines. Just a Mum who knows about itchy skin.

 

[aprilchem]

It does sound like Chicken Pox. I had Hand and Foot one time and it was painful spots on my palms and the bottoms of my feet. It was unpleasant.

In the long run you are fortunate. Being exposed to someone with chicken pox will build your immunity to Shingles thus making it much less likely that you will get Shingles later in life. I wish I could spend some time with your child to build up my immunity. This Chicken Pox vaccine is not doing adults any favors. The Shingles rate is higher than it has ever been.

No, it's the opposite. If you had chicken pox you CAN get shingles. If you have never had chicken pox you cannot get shingles. And you can't catch shingles from another person.

 

[dhardawa]

My 14 year old had hand foot and mouth disease last winter. She never felt bad or had a fever. I took her to the pediatrician, but she couldn't diagnose it because there was nothing in her mouth. So, she just called it a viral rash. Two days later, it was way worse, so I took her to the dermatologist and he had no issues with the diagnosis. He also said we're seeing lots of atypical cases now where it's more like hand, foot, and/or mouth disease. For her, the sores were extremely painful and they were large blisters most about 1/4" in diameter. The pain lasted about 7-10 days, but it was about 8 weeks for full healing. The dermatologist did give her a prescription barrier cream that helped with the pain.

 

[dsneygirl]

My 2 year old just got over HFM, he said the spots "hurt" rather than itched. He also had fever, irritability etc. No sores in his mouth but all around it on his chin, his hands and his bum/thighs. It was 7 days of hell around here.

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

HFM has been going around all our schools in my little town. Both my kids came down with it. My son's was primarily on his hands and feet with very little spots in his mouth. My daughter's was way less with no blisters in her mouth at all. Both only missed a few days of school from it. Thank goodness!

Both came home from school and fell asleep, slept all night and had a fever. Once the fever broke, that's when I noticed the blisters on their hands and feet. DS said he had a sore throat, but that lasted only a day or two. DD didn't have a sore throat at all.

Two friends both have little ones (9 months and 1 year) and they both had it really bad. The 1 year old had it in his mouth and around his lips, chin and cheeks. Poor thing was miserable.