Well we are home and DD2 is sick!!!

[jennifer293]

We left for Disney on July 14th and returned home on the 23rd. The kids held up wonderfully and then this morning DD2 wakes up with a 102F fever. I gave her Motrin and 4 hours later it went up to 104.5F, so I called and got her into the Dr. office immediately and she has Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Her little throat is so raw with blisters and she is so puny looking. I feel so bad for her. He asked if she had been in the pool or water parks while there and of course she had and he said she more than likely came in contact with saliva, or bits of STOOL from other children...YUCK!!!!

So if you are going to Disney please be careful with what your little one comes into contact with.

 

[BlondeAlligator]

Oh, your poor kiddo! I feel so bad for her! I know of people who have gotten this from those fountains that you see lal the kids playing in, but I didn't think it could come from the pools what with all the chlorine! EWWW! I really hope she feels better very soon, and I hope that your trip was wonderful. At least she waited until she got home to get sick!

 

[taximomfor4]

Thanks for the warning! Perhaps if you get a second, you could notify WDW. They can check their pools, etc and make sure. Our city had 5 kids get sick with a different thing this weekend, so they are closing the pools for a day and superchlorinating them, just in case it came from there. There have been a few reports of HFMD at WDW the past couple of weeks.

But HFMD is easily spread, so anyone not properly washing hands after going to the bathroom could have contaminated doorknobs, counters, rails, chairs, tables, etc...........Ewww. Infection is spread from person to person by direct contact with nose and throat discharges, saliva, fluid from blisters, or the stool of infected persons. A person is most contagious during the first week of the illness.

Children are often excluded from group settings during the first few days of the illness, which may reduce the spread of infection, but will not completely interrupt it. Exclusion of ill persons may not prevent additional cases since the virus may be excreted for weeks after the symptoms have disappeared. Also, some persons excreting the virus, including most adults, may have no symptoms. Preventive measures include frequent handwashing, especially after diaper changes

 

[susykt4]

Bummer. DS3 came down with some two day stomach bug the last day of our January trip. I kept catching him putting his MOUTH on the metal bars on the buses. (It almost makes me puke just thinking about it...) Anyway, I KNEW he'd get sick. I was thrilled he waited until we were leaving for the airport home to start vomiting/diarrhea! It was such a wonderful week followed by such a horrific trip home that I didn't have the usual post-Disney depression.

 

[Stimpy]

Sorry to hear about your DD. I hope she gets better soon!!!

 

[TiggerStac]

This goes around a lot in hot/humid weather. My son got it from preschool when he was almost 3. It's so hard w/kids in school and the way they play w/toys and put things in their mouth. He was out of school for about a week. The scariest thing was the high temp. I kept watching it go up and up.

 

[jennifer293]

Her temp still has not came down any..The poor little thing feels like she is on fire. She is drinking quite well though so I am hoping that she will keep that up and not get dehydrated. I have alerted her grandparents which were with us for the last 5 days we were there in case they come down with anything and they said they are fine. My throat feels a little raw but I am just hoping that it is all just in my head thinking I am getting sick because she is. I have noticed DD6 is not as active as normal and she actually took a 2 hour nap today which is VERY UNUSUAL for her. SO I hope she is not getting it especially since she starts 1st grade next Tuesday!! ughhhh!!!

Thanks for all your comments and I will get an email to WDW just to give them a heads up!!!

 

[munchkin bunchkin]

My 7 year old had that 2 years ago and I was also told that it came from pool water, but she hadn't even been near a pool so there must be some other way of contracting it. I was just so glad when she recovered because it was horrible!

 

[Schmeck]

You could get HFMD just from touching the changing table in the restroom at WDW, it doesn't have to come from the pool or fountains. Any of the surfaces in the restrooms, in the tot playgrounds, in the sand, etc, could carry it.

I hope your little one gets better soon! Try cool, damp facecloths on her to lower her temp a bit, or a lukewarm bath/shower. It doesn't have to be cold, just a bit lower than her body temp.

 

[Ariel8676]

Aww poor girl...i hope she feels better soon.
Room temp rags on the forehead and neck, room temp bath..and you can even switch Tylenol and Motrin every couple of hours. My 4 yo dd gets anything that goes around and she gets VERY high fevers when she is sick( and then gets Febrile seizures) so i know a few tricks..lol
Good Luck and let us know how she is.

 

[PRINCESSMOMX3]

I have 6 children in my home this summer. Three of mine and three of my little brothers. For the last two weeks every single one of them has come down with Hand, Foot, Mouth.....except for my oldest. Then Friday she has a fever that spiked to 105. Took her to the dr. and it is STREP. So I guess we will pass that around now too. Our Pediatrician told us they are seeing a lot of the Hand Foot, Mouth Virus lately and since it is viral there's not a whole lot you can do for it.

 

[Ozymoe]

I'm in Iowa City and a good friend's children got this a few weeks ago. It seemed hardest on the 2 year old...who was very sick for about 3-4 days. The symptoms still weren't all gone after that, but Alexandria felt much better.

One can't really prevent little ones from catching this...short of keeping them indoors and/or isolating them from the rest of the world. Sigh.

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

the clinical name for this is Coxsackie Virus. Last year Jerra Kirby died from the results of Coxsackie Virus. You will remember her as the girl who died at the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon. My DH works with Jerra's mother here in Virginia. Dr. G., Medical Examiner did a story on Jerra for the Discovery Channel, it was on last week. The Coxsackie Virus attacked Jerra's heart. Please monitor all kids carefully if they have been diagnosed with this. Also, I agree, you need to contact Disney. I don't think that they are liable, and I am not sure that super chlorinating a pool will kill the virus in the water, but they may be able to have the water tested somehow and react appropriately. But they do need to be informed, as it is probably where your DD contracted it.

 

[100AcreWood]

Oh poor baby! I hope she feels better soon. That is really upsetting! Of course I know kids can get sick anywhere but that's an interesting point about pools. Our neighborhood pool closed twice this year already with a sign saying "contamination." YUCK!

Anyway, dh FREAKED on me Sunday when I let dd drink out of a water fountain at a kid party. I usually don't do that but she was thirsty and had been running around a lot. Lesson to me, he was right. OH, don't let him hear that!

Take care!

 

[KristiKelly]

I'm so sorry to hear about your DD. My 2 older kids had this when they were toddlers. IT IS AWFUL!!! I asked my Ped. why they don't come out with a vaccine for this. I remember DS had it when he was 2 - TWICE, the 1st time lasted about 4-5 days, the 2nd time only 2-3. DD had it @ 18 mo and it lasted for - get this - are you ready?? - 4 WEEKS!!! It was in her mouth for almost 3 weeks, would not go away and then it spread to her eyes. Ped. said he had never seen it happen but that was the only explanation to what was wrong with her eyes, she had blisters in the eyelids, was very sensitive to light, we could not open blinds or turn on lights in our house. Yes, it was a pure living hell for us for many weeks and not much sleep. They finally put her on an anti-viral drug that they give people for herpes.

I really don't see how it can be prevented. Many children suck their thumbs, and then touch the ride bars and ropes in the lines, then another child comes along and touches the same thing. I'm sure the virus if probably even on the characters costumes, elevator buttons (my kids always fight to push the buttons and I'm sure mine aren't the only ones). It is a terrible virus hopefully she will feel better soon.

 

[gymnasticscoach TX]

sorry to hear about your child. I hope she feels better soon. Take good care of yourself too, watch out for symptoms. I recently had this virus, (contracted from daughter) sounds strange that an adult can get it. I had very painful swollen hands and feet with blisters on them. I actually didn't realize I had the same virus untill a day or two later. My symptoms were a bit different. Hope you all the best.

 

[ribbot]

Hope your little one is starting to feel better

Just for a side note--we just put a new inground pool in and chlorine will not kill communicable diseases. It's right in the pool manual. Another thing that the pool company owner told me is that these vacation-type places don't keep their pools balanced correctly. You should never smell chlorine when near a pool, if you do it means that there are cholamines (or cholines---can't remember the term he used). These will make your eyes burn when in a pool.

I was always under the assumption that chlorine killed everything you know, thinking Clorox here---but I guess not.

Hope your family feels better soon!

 

[jennifer293]

Hope your little one is starting to feel better

Just for a side note--we just put a new inground pool in and chlorine will not kill communicable diseases. It's right in the pool manual. Another thing that the pool company owner told me is that these vacation-type places don't keep their pools balanced correctly. You should never smell chlorine when near a pool, if you do it means that there are cholamines (or cholines---can't remember the term he used). These will make your eyes burn when in a pool.

I was always under the assumption that chlorine killed everything you know, thinking Clorox here---but I guess not.

Hope your family feels better soon!

Now see I have always been told that if you can't smell the chlorine then that is when it is the most dangerous. I was told that not being able to smell it meant that there were dangerously high levels of chlorine in it that could do harm to your body. I know at the YMCA when you walk in the building the smell of chlorine will about knock you down. I have asthma and I can't go anywhere around the indoor pool or sit in the steam room because I can't breathe.

Well back to the original topic DD is doing much better today. She has been up running around, but starting to slow down more here in the past hour. She did take a little nap which was good because she didn't sleep worth a flip last night. I let her sleep in my bed since DH was at the fire dept. and she tossed and turned all night. The fever is finally down to about 100F so I am glad it is coming down. She is keeping all food and fluids in so hopefully she will keep that up and not get dehydrated!!

Thanks for all your concerns it means a lot!!

Also I cannot find the email or number in which I need to contact WDW about this does anyone have it on hand?

Thanks a bunch!!

 

[Ozymoe]

I would just like to calm the waters a bit here...hand, foot and mouth is a fairly common disease and usually has no lasting effects. It is scary (the fever is one of the scariest aspects because usually one does not know right away that it is HF&M)...but after diagnosis, usually it just takes extra cuddling (and accomodating) your child for three days...after which the symptoms gradually disappear.

 

[slo]

I feel so bad for your little one. We've had Hand, Foot and Mouth one to many times in our house and I hate it. In one summer my youngest, at the age of 1, had it 3 times and my oldest, at the age of 6, had it one time.

Sending lots of PD for her to feel better soon!!!