Hand Foot and Mouth

pumpkin201986

Please share your tips and tricks. Thanks in advance.

aglenn

Oh, no!  HFM is no fun.  DS had it last summer and thankfully his case was very mild.  He had a couple of weird spots on his hands and I would have never really thought much of it except we got a note from day care saying HFM was going around.  He never ran a fever and never had any more severe symptoms.  Unfortunately, he gave it to me...and I was MISERABLE.  I had a fever, crazy bad rash, and once the rash faded my hands and feet peeled for weeks and weeks.  I eventually lost two fingernails and three toenails from it.  Ugh!

It is a virus so not much you can do about it other than keeping the ibuprofen and ice water flowing.  For me the fever lasted less than 24 hours and the rash was only painful for 2 days.  The rest of the time it was just annoying and nasty-looking.  Hope your LO recovers quickly!

Netty_3

Well...I got it when LO did...just in my mouth because I don't stick my hands and feet in it.  I had a headache and sore throat, so we gave Motrin for the discomfort, he was still pretty young so he wasn't eating solids full on yet, but I'd give soothing and easy to swallow foods. We also put some calamine on some of the blisters. I guess it was fairly mild for both of us.

 

Good luck.

jnnfrrose6

We just got over it, and he had a flare up of his eczema on his face with an underlying infection plus HFM.  No fun.  Since it's a virus, there isn't much you can do except try to keep them comfortable.  We gave acetaminophen for the fever, but only really for a day.  Our LO is on a pretty good schedule, but we just followed his lead while he was fighting it (napping a little longer, nursing more before bed, etc...).   

sweetsunnyc

Oh no! My daughter had it a few years ago and it was pretty bad....as the pp's said, because it's a virus, there's not much you can do. Just remeber that it is very contagious so wash your hands well, wash LO's hands and try to keep then away if you have other LO's.

groovygrl

The outbreak location has nothing to do with exposure...everyone just gets it differently. My kids have had it twice (confirmed both times) and I got it too the first time. Mine was worst than theirs, w a lot of spots on my hands and feet. They were more like fever and decreased appetite w a few spots on fingers and toes so Motrin was fine. For me, water any hotter than tepid was very uncomfortable so keep that in mind. If the mouth is the most affected area then Popsicles and soft food...one thing I was not expecting was a week or two after my blisters disappeared, my hands and feet peeled in the spots where they had been. Good luck!

meganandchase

DD and DS just had this.  There is no cure and if they don't have a fever they can go to DC.  It takes about 5 days to clear up.  DD had hers mostly on her butt!  (The book we have says it should be called HFM and Butt disease.)  Poor DS had spots on his hand, mouth, and feet.  The ones on his hand hurt because they were on his sucking thumb.  The ones on his feet hurt when he walked.  The ones in his mouth were the worst.  He hardly ate for a few days.  We gave motrin for pain.

The book we have suggested giving one tsp of half maalox and half benadryl before eating.  This will coat the ulcers and make eating more comfortable.  Did not work for DS though.

nosoup4u

Horrible and vicious. Take good care of yourself (and make sure DH does, too), because if you get it as an adult it's even worse. DS1 had it a few years back, and my sister ended up getting it from him. He has it *again* right now (he's on the tail end of it), so no camp for him all week. Oh, and kids can be grouchier because of it, so keep that in mind.

pumpkin201986

Thanks Ladies! She has been very cranky and only has te sores in her mouth. Seems to be somewhat of a mild case. Hoping mommy and daddy don't get it;)