Hand and mouth and foot.. Oh my!

[MyFavSurprise]

What a horrible infection. Our almost 11 month old had it and we didn't even know until the dr told us when we mentioned some odd bumps on his ankle at a routine check up.. he had been extra fussy, but we thought it was sleep issues.. overall it didnt seem to affect him too much.

Me, on the other hand, I am miserable. We are out of town on a road trip and it popped up a day in. It is soo painful, and now itchy! My feet and hands are swollen, especially my pinkie toes - they are red and covered in blisters, and I am just a mess. I cant even sleep at night, i woke up at 3am and just scratched like im not supposed to..lol.

I am wearing gloves everywhere trying not to infect anybody! I think my mom has one popping up, though she's in denial.

Does anyone had any tips on how to get rid of this or at least make it liveable?

Thank you!

 

[justplay91]

We just had it! My two year old got it the worst, with a ton of poor painful looking sores on his mouth, hands, and legs and a bad fever. My 1 year old got it, but only had a couple sores and a slight fever. I got the chills and achiness with the fever, but no spots. It's weird how it affects people so differently!

 

[JT2013]

My DS had it earlier this year and then my DH got it too! DH suffered far worse, he had a ranging high fever and really nasty sores in his mouth and throat, whereas DS only had sores around the edges of his mouth and on his hands and feet. Unfortunately we didn't find any cure for it - but it did run its course very quickly and DS was totally fine within a week (DH played the man flu card a few days longer than that!)

 

[broodymrs]

It's rare adults get it but when they do it tends to be worse than when children have it. Try anti itching cream. Virasoothe is good for kids

 

[MyFavSurprise]

Thank you all! I can't believe how awful it really is. Now it feels like chicken pox but with itchy and painful blisters instead of bumps. My little pinkie toe has 14 blisters on it alone, I cant tell if I'm swollen from the pregnancy or the virus. I figure the itching means it's going to get better soon so I am hopeful! I only have one blister that i know of in my mouth thank goodness though it sucks too.

Nobody else has gotten it around us, i figure maybe I got it because of the pregnancy and my immune system. Hoping our older son doesnt get it, and if mt husband gets it he will have to take even more time off of work.. we both also just got over bronchitis, and he is just getting over laryngitis after the bronchitis, it's been crazy.

 

[SonnyH]

Oh ouch, that's a rough ride for you and your family recently I really hope you are all feeling much better soon and can enjoy the holiday season!!

 

[MyFavSurprise]

Thank you!

 

[broodymrs]

Have you been to the dr? I vaguely recall something about pregnancy and h,f&m. Hope you're less itchy today.

 

[ParisJeTadore]

Ugh, the worst! I caught this from my kids at 38 weeks pregnant and it was horrible. I totally feel for you! Probably not the answer you want but nothing helped but riding it out. I think after a full week I felt back to normal so at least it doesn't last too long although I recall my blister scars taking a long time to fade away. Just as a FYI: I am two months out from hfmd and my nails have started to peel conveniently in the center of my nail which has lead to lots of painful snagging as I wait endlessly for the nail to grow out. Supposedly this is a common side affect, lovely!

 

[MyFavSurprise]

That's awful! Luckily mine has healed mostly now, though my pinkie still looks like the Hunchtoe of Notre Dame and I'm pretty sure im going to lose that whole nail. The blisters now look like burn marks and the skin peels off of each, but no more pain or itching!

Though now I have to go get tested for parvovirus because my youngest LO may have had it after the hfm, he had a cough/cold and got red rashy cheeks for a few days and that one can cross the placenta.

And now they're both sick AGAIN with a flu like virus, though negative swab for flu today... ds2 was wheezing and the dr took his oxygen level because he was afraid an inhaler wouldn't be enough, but luckily it wasn't overly low so he said an inhaler should do it.. so i just did the puffs for him in his sleep because he hated it so much earlier i don't think he got any medicine at all! I can't belive how nuts this all is.

Where is the light at the end of the tunnel??

Honestly this is all putting a lot of stress on our marriage

 

[MyFavSurprise]

Oh yeah, and if anyone goes through the hand foot and mouth, soak in colloidal oatmeal, baking soda, and epsom salts! I did notice some relief the next day.

 

[broodymrs]

Just noticed your post about the inhaler. Dylan had to have one when he was younger and he hated using the spacer but was ok with just the inhaler. May be an option? Hope you're all on the mend

 

[MyFavSurprise]

Ohh how old was he when you could use just the inhaler? I was wondering if that was an option somehow.. I feel like I'm smothering him with it and he ends up mad at me, crying and kicking and climbing me for like 20-30 min afterwards! He's not the kind of baby to forgive and forget.. if you upset him he will let you have it! Lol

 

[broodymrs]

About 18 months, maybe 2. Might have even been younger. Like you I was struggling and nursery said all the kids hate the spacers and so they just do it without. Technically a spacer gives them more medication but the way he fought be he wasn't getting any anyway.

 

[MyFavSurprise]

Good to know! We had to go back to the dr the next day because my older son spiked a fever again of 103.6F and started complaining about ear pain... turns out he has an ear infection and pneumonia, and ds2 has an ear infection plus one starting on the other side...no wonder nobody is getting sleep! And my morning sickness has made a reappearance??

Can I just sleep through the next 2 months?

 

[broodymrs]

Poor little monkeys. My ms is back too. Sucks 😟

 

[ParisJeTadore]

That's awful! Luckily mine has healed mostly now, though my pinkie still looks like the Hunchtoe of Notre Dame and I'm pretty sure im going to lose that whole nail. The blisters now look like burn marks and the skin peels off of each, but no more pain or itching!

Though now I have to go get tested for parvovirus because my youngest LO may have had it after the hfm, he had a cough/cold and got red rashy cheeks for a few days and that one can cross the placenta.

And now they're both sick AGAIN with a flu like virus, though negative swab for flu today... ds2 was wheezing and the dr took his oxygen level because he was afraid an inhaler wouldn't be enough, but luckily it wasn't overly low so he said an inhaler should do it.. so i just did the puffs for him in his sleep because he hated it so much earlier i don't think he got any medicine at all! I can't belive how nuts this all is.

Where is the light at the end of the tunnel??

Honestly this is all putting a lot of stress on our marriage

Sorry, I just read this now. You poor dears! I hope everyone gets healthy soon in your household it will get better, I promise, but when you're in the thick of endless viruses it can feel like things will never get better! I can attest to it being really tough being pregnant and taking care of two little ones that frequently get sick. And what's odd is my son also had what we think was parvovirus before contracting hfmd. Weird hey? I spent a lot of time worrying about it but after a few blood tests everything turned out fine. Hope it will be the same for you!

 

[MyFavSurprise]

Thank you! How strange, i guess when your immune system is down it's really down, haha. My mom reminded me that this all started after a trip to an indoor trampoline fun park. I was like jeez we're never leaving the house again!

 

[ParisJeTadore]

Thank you! How strange, i guess when your immune system is down it's really down, haha. My mom reminded me that this all started after a trip to an indoor trampoline fun park. I was like jeez we're never leaving the house again!

Ha! Even a trip with the kids to an over crowded mall is enough to make me nervous! Oh well, with any luck we'll hopefully have immune systems made of steel in a few years

 

[MyFavSurprise]

Hahaha, so true! Our 11 month old is still getting up in the middle of the night and we have to rock him back to sleep...

Before the illness we got desperate for some sleep and tried the ferber method and he started sleeping through the night, it wasn't bad at all and he sure was a happier baby... but now with him having been sick and still maybe having ear pain or not feeling good it just breaks my heart to let him cry like that at all...so I'm not getting any sleep in turn and I am soo at a loss on what to do i never had these troubles with ds1 and I raised him alone until 3yrs! I slept! Ds2 is our little hard test..lol