Well, it happened — the one illness I was desperately hoping to avoid made its way to our household: the dreaded Hand, Foot, Mouth.
It began with a mysterious fever that only lasted for (maybe?) 24 hours. Our toddler was the first one afflicted and only had a handful of blisters on her entire body… they were so few and sporadic (and NONE in the hand, foot, or mouth regions?!) that I thought that they could possibly be bug bites from playing in our back yard so we just moved on.
But then three days after that I got the same fever and then our 9 month old had a temperature spike the day after I did.
… and then the blisters formed.
Oh. My. God. the blisters.
So painful and itchy at the same time. I was lucky that I didn’t get any blisters in or around my mouth, but my hands and feet were covered. Somehow these blisters also made my fingertips extremely tender and sensitive so it was painful to function normally doing daily tasks (unbuttoning my pants, washing dishes, changing diapers, etc). Hot water made them sting so washing my hands with hot water or bathing myself in a hot shower felt like torture.
My poor 9 month old had it the worst of all of us. She had blisters everywhere on her body except her torso. She looked absolutely miserable and, given my blister experience, I could only imagine how horrible she felt.
…
You won’t like to hear this, but the only thing to do is just treat for comfort and wait it out. Thankfully, the topical remedies are basically the same as what you would use for chickenpox so the products are readily available. Ibuprofen or acetaminophen can also be used to lower fevers and reduce discomfort — please discuss this with your physician.
I gave our baby a few lukewarm oatmeal baths to help soothe her and they seemed to be really beneficial.
We were fortunate enough not to have any blisters inside our mouths, but I know people who have and it sounds especially atrocious. Any fluids thicker than water were just too uncomfortable to swallow (even shakes / smoothies!) so trying to keep kids hydrated and fed sounds like an actual nightmare. If you can, try to completely dissolve a fine protein powder in water so that your little one can at least get some nutrition and hydration while they aren’t feeling well.
…
Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease is super contagious, so please notify your child’s school / daycare and any extracurriculars they are enrolled in.
Additionally, you will want to avoid touching any of the blisters and your child’s saliva or you will likely become afflicted as well and possibly spread it to others in your household. Try your best to quarantine the affected child to prevent the spread of the disease.
The run time for the ailment is 7-10 days and our experience aligned with that.
Seeing your kids in so much discomfort is one of the worst feelings as a parent. I truly hope that you never have to deal with this, but if you find yourself in this itchy situation I hope that my post gave you some solidarity.
Sending hugs —
xx, Natalie
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