Hand Foot Mouth Disease

Yes, I have been through this. My little boy had it when he was about 18 months. The entire underside of his tongue was one big white sore and then multiple smaller sores as well. He cried a lot and also wouldn't eat. The illness took a couple of weeks to completely go away but he did start drinking some after a few days. He will probably be just fine and won't get dehydrated. Just watch his diapers (I'm assuming he's still in diapers). If he's having a few wet ones a day he's ok.

My daughter had something similar around the same age as your son. It lasted several weeks.
She did not want to eat or drink at all. I just kept giving her small amounts of fluids and soft cool food about every 30 minutes. It was pretty much hit or miss as to what she would eat or drink, but I did manage to keep her hydrated. I tried pediasure, popsicles, jello, pudding...I think offering her a wide variety helped to get a little bit of food and drink in her. I hope is feeling better very soon.

T.,

When I was a little girl I had that. It is called cocksacky right? He has bumps on his hands and feet and in his mouth right? When I had it I could not even talk because it hurt to pop the bumps or blisters and it was extremely difficult to eat for me!! Try to give him some water through a straw or his drinks that way. It should get better within a week or so but just watch it. If you have anymore questions just let me know.

K.

Give him popscicles to get some fluids in him. I think Pedialyte makes popscicles, too. They aren't in the freezer section - you put them in the freezer.

My son had this also. The dr told me to give him coca cola...something in it makes the mouth feel a little better, and he was able to eat a little. I would just give him soft stuff..apple sauce, pudding, jello, etc. And let him drink coca cola...it was a treat for my son since he doesn't usually get it. also our dr said to give him a mixture of 2 things...forget what they were but you can ask your dr..it was something like liquid benedryl and liguid maalox (something like that). it helps to soothe the mouth also. if you need me to call my dr and see exactly what it was you can email me and i'll find out. my son didn't eat for like 3-4 days really. he would have a little thing here or there for the first day or two when he said his mouth hurt. i didn't know he had it until he complained about his mouth hurting for 2 or 3 days already...and wouldn't eat for a day and a half. it doesn't last too long..the bumps can be there for longer but he should start eating way before that. luckily it goes away pretty quickly, but it's very very contagious. So anyone he was around before or right when he got it has been exposed. Good Luck. :0)

D.

the best thing i can suggest is pedialyte popsicles to avoid dehydration and as far as food, try apple sauce or yogurt, even a milkshake. my 2 yr old niece had this and so long as you keep your child hydrated he will be fine.

Just hang in there and know it'll be over soon. My daughter had it last year and I felt like she would wither away because of the lack of food and drink but she slowly came around and I hope we NEVER get it again!!! Just keep on breathing!

Hi T. - Your son is probably all better by now, my apologies for this late reply! But I wanted to let you know about a fantastic product our dentist told us about (& can be used in the future for mouth/cancer sores)...it's called Rincinol (made by GUM) and is sold at Walgreens & probably WalMart. It's not cheap for a 4 oz bottle, but it really does work & most importantly doesn't burn and isn't harmful if swallowed. Also you don't use much at one time.

HTH - K.

I would call the doctor and let him know about the unwillingness to eat and the difficulty getting your lil one to drink. When my son went through his terrible two's "hunger strike" I got him through by giving him "Papa's famous vanilla milk" Splash a little bit of vanilla extract (not too much) into some milk, or some original pedialyte. At least then he's getting some nutrition with his fluids, You can also try putting a vitamin supplement into his fluids if your worried about how much nutrition he's taking in right now, and just check his skin frequently for signs of dehydration, If you feel he's getting dehydrated then take him to the Dr. right away. Good luck T. I hope your lil man feels better soon. Tracy

My husband had this, but luckily my son did not get it. Him not eating much is to be expected and he can recover from that just fine. Him not drinking is a big problem. When he does drink, offer him pedialyte or water. Call your doctor again and tell him what, if anything, he is drinking. If it is too severe, he might need to go to the hospital to get an IV, this happens sometimes. Don't let this get too far before you do this. If he is already showing signs of dehydration, call your doctor and I'm sure he will tell you to go to the hospital. Really focus on the drinking, not eating for now. I really hope he feels better soon!

T., This hand foot and mouth is so miserable for the little people. We got through it with motrin and Popsicles. Hope he feels better soon.
K. J

my son had that at about the same age as your child is now. It was very hard and frustrating time. My doctor suggested using a mixture of benadryl and mylanta (1/2 and 1/2) to rub on the areas in the mouth. This coats and reduces the irration some so that maybe you can get him to eat a bit. Also we alternated between giving him motrin and tylenol every 3 hours as well. The important thing is getting him to drink even if he won't eat. I hope these suggestions help. For my son it lasted a good 2 weeks I think.

D.