Hand Foot Mouth Disease - Minneapolis,MN

My daughter had this about a month ago. Fever for about three days and not eating and super crabby for about a week. If your child is eating o.k. there will be nothing the doctor will give. Our daughter stopped eating so we received this miracle mouthwash - which is a prescription numbing agent with I think benedryl and antacid. At its worst I think we were alternating tylenol/motrin every two hours. If you are on day three now it should start to get better now.

Hi, T., I remember being alarmed when I learned my one and two-year old little girls had what was then diagnosed as "hoof and mouth" disease 25 years ago. I remember it well, as my little one laid sleeping and I noticed blisters all over the bottoms of her feet. Needless to say it was also in the mouth and on the palms of the hands. Though they now say that hoof and mouth disease (common to cattle) is not the same virus as the foot and mouth in humans, I was told at the time that it came from cattle, nad could have been transmitted by mosquitoes. It made perfect sense to me, as we had been camping just days before where we saw cattle wading in the lake near our site, and had gotten well-bit up by mosquitoes that trip. Anyway, regardless of how transmitted, the only relief I found was some numbing solution the doctor gave me for the mouth. Keeping hands and feet clean and thoroughly hydrating (because they tend to stop wanting to eat or drink) is what they also say now. You might also try letting him hold or eat very cold things, (ice cubes may or may not be a good idea for his age, you would be the judge for choking hazard, etc.) but I would think a certain amount of cold could have somewhat of a numbing result. Your biggest consolation is that it is a temporary situation (lasts 3-10 days) and the little guy will be better soon. Lots of hugs and love to comfort are what will help him the most, and prayer, until he (and you) are better! Blessings, mommy.

Hi T.,

I freaked when my son was diagnosed with hand, foot, & mouth disease (NOT the cattle version - they are entirely different). My son didn't eat well, cried a lot, and didn't sleep unless he was exhausted. We gave him tylenol and lots of love and cuddles while he was sick, and that's all we could do. Fortunately, the duration was really as short as they said it was going to be. By day 5, my son was ten times better than he had been.

As a cheap substitute for pedialyte, a nurse told me about a drink mix that may help him stay hydrated and it worked wonderfully. It was 1 oz standard chicken broth (NOT low sodium), 1 oz apple juice, and 2 oz of water in a bottle. It sounds nasty, but our son loved it and drank it while he wouldn't eat much. Sometimes we decreased the water to 1 oz to make it more concentrated, but that may not be necessary.

It's scary, but it really does go away faily quickly. Good luck! 'Tis the season!

My 2 yr old daughter was just diagnosed at a well check today. I thought she was breaking out from playing in the grass yesterday. She doesn't have any sores in her mouth yet. My doctor gave me a sheet that said to try 1/2 teaspoon antacid solution in the front of the mouth 4 times a day, preferably after meals. ALso soft foods, and no salty, spicy or citrus. Use a cup instead of a bottle (why I am not sure). Stay on top of the tylenol or motrin, especially before bed! You may also want to call you doctor and ask about a magic mouth wash that numbs the inside of his mouth. I am not sure what is in it, but I have heard of it before. Good luck to you and him.

Garlic is a natural antibiotic/antiviral (not exactly sure what hand-foot-mouth disease is)-best when consumed raw (I don't know that he's old enough to take it-mom used to use a fresh clove minced and mixed in a spoonful of honey - works great for crushed vitamin C and echinacea for fighting colds/flu too). Activated charcoal is a natural antiviral/antifungal/antibacterial remedy. Its harmless (it can be constipating when not taken with plenty of fluids - and can absorb meds if taken less than 2 hours before or after meds are taken) and can be given in a bottle. Purchase at a healthfood store/pharmacy or at www.buyactivatedcharcoal.com (make sure it's 100% activated/medicinal charcoal with no additives - like they would have in poisoning solutions). Mix 1 tablespoon AC powder with each 8oz. of water (add water to powder in container, not powder to water... can be very messy) and let sit. Pour "gray water" into bottle or sippy cup and make sure he drinks it all... administer 3-4 times/day, preferably between meals. (There's abundant info on www.buyactivatedcharcoal.com for other ailments as well.) It can be 'gritty' when taken fully mixed, but if he can stand to drink it, it would be more beneficial that way.
I would also avoid feeding him sugars and dairy as these inhibit the immune system.

T., try popscicles (with your help, of course). The cold feels good and the flavor distracts them for a little while. You can get the all fruit juice ones, or even yogurt or pudding pops. Good luck, my little one got that... poor baby!

We just went through this (our DD is 12 months). It was horrible! Plus she was cutting 8 teeth! We found that jello (sugar-free) and fruit/yogurt smoothies were really the only foods she would eat (and suprisingly Cherrios). She wouldn't even drink her milk, but luckily she would drink water. For her pain we alternated Tylenol and Motrin and I would put some baby Orajel in her mouth before naps and bed for relief when going to sleep.

Good luck to you - I know how rough it is right now!

My son had it when he was just over a year old. The only thing he would eat was popsicles. Mashed potatoes I think he ate some. It has to be a soft bland food. I bet yogurt because it is cold and soft would be good too. It has been a couple years now since he had it I don't remember much any more but I know he had a lot of popsicles!

My little girl had HFM about a year ago. It lasted about 5-7 days. We used teething creams in her mounth before feedings and before bed. She didn't like it very much when we gave it to her, but I think it helped with the pain once her mouth was numb and she could eat better/more and rest easier. She really had bad sores on her bottom/diaper area. If that happens, I would recommend using a vaseline in place of regular diaper rash ointment. It helped to "protect" the sores when she wet or soiled her diaper. Also a luke warm bath seemed to keep her distracted because she loves water!

Hi T.
I know excatly what you are dealing with! My 6 mo old son had HFM and it was AWFUL!! The sores lasted about 4 days? I couldnt get my son to eat. dr told me to give juiice and or water and depending just how hungry he was he sometimes wouldnt even take that! It will pass though! i promise! i also found that Childrens motrin worked a litttle better than the Tylenol. Give you baby lots on TLC and it will run its course! Also dont be surprised if in a few weeks he gets some spots again. My son did and the Dr said it can take a little time for it the get completly out of his system.
Good Luck!
A.

my son also had this. at first the urgent care Dr thought he had strep. the culture came back normal, so after a miserable weekend, his pediatritian diagnosed him with a bad case of hand foot and mouth. They said to give him the max dose of benadryl and also ibuprofen 30 min before bed, then repeat as needed to make it thru the night. It helped!

My 14mo old had HFM about a month ago. He was pretty miserable and wouldn't eat or drink much. Yogurt and other cool, smooth foods were best. We also introduced him to popsicles (much earlier than we would have liked :) ), but it seemed to help numb his mouth at least enough to eat something. For us it lasted about a week.

T.,

HFM dz is viral and there is not much to do about it. However, ibuprofen may be more helpful to relieve discomfort. The dose of Ibuprofen depends on the weight of your child. You can read the label, call your md for a dose or use the following formula: take weight in pounds and divide it by 2, than multiply it by 10. this will give you the milligram dose your child needs. Children's ibuprofen comes in 100mg/5 ml, and then there is infant drops.

ibuprofen has an anti-inflammatory component that tylenol does not have and thus makes it more effective for pain.

the other greatest risk in HFM Dz is dehydration as there are several canker sore-like ulcers in the back of the throat. Make sure your little one drinks a lot.

The magic mouth wash mentioned below may not work for your son is it has lidocaine in it which often it does. If your son swallowed too much of it, he would overdose on lidocaine and suffer a cardiac arrythmia (irregular heart beat). Same goes for Milk of Magnesia - at 10 months old...this could also be dangerous if swallowed in high amounts. I presonally think it is safer to go with the ibuprofen...and if you have not guessed by now, I am a pediatrician and mother to 3 winderful boys. So have a lot of experience with this.

Good Luck,
S.