6 Month Old Diagnosed with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

When my daughter had it we ran motrin around the clock. That seemed to help but still sometimes she wouldnt take the bottle. She was teething at the same time so we put a small amount of orajel on her gums. She would then move it around her mouth and then take her bottle. It was the only thing that worked for us.

Droppers that come with infant medicines work great, it takes a LONG TIME but at least it gets in.

My son had this when he was about 2 years old. My pediatrician told me to mix Benadryl with Milk of Magnesia and put it on a Q-tip and then swab his mouth really well with this mixture before eating. Maybe this is something you could ask your Dr. about. It really helped with my son. Thankfully, this doesn't last very long. Hope this was helpful.

My daughter had this. It only lasted a couple of days. Don't worry he wont starve.

it is probably the sucking that is hurting his mouth. if you can find a way to get the formula in his mouth without him sucking, he may eat better. you could try a nipple with a fast flow hole, or one that you have sniped a little bigger. this might just let the formula drip into his mouth. also you could try a cup with no lid that you can help him drink from, or a straw that you can place your finger over the top and drip into his mouth.

I would just ask your peds what else you could give him. My son was almost two and had a severe case of it. He couldn't even walk because of all the blisters on his feet. It's very contagious so take care and good luck.

K.

I took popsicles (pedialite if your concerned) and crushed them up in a bowl and spoon fed them to my son. I made jello alot. We got the hang of a a sippy cup because it didn't put pressure like a nipple did just had to help since the plug was out. The main thing was hydration, the doctor has told me with all of my kids hydration is more important than food. Children dehydrate before they starve. I've spent alot of time keeping kids hydrated and still ended up in the hospital. Hope the baby feels better.

B.,
Ask your Dr first but I am about postive when my son had it (he was less then 18 months old)they told me to make a mixture of bendryl and mylanta (Spelling?)and coat the inside of his mouth several times a day. It worked very well but again he was older and I am not use if a 6 month old can do this or not. The Dr told me that if they did swallow it would not hurt him. It is worth calling and asking about it. Good Luck!

B.
Happly married 12 years and full time working mom of a 4 yr old boy and 6 month old girl.

Tylenol works WONDERS. We got it at our house a few months ago (the 3 year old, 7 month old baby, & I). Give it to them like clock work and it makes the pain subside probably enough to eat semi-normally. We had a lot of success with breastmilk and cereal - as they are both pretty "neutral". Fruit took us a LOT longer to get back into the diet, but after a week or so they were fine. As someone else wrote, you can be contagious for quite sometime, so be cautious around other children especially.

Blessing with the sick little one. We all hate to see our babies in pain.

Don't know if this will help but my now 5 yr old went on a bottle strike when he was 10 months old. We found out later he had hurt the roof of his mouth and it hurt to suck. He refused to breastfeed, take bottles or sippy cups so we had to find alternative ways to get liquids down him. Here are few suggestions, jello, popsicles, soup broth, ice cream ( or frozen yogurt) , whipped cream . Anything that melts at room temp is considered liquid, and the cold stuff often feels good on sores in the mouth so maybe that could work for a short time.
If you are concerned about nutritional value I have a product I take which I could tell you about. ( I am taking it while breastfeeding so its completely safe for babies.)

Hi B. My name is Sheri I know something that will help it is called Natural Cellular Defense My family takes this liquid mineral, and we have had all kinds of testimonies on how it has helped us. The website is Mywaiora.com/740801 This product is just drops that go in water and they detox and cleanse the body of toxins, people are having miraculous results with this product, I know for a fact it will help with this disease and the ulcers, we were so excited with the results that I signed up to distribute it. If you have any questions my phone # is ###-###-####
Be Well, Sheri

Can you try feeding him frozen Pedialyte popsicles or something? At least then he wouldn't get dehydrated. Has he tried solid foods yet? If so he might eat cold applesauce or bananas. My oldest daughter got that when she was over 2, it sucked, but she was able to "swish" (swallow, mostly) with Magic Mouthwash, which your son is too little for. Keep trying to get him to drink, even 4oz is better than no ounces. If he exhibits signs of dehydration like no tears, dry diapers, listlessness, dry mouth, etc. take him to the doc and they will probably admit him to the hospital where he will be able to get IV fluids. He should get better really soon though.

Wow-- what worriees me about this is that he is so incredibly young. Toddlers get this because they're starting to potty train. This is caused by hands/ toys coming in contact with stool. A baby this small should not be able to do that, or even if he reached towards his diaper, whoever is changing him should notice and wash his hands.

You might want to ask your childcare provider about sanitation practices around diaper changing and make sure everyone always washes their hands after changing any diapers and before preparing food or bottles.

Good luck-- both of my kids had this when they were toddlers and I even got it many years ago as a preschool teacher. It is SO no fun.

Hope your son if feeling better. When my son had it around the same age, I would let him suck on a warm wash cloth and that would help soothe the ulcers. I would put baby oragel to numb those areas. Both are temporary fixes but can help with the eating. Good luck.

We are just getting over this with my 11 month old. I gave her baby yogurt and ice-cream to help keep her hydrated. My doctor recommended baby motrin and also had me make a concoction of Benadryl and Maalox to spray in her mouth - it would help numb the sores. I don’t remember the amounts but it really seemed to help and she didn’t mind it. However, at 6 months definitely ask your doctor first before you try this. If you can tough it out, it does get better.

My son had it when he was about 6 months old. I need to stress to you children with hand foot and mouth are contagious for up to 14 days! If you can at all avoid him going to daycare(I know its super hard when you work full time) then do it. I had my mom come and stay with us for a week.

To answer your question-give him tylenol. This should help with the pain and discomfort which will help him want to eat. Double check that if you go back to day care that no other children have been diagnosed. Also they will need to be extra clean over the next week or so. As far as I know they can get it again. Good luck.

It's very painful and the ulcers/blisters are in their throat as well, which is probably why he doesn't want to drink or eat. Really cold things feel the best because of the ulcers, so ask your ped what you can give your son at this point - maybe try and make his formula/breast milk super cold by putting it in the freezer for a bit...? The entire cycle of the cocksackie virus lasts 7 - 10 days, including the incubation period when you didn't even know he had it, so he really is probably almost through with it... poor baby...

as far as his being contagious - they are not contagious before the blisters/ulcers appear, only once they do appear and they stay contagious until they are gone... and, yes, you can get it again, unfortunately...