Hand, Foot, and Mouth Virus

My 3rd child got hand foot and mouth 3 times! Luckily it was only in her mouth. We think it came from my hubby's work (even tho he washes his hands every time he walks in the door), and she was the only one that ever got it. Her doctor, on the 3rd round of it, gave her a Benedryl/Maalox solution to squirt in her mouth to numb the sores so she could eat. She was around 1 to 1 1/2 years old when she got it. We haven't seen it since, knock on wood! LOL

Both of my children had this virus, my older son had it first and then my younger son got it as well. Besides the high fever, they dealt with it quite well. We can't be positive but I feel they caught it from a petting zoo. They were 3 and 1 at the time and have never had it since.

M.,

Think of it as chicken pox. You usually only get it once in your life and are uncomfortable for awhile, but seems to be better that they get it when they're younger. My son had it at 11 months and was CRANKY for a few days, then slowed down eating. He only wanted very soft solids and did not want to nurse. Just make sure you keep your daughter hydrated and give her tylenol or advil for pain and to keep her temp down. This virus is also known as the coxsackie virus. You can get more info online at: http://children.webmd.com/tc/hand-foot-and-mouth-disease-... It's pretty easy to catch as kids don't show signs of being sick for the first few days, but are still contagious. I've heard of a lot of outbreaks in daycare, at play centers, etc!

my ids have had it and I do not remember it being a big deal

My son had it a couple of years ago. He had a fever and spots in his mouth that hurt. It hurt him to eat anything or drink anything. I gave him tylenol, and that seemed to help. He was so hungry, but his mouth hurt. I ended up giving him Cottage Cheese and Yogurt mixed together and he was able to eat it. The first time I gave it to him he mowed on it like mad and came back for seconds and thirds. He ate that for about 2 or 3 days, but he was getting what he needed.

It's not airborne, but highly contaigous by saliva. My daughter had it at about 9 months when she was a crawler, and my son twice both while crawling. Since thier hands are on everything and then in thier mouth it's a hard one to prevent. With my son I had to be very careful not to spread it to my daughter beause I am still nursing both kids. Just make sure you wash with soap and water LOTS. This last time it lasted 2 weeks, he has them on H, F & M and a full body rash and wasn't sleeping. I used motrin to help with the pain and we are glad it's over. But they can get it more than once. Good Luck

My son got HFM when he was about 2 and it came on really fast. All the sudden his hands and face were spotted. The doctor basically said not to worry and it didn't seem to effect him too much. It cleared up in a few days.

Ugh, sorry you have to experience this one. It is viral so there is nothing you can do but ease the symptoms with medicine for discomfort. Rotate between Tylenol and Motrin. All 3 of mine got it at about 1 year old. My daughters was pretty mild with the blisters on the h, f, & mouth. My son on the other hand had the blisters so badly on his feet he could hardly walk and they got under his toenails and it took at least a year for his nails to look normal again. The 3rd kid (also a boy) was less severe than the 2nd but worse than the 1st. My husband ended up getting it from the 1st kid pretty badly so you can get it. There will be lots of whining going on at your house I am afraid but after about a week to 10 days they should be good :) The blisters hurt so their appetite will probably decrease. Lots of fluid and meds on this one...

Hi M.,
My son had it around 3 years old. He had it just in his mouth but boy was it bad. We took him to the doctor who gave us a mouth rinse that would numb the mouth and make him more comfortable and able to at least drink something. This went on for about 3 or 4 days and then was gone. Other than the mouth, he was a happy camper and played normally. Just remember that the virus is still contagious for about a week after the symptoms disappear so watch for it in your other child. My other son never got it so we were lucky. We used the throw away sippy cups while he had it so the boys did not use the same cups. (they are a year apart) Good luck, this is one of the mild childhood illnesses.

Our daughter had this last year - we had no clue that this little wonderful virus was out there. The cold symptoms were fairly mild and some of the blister stuck around for more than a month - but no scars. THe worst ones were actually on her bottom.

Everyone in her home day care got it - so I could still take her there - even tho you are not spossed to take them around other virus free kids - I got luccky and could.

She had a few in her mouth and didnt want to eat much for a few days - I gave her alot of fruit pops and cold stuff - seemed to help alot.

Good luck! It will pass...

It hurts pretty badly or at least it did for me. My son got i when he was about 14 months old and would only sleep on my tummy, we took him to the doc and found out he had two ear infections to go along with it and the medicine for that eased the hand-foot-mouth symptoms. I ended up getting it as well. The hands and feet ache and it feels like strep throat in the mouth. The one thing that is nice about this is you never get it again after having it. Oh an the feet blisters showed up a few days later so the symptoms don't always appear at the same time. I think it lasted about a week. Good luck.

We got through it last year. For the most part it was a challenge with our 2yo who got it in the mouth most. Because of the sensitivty we had to watch what we fed him. Other than that he managed to get through it in a week, requiring nothing more than Motrin/Tylenol for the fever. As for the other baby getting it, as long as they don't share cups, hand washing is practiced, and good hygeine, our older son managed to not get it. Good Luck!

Hi there,
My daughter had it, and it wasn't so bad for her. She only got a few blisters on her hands and feet, but otherwise she didn't seem sick at all. My friends baby got it all over his body and in his mouth. Other than supportive care-tylenol, lots of water and rest-not much to do about it, just wait it out. Keeping seperate toys and lots of handwashing might help prevent your other child from catching it. Good luck, and hope it's not too bad for your little one!

Our daughter had, those area will be very hp\ot, like a regualr fever, we gave her motrin. The way she acted was they way a child would after getting shots. It did not last that long. After that she was fine. The virus is air borne

Two of our boys had hand foot and mouth virus. As far as I can remember there is nothing you can do. We took the boys to the doctor and there is no cream or medicine that can be taken. Those two boys of ours have had so many odd things that I can't remember all situations clearly. But if I remember correctly sometimes a low grade fever comes in the beginning stages. Make the kids comfortable. I believe we put socks on their hand so they wouldn't scratch. We cleaned all the toys. It went away on it's own in about 10 days.
Easier to deal with than ROTO VIRUS.
Good luck!

Oh my Goodness!

My 3 yr old son just got this earlier this week! I think he might have got it from our daycares daughter...and she is 13!

It's very common, not much you can really do but hope that you don't pass it on to anyone....or get it again! And remember popsicles are a good way to stay hydrated!