Hand, Foot, and Mouth

No, the title isn't a new variation of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (Knees and Toes).  It's the name of the illness that spread like wildfire through Tyler's daycare... and through the Self household.

First, a bit of info from the CDC:

Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a common viral illness that usually affects infants and children younger than 5 years old. However, it can sometimes occur in adults. Symptoms of hand, foot, and mouth disease include fever, blister-like sores in the mouth, and a skin rash.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease is often confused with foot-and-mouth disease (also called hoof-and-mouth disease), a disease of cattle, sheep, and swine. However, the two diseases are caused by different viruses and are not related. 

Basically, it's called hand, foot, and mouth disease (or HFMD) because that's where you see the symptoms -- skin rash on your hands and feet and sores in your mouth.  Tyler's pediatrician said the main concern with HFMD is dehydration because the sores can make a child stop wanting to eat/drink because it hurts when they do so.

The other big concern -- contagiousness.  More from the CDC:

The viruses that cause hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) can be found in an infected person’s nose and throat secretions, blister fluid, and feces.

An infected person may spread the viruses that cause hand, foot, and mouth disease through close personal contact, the air (through coughing or sneezing), contact with feces, contaminated objects and surfaces.

Generally, a person with hand, foot, and mouth disease is most contagious during the first week of illness. People can sometimes be contagious for days or weeks after symptoms go away. Some people, especially adults, who get infected with the viruses that cause hand, foot, and mouth disease may not develop any symptoms. However, they may still be contagious. This is why people should always try to maintain good hygiene (e.g. handwashing) so they can minimize their chance of spreading or getting infections.

You should stay home while you are sick with hand, foot, and mouth disease. Talk with your healthcare provider if you are not sure when you should return to work or school. The same applies to children returning to daycare.

Hmm, so my coughing, snotty, put-everything-in-his-mouth and/or compelled-to-touch-everything-in-sight kid is contagious?  And he can spread these germs by sneezing, coughing, or touching things?  Sounds like a great combination.



So last Monday, Tyler had a fever, so he stayed home with me while Jason went to work.  Tuesday, we get a call from Tyler's teacher saying that HFMD is running rampant and what symptoms to look for.  Tyler no longer had a fever, but he did have a rash of tiny bumps on his arms and legs.  I took him to the doctor Wednesday morning (can I tell you how much I love walk-in hours at our pediatrician?) and before she even examined Tyler, she confirmed it was HFMD from across the room.

The doctor also said that the cold symptoms Jason and I were experiencing were from HFMD, which meant we were just as contagious as Tyler.  So Jason worked from home the rest of the week.  Tyler and I were also on house arrest.

Tyler was a trooper.  Once he got past his fever on Monday, he was in great spirits (didn't seem to feel sick at all) and enjoyed playing and watching tv all day (more on that in a later post).  Besides having cold symptoms (and a severe case of cabin fever from being sequestered all week), Jason and I were fine, too.... until Thursday.

Oh, Thursday.  I felt like someone had hit me on the head with a sledgehammer.  I moved in slow motion, trying to keep up with my spirited little one, and felt achy all over.  After lunch, Tyler took a 4 hour nap, twice as long as his usual afternoon nap.  I couldn't have been more grateful, because I took a nap for 3 of those 4 hours.  When I did wake up, I had a chill and stayed curled up on the couch under a blanket.  Shortly after that, I took my temperature -- 103.3.  Hmm, that's not good.  I popped a few DayQuil and got my temp to go down to 101.  Still not good, but better than 103.  Oh, did I mention the nausea?  Yep, I made it through my entire pregnancy without throwing up, but one week with HFMD and I did not fair as well.

Friday, the fever and nausea was gone (thank goodness!), but I had developed some sores in the back of my throat.  This made me a bit cranky, but I was still able to eat and drink for the most part, and anything was better than Thursday!  I had also developed a bit of a rash on my arms and legs.  So much for "most adults only show cold-like symptoms."  I had the H, the F, and the M!

By the weekend, we felt we were well enough/not-as-contagious to venture outside of the house.  We visited Duke Gardens first thing Saturday morning when it was coolest and least populated.  It was glorious.  I'm sooooooo tired of this house!  We did stay home from church yesterday, though, because spending hours in close contact with tons of other people (not to mention Tyler being around a lot of other kids) seemed like a bad idea.

We were finally on the mend... until Sunday afternoon.  Jason took a long nap (unusual for him) and woke up complaining about a throbbing headache and a chill.  Oh no... I walked over, grabbed the thermometer, and took his temperature.  Sure enough, 100.8.  Jason said, "What's wrong with us?!?"  Thankfully, his temp was back to normal Sunday night (without taking a fever-reducer), but this HFMD has just stomped the Selfs!



Today is Monday, and Jason and Tyler were both well enough to go back to work/school.  I'm supposed to be starting a week of VBS at my church today, but I thought I may still be a bit contagious and didn't want to put my 2nd graders at risk.  A friend thankfully stepped in to sub today and tomorrow, and I'll be there Wednesday-Friday (possibly wearing long sleeves and pants if the rash is still visible).

Anyway, several of you have been asking how we're doing, so this is your answer (probably a "better" would have been a sufficient answer for most of you).  It's also a way for me to document/remember later on about this crazy, crazy week.  Let's hope the rest of the summer is disease-free!