Foot and Mouth Disease

Some how, my roommate and i got that in college. We were miserable as well, rest and lots of liquid was best for us! It seems like it was about 4 days before it was gone! Just hang in there!

Luckily my day care has never gotten a rash of it but it went thru summer camp of a friend last year. lots of bendaryl and tylenol. Also, be very careful not to get it yourself. My friend caught it from her daughter and it much worse in adults.

S., I have 2 kids and have worked in MMO for years - always kept immaculately clean house - the virus you're referring to sounds worse than it is - except that the kiddo's are miserable. Keep them comfortable with OTC pain reliever. You will need to clean their toys as it is transmitted I believe through the saliva, hand-mouth-saliva-toys-other children - just a cap of bleach to a gallon of water then a good rinsing with water, nothing toxic. Good luck.

My son had the blisters in his mouth when he had this at around 8 months. The doctor told us to give him a mixture of Maalox and Benadryl and that helped tremendously. Even though your sons have the sores externally the Benadryl, if it makes them sleepy, could be great. Some children get wired from Benadryl, but if yours don't, by all means try it; they will probably heal more while they sleep too. And the Maalox takes the acid out of their diarrhea, which helps lessen the burning with that.

This is a VERY common and contagous child hood disease. It just has to run its course. My son had the worst case of it our Dr had ever seen. it can have only a couple of bumps to hundreds of bumps on the hands (usually palms and bottom of feet) and mouth area inside and out.

There is really nothing to do. possiby oatmeal baths may help. it just has to run its course. and feed them binding foods like rice and cheese but lessen up on the high fiber foods like banannas, fruit, oatmeal, cereal...they will make the loose stools worse.

Hi S.,

This is not a fun one, but one that I would say most parents go through. The only thing I did was give Motrin or Tylenol consistently, and give them the recommended dosage of benadryl for their age/weight and mix that with the same amount of maalox. This really helps if given about half an hour before meal time...they may actually eat for you. It could take 3-5 days, so hang in there. Sterilize everything...some kids get it more than once, so bleach is your friend.

S., We just got over this. I have 3 yr.old b/g twins, and a 20 mth. old, so I know where you are coming from. The Pediatrican told me about the Benedryl/Malox mixer to help with the pain. Also, Motrin or Tylenol. My son doesn't tolerate the pain well, so he ends up with a pain killer, but that's only for one night, and that's the worst night. If you have made it through 3 days, you are on the downside of it. I know that it seems never ending, but I promise it will all of the sudden get better. My son went from crying for 3 nights to one day waking and not making another fuss. My daughter had the ulcers really bad, and never said a word, and then the baby just was really whiny, and then just stopped. Good luck, and I promise it will end soon!!

Hi Shelia!

My son had this when he was about 18 months old. He had the lacy rash on the body and blisters in his mouth.

My son actually got this from a neighbor's child who was handling a hamster and then held my son's hands without washing them. (GROSS!)

It will go away soon, but be sure to keep the babies away from anyone pregnant. Also, good hygiene is really a great way to prevent passing it back and forth, etc, plus future infections.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/enterovirus/hfhf.htm

That will give you some more info on it. You can search for "hand food and mouth in children" and it should pull up some more information it as well!

Good luck, and this too shall pass.

Also--with them having diarrhea, you may want to include the BRAT diet (Banana's, rice, applesauce, and toast--any binding, starchy foods) in their daily dining routines. I know with my son's mouth blisters, he didn't want much to eat, and he wanted soft foods, and he wanted to nurse--a lot. I also remember letting him have a few popsicles here and there too. Poor babies. I hope they are 100% better, soon!

Hi S.,

My daughter got this around the age of 5 and my 1 yr old got it at the same time as well. It's very contagious but not very common with adults (mostly young children).
Do the twins have sores in the back of their throat?
That was the most painful part for my daughter and son.
They had trouble eating and drinking but for some reason Pepsi seemed to be helpful on my daughters throat and she never drinks cokes.
I told the Pedi the only thing that helps her throat was Pepsi and she said as long as she's drinking anything that's all that matters.
It says that Hand, Foot & Mouth can last for up to 2 weeks but my kids were never in pain for more than 3-4 days before symptoms started improving.

I am sorry to hear your twins have caught this but as much as I hate to say it, this will probably not be their last time.
It's just so contagious and if one child has it their bound to both catch it like mine always did.
So far my kids have had it twice and it's always around the beginning of my daughters school year.
If they start getting a rash from the diarrhea, then I suggest using the Triple Paste Ointment found at Drug Stores or Walmart Supercenter.

Good luck and hope everyone gets better soon!

It is hand, foot, & mouth disease. It also is not really a disease. My son had it and DR said to mix 50/50 ratio of malox and benadryl and give them 1/2 tsp of that mixture every 4 hours. The mixture will sooth their throats. You can coat the blisters with the mixture as well with a cotton swab. Otherwise there is not a lot you can do. Do not forget while they still have the blisters they are contagious.

Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease is a type of virus, coxsackie virus to be exact. Like any virus, it needs to run its course and treatment is symptomatic. Give your kiddos plenty of fluids (avoid fruit juices as they will make the diarrhea worse)...you can try pedialyte popsicles & frozen applesauce too. I agree with the other Mama that wrote about the Maalox/Benadryl solution. It will help to relieve the mouth discomfort. Wash your hands too. Coxsackie doesn't care about age!

My kids have gotten this so many times I have seriously lost count. It runs rampant at daycare centers.

At first you will all be miserable, and then after the fever subsides, no one will probably want to eat because of the sores that are possibly in their mouth.

My doctor gave us a medicine for my son's mouth that helps numb it a bit because he had the bumps in it so badly. That is the only time I've ever gotten anything for HFM. It was a lydocaine, benedryl mix I think.

In a day or so you will all probably start to feel better. The blisters are the worst (or they look it). It's going to take a good two weeks or so for them to finally go away.

Whenever my kids get diarrhea I always switch them to pedialyte and that seems to help. Also people below suggested the BRAT diet - that is also helpful and lots of butt paste for their poor sore butts which they already probably have sores on. They should have called it HFMB - Hand foot mouth butt because most kids get bumps on their butts too.

Hang in there. Hopefully you won't get it. My husband and I have only gotten it ONCE in the 7 times or so my kids have gotten it in 4 years. It's really bad when the adults get it.

We just got over this about a month ago with my youngest. I heard it's not normal at this time of the year but my doctor in McKinney said she had quite a few cases. I didn't think it was HFM this time because he started to get a rash over some other areas of his body and my kids have never done that before!

All of my kids have had this...it is nasty but really harmless. It does cause them quite a bit of discomfort if they have the sores in their mouth. Ask your doctor about making them a "cocktail" to help with the pain from the sores...I think it is a benadryl and maalox mix. I don't remember the ratio and definitely ask your pedi!