How Horrible is this!?!

Moms View Message Board: Parenting Discussion: Archive July-December 2004: How Horrible is this!?!

About a month ago I posted that my dd would not keep her hands out of her diaper. Well, Sunday, I noticed she had a slight fever so I kept her home from church well the fever went away, and yesterday I noticed she had a blister type rash on her bottom and some of the same type of rash on her face (in the corners of her mouth). They were not horrible looking or anything, but still a rash-looking place.

I called the doctor and he said it could be one of two things, he would have to see her to tell. Well, I started looking all over her body to see if she had anymore because my Aunt said that HFMD (which in fact is caused, in her case, from playing with her poop while I wasn't looking) was going around. And low and behold she had little places on her hands and soles of her feet. I just knew this was it, so I looked it up on the Internet and come to find out there is no "medicine" or anything the doctor can do about it, my poor little dd has not ate real good the past 2 days but she is drinking Milk like it is going out of style, so maybe she won't get dehydrated.

The bad thing is I read that it *can* be serious. So I don't want to play around with her health!

I am taking her to the doctor tomorrow to make sure that is what it is, they told me over the phone, (if it is in fact HFM) then I need to keep her away from pregnant women ... that's wondeful. So I had to call my ob/gyn to make sure everything will be okay and I am waiting for a call back from her.

I am a nervous wreck not to mention I feel horrible that she even has this in the first place.

Just wanted to let it out, and see if anyone has any suggestions, this is the first time that either one of my children has ever had anything like this, I am totally clueless as to how "real" people deal with this, I have only been reading about the facts. If you don't care to help me out I would appreciate it. Thanks for listening.

By Kernkate on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 02:46 pm:

{{{Candis}}} I feel so bad for you and your DD. No advice here just hope it all will work out well at the doctors. Keep us posted.

By Trina~moderator on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 03:15 pm:

Hand Food Mouth Disease is quite common. You're being too hard on yourself. My DD had it as a toddler and she rarely got into her diaper. Your DD could have gotten the germs just as easily from a shopping cart. It's a virus and needs to pass on it's own. Just do whatever you can to keep her comfortable. {{{HUGS}}}

KeepKidsHealthy.com - HFM

DrGreene.com - HFM

By Bobbie~moderator on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 09:38 pm:

I so agree with Trina. Kids catch things no matter how good you "take care of/ watch" them... Cut your self some slack... And what did the OB say?

By My2cuties on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 09:50 pm:

Sorry I never posted back about my doctor.... Her nurse told me to just wash my hands after each diaper change, and of course I am taking precautions such as not kissing her on her mouth and keeping her hands and feet away from my mouth, (which she tends to want to do at this age). And I also wash her hands and feet and face a couple times with soap and water during the day, don't know how much that will help, but it seems to make her feel better for a while.

Now I am just trying to be extra cautious so that my 3 year old does not get it also.... I will try to take it easy, I read to gently coat her mouth with equal parts of Benadryl and Maalox and I think I might go buy some tomorrow so she doesn't have to be in pain. Good thing DH will be coming home in the morning, so he can go to the doctor with us.

By Jewlz on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 10:47 pm:

Lidocaine (1 part)
Maalox (1 part)
Benadryl (1 part
this combonation is a healing and numbing effect the lidocane is oragel
my daughter got this wehn she was a toddler and only ate popsicles and icecream and puddin ..the dr said to let her have as much as she could handle cuz then she wouldnt get dehydrated ... it takes about 10 days to get thru this miserable disease ..good luck to u and her it wont be easy

By Imamommyx4 on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 - 11:35 pm:

You can mix the 2 or 3 things together in a bottle and it is good for at least a week. We mix the solution at our pharmacy and give it 14 days expiration. Just be sure to use a clean q-tip each time you dip into it or pour a little into a cup and discard after use. Even though it is good for 2 weeks I wouldn't risk keeping it any longer. The Maalox and Benadryl are over the counter. So you can mix that yourself. The lidocaine is prescription.
If your mix has the lidocaine in it, I would suggest swish and spit or coat with a q-tip. It want hurt to swallow it but it does make a lot of people feel nauseous when it hits their stomachs.
Good luck.

By Children03 on Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - 09:01 am:

Yep, that is pretty horrible. Poor baby. I hope it clears up soon.

By My2cuties on Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - 10:50 am:

Now I am confused, she woke up this morning with maybe 1 or 2 spots on her feet or hands and her mouth seems to be clearing up, it may have just been a freak incident. I am glad we are going to the doctor today though, to see what it was if this is not the cause, or has anyone ever heard of it clearing up in a couple days instead of 10 days? Now I feel like I have worried over nothing, but we'll see after 3 pm today (when she goes to the dr.)

By Lauram on Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - 11:18 am:

My ds had it last spring. I'm pretty sure she would have gotten it with contact from someone else's feces- not her own (someone who is infected with it). That sounds gross, but it can be anywhere (like the grocery cart as was mentioned). My son got much better in a few days, but the whole thing lasted about 10 days. It's actually a pretty common childhood illness.

By My2cuties on Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - 11:39 am:

OMG I would much rather think it was her own, Now I am going to be paranoid, I guess I just never thought of things being that gross, I wonder what I need to do to keep germs away from them. I carry hand sanitizer around everywhere, but she still puts everything in her mouth so I guess I will just have to watch her more closely. Thanks for the info Laura, I just hope there is enough "symptoms" for the doctor to tell us what it was (or is).

By Rayanne on Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - 03:07 pm:

Good luck and don't beat yourself up over this. Please let us know how the doctor appointment goes. {{{{{HUGS}}}}}

By Vicki on Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - 08:16 pm:

How did her appointment go?

By My2cuties on Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - 11:01 pm:

Well, we went straight to church from the doctor, so here goes the story...

The doctor looked at her and everything looks perfect, He said are you sure she only had 1 day of fever, I said yes. He said, well, let me look at her throat because that is where I can really tell, and so he looked and he said she had 2 bumps, and said this was the most mild case of this he had ever seen.. Thank God, he said that she was at the end stages and she should clear up real soon. I am so relieved that I didn't have to go through all the horror stories that I have heard that come with this. He also said that if my 3 year old hasn't caught it by now, chances are she won't catch it. YAY! I was very disturbed to hear that this could have came to her by any way, he even suggested that a table at a restaurant that had been wiped down with ONLY soap and water could have been the culprit, So I guess if I don't want my children to get sick I need to carry around a bottle of bleach...thank God for an immune system I guess, right? lol Anyway, things went very well, thank you for taking time to listen.

Oh and if you wanted to know Katelyn's 3 year check-up went great too, they did an eye exam and we get the results back tomorrow.

By My2cuties on Friday, November 19, 2004 - 04:35 pm:

Update~ she is clear of any spot as of this morning. I am so thankful it is over.