Hand, foot & mouth disease -- any advice?

Sarah - posted on 11/21/2012

my 2 children just 3 and 5 both had it about 2 weeks ago and It took my daughter a bit longer I guess because she had all three signs of h.f.m. disease. We had just been through Hurricane Sandy and had moved etc, been through alot and now complaining of gum pains. has anyone ever heard or had the same issues. recovered from the first round and now within a weekstime from being recovered, now complaining of swollen gums and not being able to eat Thankyou Sarah F

Jackie - posted on 09/02/2012

My little girl is 5 and she has had this on and off since she was three, at least 4 times. She gets ulcers on her gums and back of throat and throws major fits because of the discomfort. Now my 1 year old little man has it in the back of his throat and soles of his feet with a temp. of 102. It's a miserable epidemic. I am going to try orajel on her gums, and just use pediacare for the pain and fevers.

Karen - posted on 08/28/2012

hi there......my son is currently we think on having it the 2nd time!!!!. Apparently this can happen again !

My doctor told us he may be immune to it after his first time with it only 7 months ago ! But no!!!! He had a minor cold last week...this week we are seeing the spots in the mouth and on the bottom of the feet.

The first time was terrible. Fevers non-stop--then the spots came and one night they all attacked at once trying to break the skin! He kicked and kicked and kicked. Poor thing !!! The mouth was the worse part.........now we are wondering if this 2nd time is very minor because he had it before??? We have yet to find out ! No fevers though?????

Sarah - posted on 08/27/2012

Unfortunately like the common cold, HFMD has many different strains so you/children don't get the same one twice. I think eventually people become immune to it. The 2nd time my son had it, my husband caught it, but I never have.



It goes round the schools here in Singapore (mainly pre-schools and Kinder) like wild-fire and sometimes schools have had to close down for a few weeks for the epidemic to die down. It is very contagious, especially with young children. Hygiene is key - always wash your hand/use sanitizer before eating and keep your hands away from your mouth.



The last strain to go round Singapore was quite bad and several schools had to close. Luckily my son's school is very good for checking hands, feet and mouth before entering the school as well as checking temperatures and applying hand sanitizer now (which they always do). A lot of the play centres started doing the same thing and children had been known to be turned away. It starts with you as a parent to protect your children when there's an outbreak going around. I tend to avoid play centres or if I do take my son, I will make sure I clean his hands properly before handling food - the first time he caught it, I hadn't washed his hands after going to a play gym and he caught it quite bad, I've always felt guilty about that, I think it could have been avoided.

Rex - posted on 08/27/2012

my girl is 25 and gets it at least a dozen times... out of commission 5 days per. any help appriciated caught it at 22

Rex - posted on 08/27/2012

my 25 yr old daughter has had hand foot and mouth CONFIRMED at least a dozen times who can we go to in this world that can help.... OTHER WISE SHE IS THE PICTURE OF HEALTH.... sometimes months between episodes sometimes weeks help

Edie - posted on 07/04/2012

My daughter got this when she was 21. The doctor thought she had strep throat and gave her antibiotics which didn't do anything. They also gave her codeine, which she coincidentally started taking when the blisters showed up on her hands and feet. We thought she was allergic so she could only take tylenol and ibuprofin. The doctor said it was odd she got it so late, since usually only small children get the virus. Ramen noodles and long naps helped, also salt water washes three times a day in a warm shower. She could hardly eat or drink for about 5 days and was miserable. The doctor said it is usually more severe in adult cases and that once you get it, you won't get it again. However, just today she got more blisters in her throat, so it might not be a one time thing, as I was reading some of your comments that it is very easy to come back again...

Sherrie - posted on 11/29/2010

My daughter had it with Roseola at the same time! So she was hospitalized for a week.She would not drink because of the mouth sores and her fevers just wouldn't go away.The Dr,(Ped.) said it's a virus thats in the air.Also the "Miracal Mouthwash" for my daughter was benedril and Malox a 1/2 tsp. each same as another ladies!It helps. Just make sure the fevers gone and she's not in pain ,because it is a bad virus that can come back several times they said up to about 4-5 years old!And always make sure she's drinking enough and has wet diapers. They watch that alot! Also the Ped. told me to wipe down her toys with her wipes just to get the dirt off.They still suspect it's having to do with the babies putting dirty bacteria from the virus in their mouths.Hope she feels better soon! My daughter had it 2 times 1st at 7 mos. and then 13 mos.??? Wierd but very contagious.Happy Holidays and God Bless!Sher& Desi PS: hope this helps!

Amanda - posted on 11/03/2010

My 2 kids both had it recently my 4 year old only got a few spots on her hands and feet but didn't eat for a few days as she had them bad in her mouth. My son 18 months got it bad it got infected and ended up on antibiotics have been told it last in the systems for a few years and can pop up when it feels like it not sure how true that is

Charuta - posted on 10/29/2010

Hi Jenn,
My daughter is now 20 months old...she had suffered these hand,foot and mouth rashes when she was 18Months...
It lasted for 4-5Days.
We had kept her at home only as it is contagious (but mildly). She was not going to Daycare during that time.
My Ped has not prescribed any medicin for rashes on hand and foot...he said, it will go naturally. But for mouth, he had given a gel
On our own, we were just bathing here with lukewarm water and without any soap...later put baby powder on her for soothing...nothing much...
The rashes dried out with dark brown skin after 4-5 days...then we just put some lotion for dry skin...

Amy - posted on 10/27/2010

My son was about 15 months when he got hfm disease. Luckily he had a pretty mild case and had none in his mouth. He never even acted sick. It took about five days for the rash to heal. The disease isn't too contagious and really its the oozing from the sores that's contagious. Once the rash scabs over its fine to be around others again. I say if your daughter is uncomfortable give her some tylenol. Hope she feels better soon!

Karmi - posted on 10/26/2010

My son was about 8 month an then he was maybe a little over a year when he got it the second time. The first time I didn't even know he had it until a week later after he caught it because he was in no discomfort and had very little red spots. The second time it lasted almost a week and a half and he was miserable. I would say to read a little bit more about hand foot and mouth because it is only contagious for a certain period of time. After all the fever is gone it is no longer contagious except for through her bowel movements. If she doesn't have a fever I think she should be okay to play with other kids. Also if she is extremely uncomfortable and won't eat or sleep, like my son the second time he had it. Then I would go to the doctor and ask for the "miracle mouth wash" that is numbing agent for the soars in the mouth as well as tylenol with codeine. It isn't a lot of codine but enough to help your child relax and go to sleep. The miracle mouth wash was a life saver, my son got so much better and ate much more after the soars in his mouth had gone away.

Sarah - posted on 10/24/2010

Hi, my boy is 20 months and has had this twice now as it's quite rife in Singapore. It's very contagious so your dd would have picked it up from someone like at a play group or gym etc. The last time my ds got it I was quite annoyed at myself as I believe I could have avoided it if I had remembered to wash his hands before giving his snack after going to a play gym.

HFM usually starts with a high fever and loss of appetite. The first time he had it I noticed the rash straight away on his feet, chest, arms and bottom but the Dr said it wasn't HFM because it wasn't on the soles or palms of his feet, nor in his mouth but I'm not convinced.

He had it again recently and there was no obvious rash on his body, it was only when the Dr looked in his mouth and found white spots on the back of his throat. There is nothing you can do apart from give pain relief, and lots of water if possible. DS would only eat really sloppy baby food so I was back to jars for a couple of days till he could eat normally again.

I was told that the they are contagious 2 weeks from the day they caught it and count about 3 days back from the day you first noticed HFM and go from there. The other thing I did was wipe all his toys with antibacterial wipes just to make sure he doesn't catch it again.

Adults have a stronger immune system so don't tend to catch it that easily as it's normally passed by dribble and saliva so avoid kissing your baby around or on the mouth for a few days.

Hope this helps.

Jenn - posted on 10/21/2010

Catherine, Nicola, Amanda, Samantha, and Leah - Thank you all for your words of wisdom and support. Knowing what you and your little ones went through was reassuring, and the advice on medicine and food options very useful. I can happily report that our long week is over and we all survived. She had two rough nights of sleep, but I'm continually amazed at what a champ these kids can be - she weathered it well :-) Thanks again!

Leah - posted on 10/21/2010

My son had it at 18 months! He had it for about two weeks, he was not eating like he normally did! We took him to the doctor and they told us to give Tylenol and things like jello and popsicles for eating because of the blisters in his mouth. His blisters lasted for about a week and a half and he had them all over. Just let them do what they are willing to do, it will sort of keep their mind off of it. I was also told that most adults will not get it, but my sister and I both got it from our children. We did not get the mouth blisters but we had them all over our hands and feet. I didn't think it was painful at all, but I didn't have it in my mouth! Hope this helps!

Samantha - posted on 10/20/2010

My daughter was about 18 months when she got it, she had blisters only in her mouth, we were lucky she doesnt put her hands in her mouth at all...my dr had me do a mixture of 1/2tsp liquid benedryl and 1/2 tsp of mylanta and use a cotton swab to dab it in her mouth..it numbed it..also just gave motrin, it took 7-10 days to go away..no fun!

Amanda - posted on 10/20/2010

My son had it when he was 18 months. We did cold popsicles for his mouth and tylenol at night to help him sleep. The health department says it ok to be around other kids after the fever is gone. We checked on it because my son attends the daycare I work at but i kept him out till his blisters were gone.

Nicola - posted on 10/19/2010

Hi Jenn, My daughter had it and it was terrible, they are miserable and she had ulcers in her mouth so had difficulty eating. It only lasted a week thank goodness. She was 18 months when she got it. We had lots of play time and time at home, and that is when we introduced crayons and non marking felt tip pens. As Sophie didnt have it on her feet so badly she still ran around outside and we walked to the local park, with her on her bike to play on the equipment when we could. Obviously when there were other kids we went elsewhere. Dried fruit works when they are not wanting other wet products that sting the mouth. Baby panadol or whatever pain relief you use should help, and lots of cuddles. Good luck.

Catherine - posted on 10/16/2010

Hi, my neighbors son had it when he was 2 yrs old. he was miserable. he had it on the bottom of his feet so he couldnt walk. "poor thing"
depending on your babys age let her do what she feels she can do,
my neighbors son got medicine from his doctor to fight the HFM and to make him sleep at night.
i hope this helps.