Recovering from HFMD

So this fun little post is brought to you by the enterovirus "coxsackievirusA16", most commonly known as "Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease" (HFMD).  And both my girls got it.  And here's the kicker, I didn't even know they had it until Kinsey was over it and Brielana was halfway through it.  Big ole #momfail.  And what makes it more shameful is I have dealt with HFMD in my own classroom over the years.  Doh!

Let me start at the beginning of this embarrassing tale.  Kinsey got a new pair of Native's and loves them.  They are lightweight, Princess pink and easily slide on and off.  They also have "air holes" and after a day of romping around the park, we noticed some blisters on her heels that night.  She didn't complain about them and she said they weren't painful, so we kept an eye on them and applied some antibacterial ointment and a band aid and called it 'cased closed.'

A week later they were still there but the blisters were reduced and were starting to turn into just little pinpricks of red dotting her heel.  Still no extra thought about it but we were more strict about wearing socks and shoes outside.

Well, Brielana was helping me weed the backyard last Saturday and she was wearing some cut-out moccasins with no socks and that evening I noticed her little heel had a blister too.  I felt like poop that I hadn't put socks on her and promptly put those shoes in the consign pile.  

Monday we met some friends at the park, had a grand time and by Tuesday, Brielana had a couple of strange blisters on her fingers.  Well, she's a pointer-and-middle-finger-sucker and I figured since she's cutting 4 molars all at the same time, maybe her sucking was more severe?  (This whole replay of my logic is so embarrassing.  But these are seriously all the things that I attributed to this episode.)

Well, on Wednesday Brian got a good look at Brielana's blisters, connected Kinsey's blisters from 2 weeks prior, did some WebMD diagnostics and insisted she go to the Pediatrician because she probably had HFMD and he was really grossed out(!!!)  We actually got an appointment with the Infectious Diseases Specialist at the Practice, Dr. Dubray and she immediately agreed that it was definitely HFMD.

BUT, both girls displayed very mild forms of the virus because there were no blisters in their mouths, and Kinsey didn't display any hand blisters whatsoever, so she made me feel so much better.  And because it's a viral illness, no antibiotics are given, so it just has to run it course anyway.  So, worse mom of the year award recipient?  The worst part of this whole ordeal was having to call my friend and tell her that I may have exposed her 3 daughters to HFMD :/  She was also super understanding so that soothed my guilty conscience.  And thank goodness, none of her littles has contracted it!

So how did Kinsey get it?  No clue.  How did Brielana get it?  From sharing a drink with Kinsey.  It was spread through their saliva by the straw they both used. 

I'm happy to report Brielana's blisters have almost all faded away and she is her usually happy self.

Some facts about HFMD:

1) it is the second most common childhood virus next to the common cold.

2) it often starts with a fever and sore throat and then blisters can appear at the back of the throat (neither of my girls displayed this symptom.)

3) a rash will develop on hands and soles that range from faint red spots to painful blisters.

4) it lasts 7-10 days and no antibiotics are prescribed. 

5) this virus is not dangerous if contracted.

The handout Dr. Dubray gave us about HFMD that she wrote.

It's almost the start of a new school year so be on the lookout for HFMD.  Stay healthy, friends!

Let's end on a high note: don't forget to enter to win an item from You Little Loves here!