Hand Foot Mouth - Elk Grove,CA

Hi M. - unfortunately the dr is right. There is no treatment for that. It is painful though so if you could give some pain killer would be helpful. Otherwise, it is a waiting thing.

good luck!

We live in Singapore where this is very common. All 3 of my daughters have gotten it. There really is nothing you can do to speed recovery. My kids though only got rash on literally hands, feet and mouth. The mouth was hard because eating became a chore. But that cleared up in a couple of days. Its more miserable for you because you have to keep the kids away from those who don't have it. And in my case 2 of 3 daughters had it so I had to separate the healthy one from the sick ones. Good luck!

It is terribly painful! There are hundreds of strains, so they can get it again. My daught caught it three times in day care. Yes, I was furious. The 2nd and 3rd time there were no blisters in her mouth, only on hands.

I caught it from her. Nothing really helps the mouth, I liked cold foods, as did my daughter. She had her first tast of ice cream and a popsicle with this illness.

Interestingly enough, we put her eczema cream, Elidel, on her hands the last time and it cleared right up....1 days. I knew the signs and applied it immediately. I didn't really know why, but thought I'd give it a try. It may have been a coincidence that the blisters never fully realized on her palms.

S

Hi there!

My daughter has it this 3 times! (Which is really unheard of) So, I know what you are going through and I am so sorry to hear that your son has this.
The best thing I did was a combo of Tylenol and Motrin which as you said, just eased the pain. Because of the soars in her mouth, my daughter did not want to eat. So, I took really soft foods like yogurt and sometimes some baby jar foods and spoon fed them to her watered down with some milk. I would stay away from any fruit (applesauce) or tomatoes that are acidic because that will make the soars worse.
I did find that she got a little better each day and wanted to be held a lot (which is unusual for her) so that is what I did.

Best of luck and hang in there!

-L.

This is great reading all the info from everyone because my daughter just got over this and she is 22mo - she had sores all in her mouth and the only thing she liked to eat were the yogurt smoothies she drank from a straw.
This was 2 wks ago and I just developed sores in my mouth 3 days ago! ugh so gross and painful. It lasted 4 days for my daughter so hopefully your son will get rid of it quickly.
My daughter went on antibiotics which I thought cleared the sores immediately but then reading about the disease it says antibiotics don't help so that is a little confusing for me.
My son is her twin and he never really got it but who knows he might still - especially seeing that kids have had it multiple times! I had no idea. It was my understanding once you get it you develop the antibody so you don't get it again. It must be all the different strands...like all the other awful colds this winter.
Hang in there and make him milkshakes or take him to get one so he doesn't think about it!
I used a spray in my mouth which numbed the pain but it says only 3yrs and up - I would call your pediatrician and see if that is something you can use because my mouth is so sore so I can't imagine how the little ones must feel.

I caught this from my daughter and boy, was I miserable. I felt terrible that I hadn't given her cold things to eat to ease the pain in the mouth. I recommend putting those yogurt tubes in the freezer for her to eat.

Both of my kids had this (at different times) and last year when my daughter had this I also caught it. This virus is awful. (think swallowing razor blades) The biggest problem is it hurts to eat anything (but your appetite isn't affected). I was starving, but didn't want to put anything in my mouth. My daughter survived on drinkable yogurt through a straw and the occasional piece of cheese. Dairy is good because it coats the sores. Only mild foods that don't require a lot of chewing. Avoid anything with any sort of spice, acid or too much salt. Bananas are good too, broken off in small pieces. Just remember soft (well cooked noodles) and bland. We alternated the tylenol/motrin but she was still in a lot of pain. We gave her frozen food whenever she asked ( I think she may have even eaten ice cream for dinner one night) but if she asked for it, I gave it too her since she was barely eating anything. Depending on how severe a case he has it can go away within 4 days or last over a week. My daughter had it for 9 days, I had it for 8, my son about 5 days. Just try to keep him comfortable and his mind off his pain. We let our kids watch way more movies than normal during the time they were ill just so they could think about something else. My son was only a year when he had it and we squirted a dropperful of maalox in his mouth to coat the sores before meals, and that seemed to help, although my daughter would not tolerate this. Good luck and hope he is feeling better soon.

Your poor son! When my oldest got hand foot mouth 2.5 years ago, I think the doctor prescribed a perscription hyrocortezone which is a bit stronger than the over the counter hydrocortezone. Good luck! Hope your son gets over this soon!

Hi M.,

My son had it exactly one year ago. Asides from your doctors advise, I used Aveeno soothing bath and some Aveeno cream to make him feel comfortable. Make sure to disinfect anything your son touches or puts in his mouth. Hope your little one feels better soon!!!

Hi M.,

It must be frustrating for you. I met a young lady that had the same problem and fought it for years. She finally came across one of my friends that suggested changing the water her child drank and showered with and gave him some supplements to help turn his body more alkaline and it went away. When the body stays to acid virus, bacteria and disease can live in that envioronment.

I have a children's wellness DVD that I purchased from one of the events and there were many children with several challenges and their mothers sharing natural solutions for their symptoms.

If you would like more info let me know.

N. Marie

I just have to say I am a big proponent of letting fevers run their course unless it gets too high (104) or they can't get to sleep because they are in too much pain and other home remedies for fevers don't work. Virus are killed more quickly with a fever which means less time your child is suffering. A fever is the body's natural mechanism for fighting bugs. Not to mention, it often helps the child sleep through being sick. It really is helpful and misunderstood.

My youngest daughter used to rarely ever show symptoms of anything except for high fevers for 2 days which she pretty much slept through and came out on the other end completely well. At first it used to scare me until I did some research. She is now 11 and incredibly healthy.

Hi, M.. Please call me if nothing helping your son, I don't have time to write, but keep my phone number,
###-###-####. A. Bofinger

Your doctor's advice is pretty much it. My daughter had this while we were on vacation in another state. Our doctor also said to keep her busy to get her attention away from the rash, etc.

Good Luck!

Hi M.,
Both my daughter had it last summer. The older one, 3 at the time had it the worst, high temp, sores all in her mouth and down her throat. She was so miserable she wouldn't eat a thing, not even jello, popsicles, etc. The frozen yogurt suggestion sounds like a good idea, but my daughter has life threatening allergies to dairy. She got a little better and started eating again after 4 days. Then my younger daughter, 1 1/2 at the time, caught it but it wasn't nearly as bad. A few sores in the mouth and on her legs and feet. Didn't stop her from eating. My older daughter caught it again in January. It's not fun to see them so uncomfortable and to not be able to do anything about it. Hang in there, it should be over soon.

All 3 of my kids had this about 3 weeks ago...fortunately they all only had the mouth form, so they didn't have the rash all over. They did all have high temperatures and the nasty sores at the back of their mouths. No meds because it is a virus and needs to run its course. I used a combo of Tylenol and Motrin to keep the fever down and lots of rest...that was about it. My son (5 years) got it first and then 4 days later both of my girls (5 and 2) got it. Seemed my son was just getting better as my daughters got it, so it lasted about 4-5 days for each. Seemed like forever though.

So hang in there.....he will bounce back. Good news is that once they have it they can't get it again is what I understand.

J.

Both my older kids had hand foot and mouth. Other than a slight temp. and a rash they were over it in less than a week, maybe a week and a half. However, my youngest son had Kawasaki's Disease at 14 months. He had an elevated temp. 104-105 for 5 days, then developed a rash similar to hives all over his body and on the 7th day he developed sores in his mouth. This is when they diagnosed him, after three trips to the doctors including an emergency room visit. The ER doctor said he had a severe allergic reaction to something and gave him a shot of epanephrine, which helped with the rash. If your son's condition doesn't improve soon I would take him back to the doctor.

Hi M.,
My son had this last spring. He was almost 3 at the time. He was so miserable and couldn't eat so I made him smoothies with mostly banana and milk (no citrus because that might have irritated the sores) and took him daily to Wendy's for a frosty. We eat pretty healthy and he thought the frosty's were a really big deal and it gave him something to look forward to every day. I had to keep him out of daycare for 5 days.
The biggest concern that I had at the time was that we had been around a pregnant friend who was due any minute. It's important that if your son was around someone at the end of their pregnancy that you let them know they were exposed and to tell their doctor. It can be VERY serious for a newborn.
One funny thing is that my son didn't speak at all while he was sick. He's usually so talkative and when he's quiet it usually means he's getting into something. I couldn't leave him to play in his room because I couldn't hear him and it made me nervous. I was so happy to have a conversation with him again once he was better and hear that sweet little voice.
I hope your little one gets better soon! The first couple of days are the worst, the last few are just the sores but no fever...at least that is how it was for us.
A.