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Original poster

To ask how long the symptoms of adult hand, foot and mouth last??

35 replies

Badgergirl123 · 04/09/2021 23:55

So it turns out our lovely toddler has passed hand, foot and mouth disease onto me. She appears to have had no symptoms, I had a fever starting Wed through to Friday which was awful but has thankfully lifted. After days of a sore mouth the ulcers have come through and the hand/feet blisters have appeared. It's driving me insane!! How long will they last now that they're here?!? Any remedies anyone swears by??

Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
lyntheyresexpeople · 05/09/2021 00:01

Gosh it's awful isn't it. My DH genuinely almost died from it! His fever got so dangerously high he convulsed, knocked himself unconscious and stopped breathing. I had to call 999, I was sure he was dead! He felt rotten for two days after, then it was the blisters that drove him mad. We found calamine lotion helped, and a cool flannel on his hands as they were hot and itchy. Also paracetamol for the inflammation and temp, but no ibuprofen as it interferes with chicken pox and HFM and can cause severe side effects and scars. Lots and lots of fluids and rest as much as you can.
It's so much worse for adults! Our little darlings thankfully don't seem to suffer much with it! I hope you feel better soon x

Original poster
Badgergirl123 · 05/09/2021 00:08

Thanks @lyntheyresexpeople (great username by the way, never tire of that episode!)

The fever was unreal, never had one quite as intense. Can you remember roughly how long the blisters lasted? I have one throbbing away nestled between two toes, it's only been about 10 hours and I need a timeline to power through Grin Good call about the ibubrofen thanks.

OP posts:
lyntheyresexpeople · 05/09/2021 00:13

@Badgergirl123 I believe it was 10 days before they were gone. He had to be off work until they were all healed over as he works with food. They burst after a few days and were less itchy, but it was a couple weeks at least. The gp did say it was one of the most severe cases he'd seen, so fingers crossed you don't suffer quite as badly. Ice lollies for your mouth too! X

And thank you for the username love 🥰

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 05/09/2021 00:19

Ds had it at 16 and was in a real state and needed a week off school.

Nat6999 · 05/09/2021 00:21

I ended up at A & E, I was given steroids & antihistamines, my fingertips were just massive blisters, my feet as well, I also had spots all over my bum which I didn't know was part of hand foot & mouth. Once the infection cleared up I lost the skin off the soles of my feet & fingers. I never had it as a child, my mum had never heard of it even though she had two children.

TossaCoinToYerWitcher · 05/09/2021 00:31

I got this when DS1 was a toddler (never had it when I was young). The initial sickness and ulcers lasted a couple of weeks-ish, but to my (unpleasant) surprise the bumps on my hands came and went for about 12 months. According to my GP (who diagnosed it) as its related to Chicken Pox and Herpes, there's a slight possibility it can lodge itself permanantly in your body and erupt again when you get stressed. He advised it might take 18 months or so for my immune system to fully get on top of it, which to be fair, it did. The bumps dwindled to only appearing when I had a cold/was particularly stressed and (touch wood) haven't really shown themselves since.

Original poster
Badgergirl123 · 05/09/2021 00:33

@Nat6999 I was just reading that the spots can reach bum and groin! I'm meant to be going on holiday next week for the first time in two years, praying I don't end up having to stay home dabbing calamine lotion onto my arse instead!!

OP posts:
Original poster
Badgergirl123 · 05/09/2021 00:36

Hmmm, i've never had chickenpox, wonder if that's a good or bad thing. This thread is doing literally nothing to reassure me 😂

OP posts:
TossaCoinToYerWitcher · 05/09/2021 00:48

@Badgergirl123 T be fair, unlike others, the actual virus was fairly mild - just thought it was a bug doing the rounds until I clocked the bumps coming and going on my hands (for some reason didn't get them on my feet) and contacted the GP because I thought I might be allergic to something! Didn't consider I had Hand, Foot and Mouth too as I thought it only affected kids.

The blisters weren't full-on chicken-pox like ones that burst either. More small red bumps that felt like splinters. I won't lie, it wasn't pleasant having them come and go on my fingers and palms for pretty much a year, but at the same time it wasn't as if they brought my life to a halt. And I think I was an unlikely minority having that happen.

Nat6999 · 05/09/2021 01:24

The blisters felt like pins sticking in, I woke up with it one morning & by lunchtime I had to go to A & E because they were throbbing & my lips were swelling up, we thought it was anaphylaxis but the doctor diagnosed hand, foot & mouth instead.

Susannahmoody · 05/09/2021 01:32

Honestly it was fucking horrendous. I scratched my hands and feet solidly for three days, they were red raw afterwards, even super strong hydrocortisone didn't help. Skin peeled off hands and feet and my nails dropped off too. Also had mouthful of ulcers.

Frigging fun times, NAWT

Susannahmoody · 05/09/2021 01:33

However, I didn't get the in my arse you'll be pleased it know. DD had it really badly twice, she was really sick

NatMoz · 05/09/2021 06:23

I had it a couple of years ago and I don't even have children! I was really Ill with a fever to begin with, then the scabs appeared mainly on my face, hands and arms but also A huge scabby mass in my groin area and where in the summer my thighs rub. Definitely would have looked awful in a bikini

SylvanasWindrunner · 05/09/2021 06:48

Oh it's horrible, my sympathies. I had it over Christmas and I was so unwell. The ulcers were their worst for maybe three days, and in that time I couldn't really eat or speak. I was in so much pain I tried to fry but it was too sore! It's genuinely one of the nastiest things I've had in my life.

After three days it got a lot better. Iglu was helpful for the ulcers - I had so many I had to cover my entire mouth in it, but it gave me a bit of relief.

Hope you are feeling better soon!

SylvanasWindrunner · 05/09/2021 06:49

Oh and I got some blisters on my bits, but tbh the blisters were really minor compared to the ulcers. My entire mouth was filled with them. I had to use a text to speech app on my phone to communicate with DH Blush

Twizbe · 05/09/2021 06:54

I had it while heavily pregnant. I was feeling poorly for a few days and the spots lasted a week or so.

I was fine though and had to battle on into work as well (which I know is bad but this was the days before wfh and I really needed my maternity leave not to start just yet)

SylvanasWindrunner · 05/09/2021 06:58

*tried to cry, not fry!

Original poster
Badgergirl123 · 05/09/2021 08:01

Thanks all, seems like I'll just have to wait and see how it goes. Have woken up to loads more of the spots, as one PP said it feels like hundreds of splinters. My face though, oh boy it's bad!! Think I may have scared DD with it a little this morning! DH and her are off downstairs while I have a sleep, he's been an absolute star looking after us both these last few days, I am not an easy patient!!

OP posts:
SwanShaped · 05/09/2021 08:08

I got it shortly after my kid started nursery. The blisters in my mouth lasted two months! And it’s interesting to hear what someone else said about it being in your system. Now, when I get run down, the blisters pop up again for a few days. It’s been 4 years since I first had it! Is it a new virus? I don’t remember it being talked about when I was a child.

trumpisagit · 05/09/2021 08:18

No, I don't think it's new, certainly my kids got it 10 years ago.
DS1 also had scarlet fever which was having a bit of a resurgence, and nursery at the time had never seen anyone with it, though its more 'popular ' now.

Muddywellies10 · 05/09/2021 08:25

It is so horrid. I ended up with sores in my throat and drank manuka honey in hot water which really helped (the manuka is naturally antiseptic). Took about a week to fully recover. My toddler ended up with sores all over the back of his head as his brother kept kissing him there Sad. Hope you feel better soon!

SwanShaped · 05/09/2021 08:27

I mean new as in, i don’t remember it from when I was small in the 80s.

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 05/09/2021 08:33

The more people are bleaching & antibaccing their homes etc, it means children dont always get these viruses in childhood when they are mild. People don't remember them from childhood because they are mild. It's very much like Covid- much better for our children to catch it and be exposed for the first time as children, than to risk it as adults.

SwanShaped · 05/09/2021 08:40

Maybe I did have it then. My parents don’t remember it either. And didn’t have bleach or antibacterial stuff. I’ll have to look into this. Sorry to derail thread, OP, hope it clears up soon.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 05/09/2021 09:32

Certainly been around for the last 35 years. It's one of those things that barely affects you or knocks you for six. Very contagious, common in schools and nurseries.