Have I caught Hand Foot & Mouth?

[UngratefulMoo]

DD was diagnosed with Hand Foot & Mouth early last week, so I've been home most of the week with her as she's been excluded from nursery.

On Friday I started to get flu like symptoms and have now come out in painful sores on one foot and also can feel several little sore patches under my hair. I have a couple of small sore patches on my face (but they could just be spots!) and two small sore patches on one of my hands.

Has anyone else had experience of catching this as an adult, and what were your symptoms?

When I caught it I was really quite poorly, I had full on flu like symptoms with a really stiff neck for a couple of days.

Then over the following days I felt better but the spots came out on my hands and feet. My fingers were burning!

Thanks for the reply - yes, I have had flu symptoms - shivers and aches on Friday and now a very sore throat and feeling exhausted.

I had it when ds had it. Blisters were localised to those specific areas rather than on head and face. They were quite sore. Maybe as you're a bit run down you have a couple of spots too.

Sounds a lot like it.

For us we each had about 24 hrs of fever with chills which was the worst bit. Then once that had gone started noticing small blister like spots on hands. My husband had more on feet and hands and dd had more in mouth.

I had the burning sensation too - in fact I had it before the spots appeared and was trying to remember how I had burnt my hands!

Sounds like it. When DD had it last year I escaped home to my parents for some moral support and ironically my dad, who did the least childcare and certainly didn't change a nappy (what? nappy? there are women in the house!) ended up catching it from her. He said he felt absolutely rubbish and had horribly sore hands and feet.

Oh bugger, yes sounds like all of that. Thanks.

Is it also very contagious in adults? I'm thinking about work next week.

Rightly or wrongly I continued as usual once the flu symptoms had passed.

I didn't pass it onto anyone, DH didn't get it, which I was surprised at because I thought it was very contagious.

Blisters on my hands first and then in my mouth and tongue so bad couldn't eat for about a week.... Made me v tired.

Dh didn't go to the office for a week, nhs page says you are very contagious for a week after symptoms start.

The official guidelines on whether to exclude from childcare do not state that dc must be kept away for any length of time, but we went for a week off to be fair on the others.