Hand foot and mouth.. anyone got experience that can help...

[jingleyjen]

DS2 went to the doctors this morning for blisters on his tongue and heels.. he has none on his hands.

Dr said it is Hand foot and mouth... no treatment needed, should go away in the next few days... was infectious but it is too late now as once blisters have shown it isn't infectious any more... is this right??

DS1 is having 16 friends over for birthday party tomorrow... don't want to infect all the children in DS1's class!!!

Anytips??

I personally wouldn't have your ds2 in contact with the party tomorrow - it is still infectious for quite a while yet.

And it is very painful. Give him ice cream and calpol for the pain.

'Is hand foot and mouth disease infectious?

Yes. The incubation period is 3-6 days. This means it takes 3-6 days to develop symptoms after being infected from another person. Sometimes small outbreaks occur in nurseries and schools. It is mainly infectious until the spots and mouth ulcers have gone. However, children can still be mildly infectious for several weeks longer as the virus may be passed out with the faeces (stools) for several weeks after the symptoms have gone. It is impractical to exclude children from school or nursery once the symptoms have gone. However, it is sensible to maintain good hygiene to reduce the chance of passing on the virus. In particular, hand washing after going to the toilet. '

taken from here

I would either try and get ds2 to go some where else for a couple of hours or give the parents of the children the option of coming or not, explain you no longer believe he is contagious but like with anything there is a chance. If my child came away fdrom a party with hf and m I would be pretty cheesed off as it really is quite horrible for children.