Hand Foot & Mouth

[OnNaturesCourse]

Any tips on dealing with it?

LO is covered head to toe, and itchy and miserable. She's just so restless. Under a year old too.

It's a long time since we've had to deal with it but I think it was Calpol abs whatever they wanted to eat and drink for a few days.

Hope they recover quickly

DS just caught it from my Neice last week .

I spoke to the pharmacist and got some oral antihistamine and luckily he doesn’t seem to be itching. Thankfully he’s still in great form.

It looks bloody dreadful though- and they can still go to nursery/school though as long as they aren’t feeling unwell which is a relief.

Are you sure its HFM? Sounds more like chickenpox?

Mine has had HF&M three times in the last 3 months!! It has been awful.

Calpol, if you can get it down them (I struggle) but be careful with what food is given, mine has ulcers all over the inside of her mouth and eating / drinking is painful and she becomes distressed with the wrong things.

Mine is just getting over it. It's awful. We've also caught it, and it's been absolutely horrible, so I can't imagine the pain he was having last weekend. Struggled to eat, sleep, settle.

We just gave Calpol, smooth foods such as yoghurt and soup, and loads of cuddles.

Agree with pp, are you sure it’s not chicken pox?

Where did the first spots appear? Chicken pox starts on the torso and spreads outwards.
HFM starts on hands/wrists, feet/ankles

Our hospital has confirmed hand, foot and mouth despite the rash starting on the torso then fading out before travelling to the limbs and head. There was nothing on the palms or soles until recently so I did at first think chickenpox or some viral rash.

Wishing you well op, HFM is horrible. Hope your little one is better soon.

Hope lo is better soon. What worked for us (she was about 18m at the time) was lots of ice lollies, fromage frais and cool non acidic fruit, so she had lots of watermelon fingers, which helped keep her fluid up as she was reluctant to drink as well as eat.
Lots of squash, in a bottle if necessary, whatever it takes to keep them hydrated, the food is less important than the hydration.

Also, be aware nails might fall off/go weird, that was a weird one!

We had HF&M recently both 17m old and 2m old and neither had any on soles or palms, maybe it’s strain that doesn’t attack those parts?

For us it was legs, wrists, joints, back and mouth. Looked awful. We just let the 17m old do what ever, eat what ever and drink what ever, the 2m old just whines😂. But calpol worked wonders.

Further on from this - any idea how long they are contiguous for? Can I go to the shops with them?

I say them as its spread - all my kids have it now 🙄

You can carry on nornally once they feel well again. The spots takes weeks to clear up. Have a look at the NHS advice on it.

DD had 'everywhere but' hand, foot and mouth too.

Rash all over, limbs, torso, and only the slightest spotting on her hands, her feet or mouth.

Like others, the best I could do was keep her comfortable, Calpol, lollies, soft food. Miserable though.

DH also caught it and was a complete mess with it.

The kids only seem unsettled if they are too warm particularly at night, or in carseats etc. The rest of the time they are acting normal now aside from being slightly off their food and a bit more grouchy/touchy as usual... I'm praying I don't catch it.

Also dreading catching it as well- my sister caught it from toddler niece a few months ago and had mouth ulcers so bad she couldn’t speak for a few days