OMG Holy Hand foot and Mouth! My progress with it

Well, I officially have hand, foot and mouth disease!  Sounds disgusting!  I think I'll just call it Coxsackie virus, sounds a whole lot cleaner I think.

It sounds so funny now, I had fevers on Tuesday and a sore throat, had a dreadful sore throat yesterday with minimal fever, and last evening I went to the garage and I stepped down onto my shoe and I got a pain in my foot and I thought I'd stepped on a splinter, I was looking and looking for it but couldn't find it.  Then when I got up this morning at 4am my foot was still sore and I was looking on my foot and there was a little lump that was tender and I thought I hope that's not a pus bubble, maybe it's just a blister.  I was even thinking of going to see a podiatrist.  I put Julian on the toilet, gave him some milk then put him back in bed.

Then when I got up at 630am I went downstairs to peel pear for Erika's brekky and the crease in my thumb interphalangeal joint was painful and I looked at my thumb and there was a painful red spot there... then the penny dropped!  I looked closer at my hands and there were little red lesions everywhere!  And they were tender too!  Suddenly my foot wasn't so sore because I knew what it was!  And now that I think about it there are lots of painful spots on my feet but the knowledge of what it is makes it much more bearable!  So what does it feel like? Kind of like how pins and needles feels when you get that in your hands and feet.  Probably not even that sore.  Kind of like how your feet get sore after you walk too long.  Like when you're starting to get a blister.. or ten.  In my case, more like 50!

Fortunately nothing around my mouth.  I'd hate to look like I've got sores all around my mouth!  I'm going to take some pictures of my hands and feet and put it up just for interest.  Sorry for all my blog readers (there aren't that many I know!) if this is TMI but it's actually really fascinating!

Wow it has really progressed over the day!  Now it's up my arms and everything!  Hope it doesn't affect my plans for tomorrow...

Friday: Wow these lesions are sore today!  And they're up my arms, on my legs, groin... and it's quite painful to walk on them, and man are they itchy!  They swell up like blisters when i scratch them.

Saturday: So much better today, but the lesions now look like bright red splotches.  And not so itchy and not so painful.  Here's hoping they're even better tomorrow.  The backs of my hands don't look so bad, it's only looking at my palms and the soles of my feet that it looks bad.

Tuesday: Well thank god the pins and needles feelings are gone.  Now the lesions are just like.. blisters under the skin, almost warty looking (god I hope they don't turn into lots of warts!)  The mouth ulcers are killing me though - I can't stick my tongue out to do anything it hurts too much!

Wednesday: Mouth is feeling better

Thursday.  My hands still feel bubbly, not smooth, just kind of lumpy.  Mouth is heaps better today.  I can stick my tongue out now!  But it's just a tiny bit uncomfortable.  My feet look shocking though, I feel like it's made more callouses if that makes any sense.

2 weeks later - my hands and feet are still peeling!  And the interesting thing is the kids feet are peeling too so that means they both had it!  Hands are finally getting a bit better but it was pretty yukky for a while with peeling skin all over - looked like I had Clag on my hands!

Hand foot and mouth disease - sounds terrible but really.. isn't!

On Wednesday, my nanny took the kids to a friend's house (where they go a lot) and one of the other friend's children was diagnosed with hand foot and mouth disease!  The name itself sounds TERRIBLE but after googling it, it's actually quite a benign disease but the mouth ulcers/blisters can be rather UGH.

What is it?
Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common childhood illness that is caused by a viral infection (most commonly the Coxsackie A16 virus). It typically affects children under the age of 10 years, but older children and adults can also be affected. There is no relationship between hand, foot and mouth disease and the condition known as foot-and-mouth disease that affects animals.

What are the symptoms?
Symptoms generally start to appear 3-7 days after becoming infected with the virus, beginning with a mild fever, tiredness, reduced appetite, and sore throat. The characteristic features — mouth sores and skin rash — usually develop one or 2 days after the onset of fever.
The rash appears as flat or raised red spots, which may form blisters. The rash is not itchy, and usually affects the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. In younger children, especially those still wearing nappies, the rash may also appear on the buttocks. The mouth sores, which start as small red spots and form painful blisters, often turn into ulcers.

Is it infectious and is it serious?
You can catch the virus from an infected person if you come into contact with their saliva, secretions from their nose or throat (through coughing or sneezing), fluid from blisters, or faeces.  You can help prevent the spread of the virus by washing your hands frequently, as well as washing and disinfecting contaminated items and surfaces. Try to make sure your child doesn't share items such as eating utensils, cups or towels while they are ill.  HFMD is usually a mild disease, and children generally recover within 7-10 days. Rarely, a child with HFMD may develop complications such as meningitis (inflammation of the membrane surrounding the brain).

Treatment?
It's a viral illness so you can't give antibiotics or anything.  Mostly symptomatic relief like paracetamol for analgesia and fevers.