Hand, Foot and Mouth

Well Will got sick again! After our string of bad illnesses in February and March (ones that I have STILL not completely recovered from by the way), I was hoping that we would be healthy the rest of the year. Or at least the rest of the summer. It was not to be, sadly. Starting this past Monday (5/12), I noticed that Will was not eating as well we he normally does, and seemed slightly cranky compared to usual. By the time he had woken up from his nap at 4pm, I noticed that he felt warm to the touch. The thermometer said he had a fever of about 99.7 Not super high, and since he wasn't lethargic or anything, I wasn't super concerned, but I immediately got that feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach that told me that we were about to go through another bout of illness. Just what we needed!

He was very restless and up a lot that night, finally settling around 2am (this would continue to be a pattern for a solid week: short naps of 45 mins and waking up every 30 mins from 10pm until 2am). Tuesday morning and for the rest of the day, he refused all solid foods but was at least drinking. He was just inconsolable, though at least the fever had gone by that time. He either cried or whined constantly all day, even when he was in my lap (which was most of the time). We spent many hours watching tv and cuddling on the couch. Wednesday was about the same and by Wednesday evening I noticed some very small, hard to see red dots on one of his arms. It had been very hot that day so I thought it might be heat rash, but I wasn't too concerned. Even though Will was extremely grumpy, he never seemed lethargic or unlike himself. He had plenty of energy, but just wasn't a happy camper.

Thursday morning is when I had my first freak out. I noticed that the spots on his arms seemed bigger and more visible. Then I started looking all over his body and noticed similar spots on his legs, knees, shoulders, hands and feet. It was the hands and feet that tipped me off. Several of my mom's friend's kids had contracted Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease this year, and this looked exactly like it. When I did a google image search for the disease, the pictures of the sores looked identical to Will's. Plus the description of the symptoms were exactly the same. Fortunately for myself, every source I found online, said that there would be no harm to myself or the baby. They said that most adults are immune, having already had it in childhood themselves. So it was likely that I wouldn't catch it at all, and if I did, there was no risk to the pregnancy. Our pediatrician eventually confirmed all that I had read.

I felt a mixture of relief and sadness at hearing this news. I was relieved that there was no serious risk, but I felt sad and confused that he had contracted it to begin with. We hadn't been out and about all that much lately, and when we did go out, I always made sure to wash his hands afterwards. Then I remembered that I had been going to the chiropractor all week, and they had  a kid's play room that Will had been visiting. That was the only place I could think of where he was likely to have caught it. Not like it really mattered where he caught it though, the fact was he had it and since the illness takes about 7-10 days to run its course, he would likely have it for another 4-6 days. Meanwhile, the rash continued to spread like wildfire. By Thursday evening, the blisters were everywhere and HUGE. They were clearly painful to him as he flinched when I touched them. His poor hands, feet, knees and elbows were particularly covered. I had been keeping him dosed on Tylenol for the pain, and continued to do so.

Friday he seemed slightly peppier, though the blisters were worse than ever and he was still a whiny mess. By Saturday morning, he was eating a lot more normally, had more energy and the spots looked slightly better, there were certainly no new ones thank goodness. Sunday and Monday he continued to improve by leaps and bounds. By Tuesday, the spots had all but disappeared except for a few scabs, and he was back to his normal, happy, good eating self. All in all, this illness was definitely not the worst we've ever had. Mostly it was scary due to the swiftness of the rash onset and spread, but other than that, it was really no worse than any standard cold. Croup was MUCH worse. That being said, I am GLAD this one is behind us, and William should now be immune from hand, foot and mouth for life! Also Michael and I didn't catch it, for which we were both extremely grateful!