We were at a birthday party today with a kid with foot and mouth! The boy was 15 months, and I didn't notice his face.. But a lady with a newborn came in and asked about it, and the dad said he had a fever the other day and it was foot and mouth.
From what I can tell, it's highly contagious, and the kid shouldn't have been out in public if he had a fever a few days ago!
I tried to keep my kids hands clean, but I have a toddler myself, and well , you know, toddlers shove their hands in their mouths for no apparent reason.
Hubby says we just cross our fingers and hope we got away clean. Should I be worried? Can anyone tell me what to do look for in case my kids come down with it?
I'm afraid to say that my kids got it! They all had a fever yesterday, and now there is a rash forming on my toddlers face, and she has a red sore on her one hand. This just started this morning.
The kiddo should not have been at the party. That said, no reason to pre-worry. If they get it, they'll probably feel pretty cruddy, have a fever, and probably sores on feet/hand/throat. Give them acetaminophen, rest, and fluids, and they'll bounce back. It sucks, but it's not the end of the world.
My kids both had hand foot and mouth. With both of them, doctors cleared them to go back to daycare when they had been fever free for 24 hours and didn't feel sick. We didn't have to wait until the blisters were gone. Kids are most contagious before the blisters and fever even show up. It may seem horrible that the kid was at the party, but if he had the fever a couple of days before he had probably been cleared by a doctor.
My daughter had it worse than my son. But she only missed one day of daycare because the fever showed up on Friday. By Monday she was fine. She was 15 months and had little blisters on her hands and feet. I never saw them in her mouth but I think there must have been because she quit nursing cold turkey. The worst was that she had the blisters in her diaper area and even the tiniest bit of wetness was really irritating and painful. Friday and Saturday were horrible!
My son was a little older and had blisters on his hands and feet but they never bothered him. He had a few in his mouth and didn't eat much for a couple of days. He only felt sick the couple of hours when he had the fever. He missed just a day of daycare and was never really bothered by the blisters.
Search Hand Foot Mouth on mayo.edu. It's the only medical website I trust. Mayo is where we get our primary care and I know the info on their website is trustworthy.
J.
Foot and mouth is an animal disease....it's called MAD COW...I don't think the kid had MAD COW...do you???
HAND foot and mouth is a virus...nothing you can do about it...it is typical in day care settings...unfortunately...and school...
It's caused by the coxsackie virus...I had to read up on this when my kids got it from day care and I worked at Kindercare...it's different from 5th's disease...but people confuse...HFM is blisters...5ths is a rash...both are viruses...
Did he have a rash or blisters?? Fever free for 24 to 48 hours is no longer contagious.
My daughter and my son had it. My daughter had one (yes, one) tiny dot on her hand. My poor little guy had them all over his hands and feet and the inside of his mouth.
Our pediatrician said you usually catch it before symptoms appear, and they could go out after they were fever-free for 24 hours. My son was miserable and stayed home through the course of it (he was a little baby and still nursing) but my daughter was fine, played with friends, and no one caught it from her.
My daughter got it, on her feet only, though. The only way I knew was she ran a fever and had red bumps on her feet. I would make sure all the kids have had a good bath and hope for the best. It's pretty sucky that they brought a kid who was sick with something so contagious! Some people are so inconsiderate.
When our son was 6 months old he picked it up at daycare.
And since I'd never had it before - I got it from him.
We had mild cases - no fevers - just tiny blisters on hands and feet.
I wasn't going to stay home from work when I had no fever so I just let people know not to touch my computer/desk - they stayed away for a good 2 months.
It is pretty contagious - but some people have very mild cases while others get miserably ill.
Both my kids have had it. Don't worry about it. If the kid was fever free then he wasn't contagious anymore. Dad probably shouldn't have brought the kid, but it's not something I would obsess about. Your kid will probably get it at some point.
It is a virus so there is nothing that you can do now but wait and see. If your child develops a fever and a rash then she's got it. Both my kids had it. They had fever and were mildly cranky. The rash was pretty mild. Our doctor advised not to isolate because everyone gets it, it isn't serious and they are most contagious right around the time the symptoms first appear.
my 13 year old had that this past fall...nasty stuff but not lethal. his sxs included severly sore throat, fever, lethargy and of course he had those sores on his face and hands. we traded tylenol with motrin at the proper times and kept him as hydrated as possible. he was not allowed to return to school until his sores were healed. thank God for skype. i'm going to keep my comments about them bringing him to the party to myself.
I'm with your husband.
There's nothing you can do at this point.
HFM cases can vary in severity. From mild to very painful.
Fingers crossed!
Good luck!
Seems you learned a lesson - it didn't do you any good to worry about it, it happens if it's going to happen.
And yes, in this case it was wrong of the party host to keep the party going on, but you have to realize that all over the world there are parents taking kids out with things that are contagious, or adults who are contagious but out and about.
I'm sorry your kids got sick, but just for the future reference, if you or anyone that interacts with your child goes out and about then they are being exposed to tons of stuff at all times. Frequent hand sanitizing, wiping down carts, being aware of those sores you see - all that is needed.
Hope your kids are not too miserable.
