The Four-Time HFMD Survivor’s Handbook

Disclaimer :: I am not a medical professional. This is solely my experience with hand foot mouth disease (HFMD). If you suspect your child may have HFMD, contact your pediatrician or other healthcare professional for advice.

toddler peeking around cornerThe minute I saw my 18-month-old daughter slumped over a plush toy and sucking her thumb at daycare pickup, I knew she was unwell. Her uncharacteristic lethargy, loss of appetite, and rising temperature worried me that afternoon. I suspected a run-of-the-mill virus until I caught a glimpse of a round white spot the diameter of a pencil eraser on the edge of her tongue. 

We were quickly on our way to the pediatrician, and, unbeknownst to me, on my way to learning more about hand foot mouth disease (HFMD) than I ever wanted to know. It would be the first of four cases of HFMD in our house in less than a year — the first three in my kids, followed closely by the fourth in myself.

I will spare details on how the culprit — usually coxsackievirus — spreads in summer and early fall months, and why children ages five and younger are more likely to contract it at daycare and preschool facilities. Check out this resource by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for more information. What I want to do is provide a condensed resource based on my experience. I pray you never have to use it!

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Symptoms

Here’s what you need to look for, according to the CDC: Fever, reduced appetite, sore throat, and malaise. Although your toddler might not be able to articulate these symptoms, they usually precede characteristic mouth sores, rash, and blisters on the hands and feet. (Hence, a disease of the hands, feet, and mouth!) 

hfmd rash
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Symptoms will vary among kiddos, as well as any adults lucky cursed to catch it. My firstborn had mouth sores so severe, they were initially misdiagnosed as oral herpes (that’s a whole other angst-ridden post for another day) and prevented her from eating or drinking much of anything for several days. Some kids only experience a mild rash; others develop deep blisters that take weeks to fully heal. 

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Treatment

One pediatrician told me my child would be contagious as long as the blisters on her hands and feet were opening (read: weeks). Another said that she could return to school as soon as she was fever free for 24 hours. I tend to err on the safe side.

The virus will be shed in fecal matter for several weeks after symptoms cease. Although this begs the case for frequent hand washing long after signs of infection, it does not typically require exclusion of a child from school, daycare, and nursery environments. Again, consult your pediatrician if you’re unsure.

The most important thing is to keep your little one hydrated through the first few days, which are the worst. The rim of a cup or a straw will be painful on those mouth sores. Although he or she might not want to drink, try to get some fluids in. Bribe your child with chocolate milk, juice, ice pops. Keep him or her comfortable. This is a strange place where your love for your baby and fear of germs meet. Get over the latter and hold him or her. (And then maybe wash your clothes and take a shower after your kiddo falls asleep.)

cleaning supplies and hand sanitizerPrevention

Excellent hand washing is your first line of defense against HFMD. Train your kiddos to regularly and thoroughly wash their hands. I would not consider it an overreaction to strip them down and give them baths when they get home from school, mother’s day out, or other nursery environments, especially if you know of a HFMD outbreak in any of the aforementioned settings.

If you’re unfortunate enough to have a case of HFMD under your roof, there’s only one thing you can do to prevent it spreading among your family members: Clean, clean, clean. Coxsackievirus can linger on toys and other surfaces for weeks. Get after it quickly, and don’t let up. (Much of the following advice was modeled after this article.) 

  • Wash and dry :: Wash clothes and bedding on the hot or sanitize cycle. Wash soft-bodied stuffed animals without batteries or electronic components on the hot or sanitize cycle. Run a second dry cycle to ensure they are dry from the inside out.
  • Bleach :: Soak hard-bodied toys without batteries or electronic components in hot, soapy water. Scrub all surfaces, rinse, and lay out to dry. Fill an empty spray bottle with a diluted bleach solution (1/4 cup bleach to one gallon of water, or approximately one part bleach per 64 parts water). When the cleaned toys have dried, spray them with the diluted bleach, and leave to dry in an out-of-reach area. These will be safe to play with as soon as they have dried completely.
  • Vinegar :: Spray hard-bodied toys with electronic components with cleaning vinegar (white vinegar will do in a pinch), then wipe clean with paper towels. If you don’t have a spray bottle to spare, wet paper towels with vinegar and wipe down, changing out paper towels often. Use this method for large toys, loved-on board books, surfaces like tables, and EVERY light switch and doorknob. 
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I know you feel overwhelmed, frustrated, and tired. I know it seems like an insurmountable task when you’re in full-on Nurse Mommy mode. Take a deep breath, mama. You’ve got this. And I know you’ll survive it, because we did. 

Diana
Raised in Arlington, Diana got her professional start as a financial journalist and quickly transitioned into technical writing. She met her husband Casey—a serial graduate and Fort Worth native—at church in 2011 before he began law school. They married within a year and were both in their 30s when they welcomed Dorothea (2016) and Josephine (2017). When Diana’s not trying free baby-and-me programs around town, she’s jogging on the treadmill or keeping a (somewhat) clean house. She enjoys cooking, traveling, and figuring out this crazy, wonderful new gig of stay-at-home mommy hood.

1 COMMENT

  1. Excelente la oportunidad que nos brinda está página para descubrir muchas cosas que uno ignora algunas veces cuando aparecen pruritos u otras reacciones en nuestra piel… Muchas gracias por la información…

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