Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Hoof and Mouth for Humans

Okay, actually Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease is not related to the Hoof and Mouth Disease that animals get. So despite A.'s insistence on calling it Hoof and Mouth, that is not what Cubby has.

He does, however, have Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. If this is something you have never heard of, that is because you are lucky. And also haven't been around a lot of small children. It's a highly contagious but not dangerous virus that affects mostly kids younger than five. It starts with a low fever (anybody remember Monday's post?), and then kids usually get either sores in their mouths or a rash on their hands and feet. Most sites I looked at said the rash isn't itchy.

Cubby and his maddeningly itchy feet disagree.

I spent much of last night going into Cubby's room every couple of hours to find him crying that he was too itchy to sleep. I alternated between applying hydrocortisone cream, witch hazel, and some kind of anti-itch spray for kids the MiL bought a couple of years ago. Also blowing on his feet after applying the witch hazel, which seemed to help the most but is also not something I really wanted to do for any length of time at 3 a.m.

A. picked up some children's Benadryl today, which I called to check with the pediatrician about because it says right on the package to consult a doctor for children 4-5 years of age. He said have at it and gave me the dosage, so we'll try that tonight and cross our fingers that Cubby isn't one of the unlucky children who get hyperactive rather than sleepy when dosed with Benadryl.

Oh, and Charlie woke up from his nap today grumpy, sleepy, and feverish. Another (tiny) man down.

Who wants to make a guess about the next time I get a full night's sleep? Personally, I'm guessing sometime around next week. Place your bets now.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gad, I have heard of that virus. I guess we have some cases in Minnesota. How awful! Hoping for a quick recovery! Mary in MN

Drew @ How To Cook Like Your Grandmother said...

Tell A you read online that pregnant women shouldn't handle witch hazel or Benadryl. That'll get you some sleep.

Anonymous said...

Hope that you have a good supply of surgical gloves in your house!

Daisy said...

Oh, my. It is a miserable disease! I actually had it myself when I worked in day care. The nasty bug spread like wildfire from one toddler to another. We cleaned like crazy each time we had a new case, but the kiddos still got sick. My poor doctor was stumped until he found out I worked with infants and toddlers.

Anonymous said...

Protect yourself.
Sleep.....never ....you are a mom...there will always be something with which you must contend. Beth

tu mere said...

On my. Thanks for making the effort to fill us in. Guess Cubby's kind of forgotten about the camp, what with all the physical distractions. May be you'll be lucky and Charlie won't have the itches. We can only hope!

On a positive note - At least the kids waited until your sister and niece were gone.

Yep, on that sleep thing, next week possible, but it all depends on Charlie and Benadryl doesn't it?

tu mere said...

On my. Thanks for making the effort to fill us in. Guess Cubby's kind of forgotten about the camp, what with all the physical distractions. May be you'll be lucky and Charlie won't have the itches. We can only hope!

On a positive note - At least the kids waited until your sister and niece were gone.

Yep, on that sleep thing, next week possible, but it all depends on Charlie and Benadryl doesn't it?