Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease: Controlling Blisters

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Hand, foot, and mouth disease(HFM) is no joke. After 2 nights of no sleep for Me or for R, I finally saw the bumps and we rushed to the Doctor. I knew we had textbook images of HMF, but my hope was that they would know what to do so that R could get some relief and I could get some sleep.

How It All Started With Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

Day 1:

We went into nap time pulling at our foot. Woke up still pulling at our foot. R usually walks around barefoot in the yard so I looked between his toes and all over for an infected splinter? Rash? Sting or bug bite? There was nothing.

We went to bed still pulling at our feet and got ZERO. SLEEP.

Day 2:

I sent R off to daycare. (At the time I didn’t know we were dealing with HFM) When I picked him up I asked if he messed with his feet all day and the ladies said he hadn’t, so I thought, “Okay, maybe they were just itching.”

After dinner we started pulling at our feet again. I searched again for something, ANYTHING! But there was nothing. I applied hydrocortisone, aloe, essential oils (I was out of Lavender. Mom fail.) and a few more anti-itch creams I had.

Getting into bed, R was still messing with his feet. I ended up applying the aerosol spray they sent me home from the hospital with after I had baby R. It had a stronger dose of lidocaine in it, so I figured what the heck, anything has to be better than nothing. I sprayed it on and applied socks and I think we got about 2 hours of sleep.

Day 3:

Spots, spots, and more spots. There were red spots on his hands, belly, ankles, feet, face. They were everywhere. Mama called the Doctor.

What The Doctor Said About HFMD

• It’s a virus
• The virus lasts 5-7 days after you see signs (the red spots)
• There aren’t medications for it.
• Signs and symptoms usually clear up in 7-10 days.
• It’s contagious

Treatments For HFMD

Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen(Tylenol) for fever

Plenty of fluids- keep from getting dehydrated

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Well from my profession I have learned if you can’t beat it, numb it. Just numb it and make the pain go away. That is exactly what we did. We numbed it with lidocaine.

You must be careful using lidocaine with children. There is a possibility of poison and overdose in large amounts. So don’t lather it on there every hour. I used a thin layer and massaged it in as if you would with a sunburn and it worked!

We applied sparingly every so often when R couldn’t be distracted from the pain of the blisters.

Bio-Kool Best Value 4% Lidocaine 4 Oz. Container

AND POPSICLES. We used popsicles to keep fluids going and numb the mouth blisters.

Day 4 and on

Peeling. Oh the peeling. The skin peeling from the blisters seemed to go on for days longer than the blisters themselves. I felt like his hands and feet were raw from the layers of skin coming off them.

Poor baby.

But we got through it and you can too! What have you heard of that may work? Please share with us.