Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease... Again

On Friday, Justin's parents returned from Maine to spend the weekend with us. This was also the time that poor Jack started to run a fever. He got his shots on Wednesday, so I automatically assumed it was related (and not a reason to worry.) Friday night was pretty miserable for all of us. He was up multiple times screaming, crying, and generally inconsolable. On Saturday we called Dr. Hunt, who saw him for an emergency appointment.

She did a thorough inspection and said that yes, while the fever may have been related to his shots... it was more likely caused by Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. She showed me water blisters on his bum, on the palms of his hands, and the worst - the small, white painful ulcers that lined his mouth and throat. No wonder the poor kid was in so much pain.

This illness went around daycare a few months ago, and Jack got a touch of it, but nothing like what he has now. His left ear was also red and inflamed, indicating the beginnings of an ear infection - his body's way of fighting the virus.

She put him on Zithromax to fight the ear infection (cause we all know how those end up) and gave us some recommendations for making him more comfortable until he heals. He gets 1/2 teaspoon of antacid solution three times a day to coat his throat. He gets flat diet coke. He get ibuprofen every 6 hours for his fever and for pain relief. And, finally, he gets popsicles, milkshakes, and other cold things to help his sore little throat.

He did sleep better last night (it took awhile to get him to go down, but he did sleep until 7:30am.) He is also back on a regular bottle schedule, although he still isn't too interested in food. Hopefully his fever will break today so that he can go back to school tomorrow!

Next weekend, we are looking forward to Mom, Dad, and Nanny coming to visit - and we are so excited and definitely hoping that he is well and normal before then!