hand foot and mouth virus

Ben caught the hand foot and mouth virus last week. I share with you b/c I had never heard of it, yet when I described Ben's symptoms to three different moms they all immediately offered it as the cause.

And his symptoms played out exactly as outlined below (I pulled from a medical site but since can't recall which...).

In spite of what both the pedetrician and my OBGYN said about it being extremely rare in adults, I'm positive I caught it from him (test results anticipated back next week). Doesn't sound like anything harmful happens to babes #2. Here's the scoop:

Hand-foot-mouth disease (coxsackie)
This common, contagious childhood illness starts with a fever, then painful mouth sores and a non-itchy rash with blisters on hands, feet, and sometimes buttocks and legs follow. It spreads through coughing, sneezing, and used diapers, so wash hands often when dealing with coxsackie. Home treatment includes ibuprofen or acetaminophen (do not give aspirin) and lots of fluids. Not serious, coxsackie usually goes away on its own in about a week.


Ben also had his 15 month appointment on Friday, his stats below:
- 24.8lbs (50%); 32 inches long (75%), head circumference 19.25 (90%)
so he continues to be long, lean and big headed :)