And then I caught it from him and felt like I was actually going to die. *cue the foreboding music*
On a Saturday, I had put my kid down for a nap and escaped the house for a bit to get groceries. When I got home, I walked into a shit show. Well, more of a puke show. My husband greeted me at the door, holding the crying baby while trying to maintain control of the baby vomit that was running down his shirt and arm. He informed me that when he had gotten the kid up from his nap, he attempted to give him a snack and a drink, but the kid puked two times and wouldn't stop crying. I grabbed my kid, felt how hot he was, walked to the kitchen to get the thermometer and then got puked on myself. Great! After taking his temperature and confirming that he had a fever, I gave my kid some Tylenol and spent the next two hours cuddling him in bed while he calmed down and rested. After a few hours, his fever was gone and we did a bland dinner of crackers and applesauce, just in case he was still pukey. He didn't puke for the rest of the night and never spiked a fever again.
The next day, he was seemingly fine and all better. No fever, no puking and his appetite was normal. Against my better judgment, we attended two family events that day with forewarning to everyone that my kid had a fever and vomiting the day before but seemed fine now. Nobody seemed too concerned, so I thought everything was ok.
(Bear in mind that just a week or so before, my kid's teacher had told me in confidence that HFM had affected several kids in an infant room and in another toddler room, and that the school had supposedly posted a notice at the front desk. Yeah, I never saw that notice. But whatever.)
Later that night, I noticed my kid had some red spots on his fingers. Since he tends to chew on his fingers when he's teething, which he was at the time, I didn't think much of it and just assumed that's what the redness was from. NOPE. Turns out, they were the tell-tale blisters of HFM starting to blossom on my kid. By the next day, he had very obvious blisters on his fingers, hands, feet and around his mouth. We could see one little blister on his tongue. Eventually, blisters broke out on his elbows, legs, butt and genitals. He pretty much had them everywhere except for his trunk.
Aside from what I assume was general discomfort and some itching, he seemed ok overall after that initial fever. His appetite wasn't as good; he didn't eat or drink as much in the ten days or so it took for the blisters to crust over and fade. He got extra clingy that week and stayed extra clingy for a couple of weeks after. But all in all, I suppose it wasn't that bad. I've certainly heard worse stories from other parents about their experience with their kid getting HFM.
Now, the real tragedy: I caught the HFM from him (how could I not?), and it was ROUGH. The last time I was really sick, it was a bad sinus infection that also brought on bronchitis. This was so much worse. I haven't had the flu in many years, but the HFM made the flu look like a fucking hangnail. I can't remember the last time I felt so horrible, to the point that I couldn't function. I mean, the night it hit me, I didn't finish my glass of wine. I KNOW, RIGHT?? I had the world's worst headache and sore throat, coupled with body aches from hell. I had hot flashes earlier in the day, and by the evening I was freezing my ass off. This torture lasted for about two days before I even started to feel marginally better. I'm usually not one for medicine, but I ate pills like they were candy, just to get through the day and be able to take care of my kid. Screw waterboarding. Real torture is taking care of a toddler while you feel like you're knocking on Death's door.
Overall, I was sick for about a week; the first two days were the absolute worst of it. I did get blisters as well, on my hands and feet. They basically felt like pins and needles for about five days, which wasn't great but also wasn't the worst scenario possible. My husband didn't get as sick as I did. He had a sore throat for about a week, that's it. Lucky bastard.
Now that HFM has come and gone, I'm curious as to what's next. Mono? Norovirus? Lice? Pinworms?? Gee, I can hardly wait.
The next day, he was seemingly fine and all better. No fever, no puking and his appetite was normal. Against my better judgment, we attended two family events that day with forewarning to everyone that my kid had a fever and vomiting the day before but seemed fine now. Nobody seemed too concerned, so I thought everything was ok.
(Bear in mind that just a week or so before, my kid's teacher had told me in confidence that HFM had affected several kids in an infant room and in another toddler room, and that the school had supposedly posted a notice at the front desk. Yeah, I never saw that notice. But whatever.)
Later that night, I noticed my kid had some red spots on his fingers. Since he tends to chew on his fingers when he's teething, which he was at the time, I didn't think much of it and just assumed that's what the redness was from. NOPE. Turns out, they were the tell-tale blisters of HFM starting to blossom on my kid. By the next day, he had very obvious blisters on his fingers, hands, feet and around his mouth. We could see one little blister on his tongue. Eventually, blisters broke out on his elbows, legs, butt and genitals. He pretty much had them everywhere except for his trunk.
Aside from what I assume was general discomfort and some itching, he seemed ok overall after that initial fever. His appetite wasn't as good; he didn't eat or drink as much in the ten days or so it took for the blisters to crust over and fade. He got extra clingy that week and stayed extra clingy for a couple of weeks after. But all in all, I suppose it wasn't that bad. I've certainly heard worse stories from other parents about their experience with their kid getting HFM.
Now, the real tragedy: I caught the HFM from him (how could I not?), and it was ROUGH. The last time I was really sick, it was a bad sinus infection that also brought on bronchitis. This was so much worse. I haven't had the flu in many years, but the HFM made the flu look like a fucking hangnail. I can't remember the last time I felt so horrible, to the point that I couldn't function. I mean, the night it hit me, I didn't finish my glass of wine. I KNOW, RIGHT?? I had the world's worst headache and sore throat, coupled with body aches from hell. I had hot flashes earlier in the day, and by the evening I was freezing my ass off. This torture lasted for about two days before I even started to feel marginally better. I'm usually not one for medicine, but I ate pills like they were candy, just to get through the day and be able to take care of my kid. Screw waterboarding. Real torture is taking care of a toddler while you feel like you're knocking on Death's door.
Overall, I was sick for about a week; the first two days were the absolute worst of it. I did get blisters as well, on my hands and feet. They basically felt like pins and needles for about five days, which wasn't great but also wasn't the worst scenario possible. My husband didn't get as sick as I did. He had a sore throat for about a week, that's it. Lucky bastard.
Now that HFM has come and gone, I'm curious as to what's next. Mono? Norovirus? Lice? Pinworms?? Gee, I can hardly wait.
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