Today is 1 year exactly, that both Eli and I were infected with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD). It's probably the worst thing that's ever happened to our family. People think I exaggerate when I say that, but it's true. It's the most amount of pain I've ever experienced, besides that one time when my drugs wore off 12 hours after my c-section.
It all started at school...E came in close contact with a sweet little girl who had HFMD. They made out. :) And he caught it. Everyone kept telling me "Oh it's OK - it's a virus, so you can't really do much, as long as he doesn't have a fever; you just have to let it run its course.
Because babies' cells are rapidly reproducing at crazy lightning fast speeds, E was sick ONE day and then he was over it. He still had bumps and the rash, but he was acting totally normal. Neither his sleep nor his eating patterns were affected at all - even when he was the most miserable. He did really well with HFMD.
Monday - I started with the worst sore throat I've ever had. It was just awful - I tried to eat a slice of a peach and I literally sat there and cried, it burned so bad. I had NO clue that this was the beginnings of HFMD until I took off the leggings I was wearing because my legs were itching. That's when I saw this:
It all went downhill from there.
By that afternoon I had it all over my hands and the bottoms of my feet. I didn't think too much about it since E had done so well, I thought surely an adult will fare better. Nope.
Wednesday and Thursday were the most painful. I couldn't walk from the pain on the bottom of my feet and I couldn't hold anything from all the pain in my hands. I read a blog that described the pain perfectly - it's like when you slap your hand super hard on a desk - that pain and that tingling you feel - but 24/7. Thursday was the worst - the itching in my hands was SO bad, the only way I could sleep was by holding an ice pack. Not to mention I quarantined myself because I was deathly afraid that James would get it, too, and my mother-in-law, who came to take care of E and ended up taking care of me! All my utensils and plates were separated. I slept on top of temporary sheets on the couch. I didn't want anybody to even touch anything I had touched. Every part of my skin that was affected became so sensitive - it took everything inside of me to not scream during showers. The water touching my skin burned so bad and felt so terrible.
By Friday I still felt like crap but I was better. The terrible part now was all the healing of my physical wounds. My legs were the worst. They blistered SO bad, that I was deathly afraid the scars would never go away.
Saturday I felt great. I looked ridiculous, but I felt really good. My sore throat was completely gone, the itching had almost gone away completely, and the pain was totally manageable with pain meds. I had some serious cabin fever so we were actually able to take E out onto a carousel ride, at least. It was nice to be outside!
Sunday was great, so I decided to go back to work on Monday. Day 7. And now the healing begins.
My skin went crazy. The skin on the tips of my fingers and the bottoms of my feet became SO tough, I literally had no feeling. I even touched the hot stove - nothing. By day 9 most of my skin in the affected areas started falling off.
Every time I took a shower and my skin got moist, it literally came off like paper. I was peeling it off. Then whatever skin was underneath became really sensitive. It was nice and smooth baby skin! But I wore flats and sandals to work because any pressure to the skin was painful and uncomfortable.
I finally had to re-program my fingerprint on my iPhone because it never took to the old one. I imagine I have brand new finger prints. I'm a whole new person! I got brand new skin, eventually.
Fast forward to day 42. The skin on the bottom of my feet is almost done peeling off. The spots I got on my face completely went away (thank God!), and the skin on my hands is all completely new. You could still see a few very dim spot stains on my hands. But my legs were the worst.
The dermatologist told me because I'm Hispanic, my skin is very pigmented. So scarring really, really shows up on my skin. The problem is that the scars of HMFD are, literally, spots - all over my legs. So trying to bleach them will be very difficult. We would be well into the winter time (2015) before I see any results.
The second worst thing that happened was that most of my finger nails and toe nails fell off. So disgusting. If you know me well enough, you know my escape is every other Friday when I get pedicures (James gets basketball, I get pedicures-compromises!). I went about 6 months without getting a pedi because there was no nail on 6 out of my 10 toes. It was hard. And I felt really ugly for a long time.
A year has come and gone. It's still hard to believe the havoc this virus wreaks on the human body - and I will never forget it. My dermatologist told me she wishes she had met me during the worst of it because she would've studied my case. The good thing is that doctors say it's highly unlikely we will ever get it again. Good. Because I don't recommend it!
By that afternoon I had it all over my hands and the bottoms of my feet. I didn't think too much about it since E had done so well, I thought surely an adult will fare better. Nope.
Wednesday and Thursday were the most painful. I couldn't walk from the pain on the bottom of my feet and I couldn't hold anything from all the pain in my hands. I read a blog that described the pain perfectly - it's like when you slap your hand super hard on a desk - that pain and that tingling you feel - but 24/7. Thursday was the worst - the itching in my hands was SO bad, the only way I could sleep was by holding an ice pack. Not to mention I quarantined myself because I was deathly afraid that James would get it, too, and my mother-in-law, who came to take care of E and ended up taking care of me! All my utensils and plates were separated. I slept on top of temporary sheets on the couch. I didn't want anybody to even touch anything I had touched. Every part of my skin that was affected became so sensitive - it took everything inside of me to not scream during showers. The water touching my skin burned so bad and felt so terrible.
Saturday I felt great. I looked ridiculous, but I felt really good. My sore throat was completely gone, the itching had almost gone away completely, and the pain was totally manageable with pain meds. I had some serious cabin fever so we were actually able to take E out onto a carousel ride, at least. It was nice to be outside!
Sunday was great, so I decided to go back to work on Monday. Day 7. And now the healing begins.
My skin went crazy. The skin on the tips of my fingers and the bottoms of my feet became SO tough, I literally had no feeling. I even touched the hot stove - nothing. By day 9 most of my skin in the affected areas started falling off.
Every time I took a shower and my skin got moist, it literally came off like paper. I was peeling it off. Then whatever skin was underneath became really sensitive. It was nice and smooth baby skin! But I wore flats and sandals to work because any pressure to the skin was painful and uncomfortable.
I finally had to re-program my fingerprint on my iPhone because it never took to the old one. I imagine I have brand new finger prints. I'm a whole new person! I got brand new skin, eventually.
Fast forward to day 42. The skin on the bottom of my feet is almost done peeling off. The spots I got on my face completely went away (thank God!), and the skin on my hands is all completely new. You could still see a few very dim spot stains on my hands. But my legs were the worst.
The dermatologist told me because I'm Hispanic, my skin is very pigmented. So scarring really, really shows up on my skin. The problem is that the scars of HMFD are, literally, spots - all over my legs. So trying to bleach them will be very difficult. We would be well into the winter time (2015) before I see any results.
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| Legs 1 month later... |
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| Legs 2 months later... |
The second worst thing that happened was that most of my finger nails and toe nails fell off. So disgusting. If you know me well enough, you know my escape is every other Friday when I get pedicures (James gets basketball, I get pedicures-compromises!). I went about 6 months without getting a pedi because there was no nail on 6 out of my 10 toes. It was hard. And I felt really ugly for a long time.
A year has come and gone. It's still hard to believe the havoc this virus wreaks on the human body - and I will never forget it. My dermatologist told me she wishes she had met me during the worst of it because she would've studied my case. The good thing is that doctors say it's highly unlikely we will ever get it again. Good. Because I don't recommend it!
