Hand Foot and Mouth Disease

Apparently this is going around. How do I know? Because Brenden has got it! I have to say this is possibly worse than lice. I just feel so bad for the poor little guy. It all started on Saturday when he got a rash just outside of his diaper area. I really just thought that it was heat rash. Chris had put long sleeves and long pants on Brenden and it was another 95 degree day outside. I figured that he had just gotten too hot and got heat rash. I put Brenden in a cold bath that afternoon for about 40 minutes because he had developed a fever of over 101, well after the bath his fever had only gone down to 100.7, so I took the idea of heat rash off of the table and decided to call our doctor to see what else it could possibly be. I gave Dr. Jones a call and he told us that Hand Foot and Mouth Disease has been going around and said that if his rash of red spots got worse then we should take him in. Well we decided to send Brenden to bed early so he could get some rest. I woke Brenden up Sunday morning before church to check to see how he was doing. His legs were all red and blistered, he had blisters between all of toes and his fingers, and even a big one on the roof of his mouth. I decided it was time to do something about it, we couldn't reach our doctor so we took Brenden into the emergency room. They got in to see him really quick! And he in fact does have Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. Dang it! And the suckiest part of it, there is no cure and he had an ear infection on top of that.

We have been dealing with this toddler disease all week this week and it has been a complete nightmare. I'm sure that some children are worse off than Brenden is, but Brenden is always the happiest baby and it hurts me knowing that he is in so much discomfort and its just so sad.

I took him into my appointment yesterday and Dr. Jones took a look at him and he looks to be doing pretty well. He's still eating and walking which are both very good signs. It doesn't seem to really be bothering him, it just look super painful. Yesterday we started putting coconut oil on his legs, I read somewhere that coconut oil is an anti-viral and since this is a viral infection, I thought it would be a good idea. Well, good news, a lot of the blisters are getting smaller and disappearing today! Brenden is starting to look so much better.

I love my little baby boy and I am so happy that he is starting to do so much better!