Hand Foot and Mouth (sorry....long)

[Blackcat31]

Sounds like a disease that animals should get LOL! Anyways, I have a dcb age 3 who had a low grade temp last week. (I did not know this at the time b/c dcm gave him Tylenol every morning) I did make a comment to my dh about how funny it was that every day after nap time, dcb would get up cranky. He is a normally really sunny child. Anyways, on Monday of this week, he complained of his neck (throat) hurting and on Tuesday he was a bear!! I called mom and told her that I noticed 2 little red dots between his mouth and his nose. I asked her to bring him to Dr. so we knew it wasn't impetigo etc. She did (very grudgingly) and Dr says it is coxsakievirus (Hand Foot & Mouth) and since his fever is gone, he can be at daycare. It is viral. I say to dcm, "What fever is gone? When did he have a fever?" She says "Oh, last week for a few days, but it was low-grade so I didn't think anything of it." I'm so PO'ed b/c he is one of my dck who is here from open to close ALL day ALL week. So obviously she was giving him Tylenol (Big sis let the cat out of the bag) I asked dcm and gave the whole "Don't drug your kid and not tell me speech" She said ok and everything was fine. Dcb is happy and all is well. Now today Thursday he shows up at 7:20 (I'm not open til 7:30) and his face is covered with tons of little red dots that weren't there last night when he went home. I say "Looks like chicken pox!" dcd says aunt was over last night and she looked at it and said it's not b/c there are no dots anywhere else on body only face. Aunt is an RN. So now I'm like what do I do b/c is it hand foot & mouth? I thought that was sores inside the mouth. He only has them on face. They do look exactly like chix pox. Anyone had any experience with Hand Foot & Mouth??? In 16 yrs of doing this I don't think I've ever seen it. I'm thinking I should make dcm bring him back to Dr since bumps spread so much. It'll be like pulling teeth to get her to come get her kid!! Grrrrrrr!

[Crystal]

ugh. Yes, unfortunately it can spread to the whole body.....it is actually a virus related to chicken pox, so it can look like it. Nothing you can do really, but I would put Mom on notice that if she EVER medicates a fever without discussing his attendance with you, she will be terminated. That is one thing I will not ever tolerate : intentionally and knowingly putting other children at risk of illness. It is in my handbook, that if they do that they will be terminated. Never had to enforce it, but would if I had too.

[BentleysBands]

yes i have...and its HIGHLY contagious!! i had to close my entire daycare one year for a week to clean and let everyone get over it....not sure on the whole incubation time,etc but when the kids have it they are cranky and some hurt. i would send him home regardless of the fact hes been there w/it

[SilverSabre25]

HFM is one of the few diseases I live in fear of. It's highly contagious (and, I believe, contagious as long as there are still spots) and can be gotten repeatedly. Sometimes it does only show up on one or two portions of the three. I'd send him home, pronto, and let all the other parents know that their kids have been exposed to it.

[Unregistered]

Ok I had hand foot and mouth run threw my daycare one time like wildfire with hand foot and mouth there is blisters in the mouth and a rash UNDER the skin on the hands and feet there is NO bumps nor on the face sounds to me she is feeding you a BS line MAKE her pick him up and take him back to the doctors it honestly does sound like chicken pox and trust me if this is the first day of the bumps on the face it will be spread all over his body tomorrow.

[momofsix]

I have never seen a rash on the face with hand-foot-mouth , i'm by no means an expert but I've seen quite a few cases. I would difinitely make her get him checked out at the Dr. before he comes back, or at least call the Dr if you trust her to give a truthful report. Did the nurse sister say what she thought it was?

[Crystal]

The California Child Care Health Program has fact sheets and handouts on many common childhood illnesses. Here is their fact sheet on HFM:

http://www.ucsfchildcarehealth.org/pdfs/healthandsafety/handfooten081803_adr.pdf

[Live and Learn]

If you google "hand foot mouth contagious" you will find the center for disease control website. there it state that a person can remain contagious for weeks even after all symptoms are gone.....just saying.

[Blackcat31]

The California Child Care Health Program has fact sheets and handouts on many common childhood illnesses. Here is their fact sheet on HFM:

http://www.ucsfchildcarehealth.org/p...081803_adr.pdf

My health sheet says the same thing. But none of the info sheets say anything abut sores on outside of his mouth. They are ALL over his face and 2 or 3 on inside of his elbows. I told dcm to get him to Dr again and get another opinion b/c I think first Dr may be wrong. idk..dcm now tells me she only saw a physicians assistant in training! I'm like seriously?!?! Go see a Doctor! No offense to the PA but since the whole thing is weird anyways she should see a veteran Dr. I'm waiting to hear from dcm now...so I will keep you posted.....

[MommyMuffin]

With any type of infectious disease I would check with www.cdc.gov. I would also tell DCM that you would kindly like a note from the doctor about incubation period as well as the contagious period and when he could return to DC. If she has problems with it just let her know that you do your best to protect the children in your care from infection and take signs and symptoms of diseases very seriously to protect childrens immature immune systems.

[Blackcat31]

Okay...dcm took son to another doctor and got a different diagnosis. This doctor says it is impetigo! It didn't really look like it b/c there was only little dots like chix pox. There was no yellow pus oozing crusty spots so go figure, but anyways health handbook says exclusion is until child is on antibiotics for 24 hours AND until spots are scabbed over and drying. Dcm calls from Target pharmacy at 2:00 and says Dr said he will be fine to come back tomorrow! (He comes at 7:15) I said "Absolutely not!" I told her she needs to stay home with him and he can come back Monday. She says "Well then he will miss the Halloween party." I just said "Well, if he had stayed home last week when he had a fever (that she hid from me) and he had rested then, this may not have gotten so out of hand." The health book says impetigo can start from a strep or staph infection often following a respiratory illness. He had a green crusty runny nose last week so probably what set it off...I dunno, I am just glad to have a break for the next 3 days from this mess!!!! Plus this is the mom who doesn't even work on Fridays, but she pays me for all 5 days every week and brings her kid for all of them from the minute I open to the minute I close. This must be one of those parents that a poster on another thread said just 'happen' to have kids, not wanted too......

[marniewon]

Did she get a dr. note saying that doc said dck is able to come back tomorrow? This mom seems to lie a lot

[broncomom1973]

What a mess! Im glad you told her to take him back in. As for hand foot and mouth, I have personal experience with it and it was not pleasant. Two years ago this week I was 34 weeks pregnant and spent a very uncomfortable 5 days and 4 nights in a hospital bed with my then almost 4 year old daughter. She had gone to daycare on Wed and Fri and one of the little girls at daycare apparently had hand, foot and mouth although it wasnt mentioned to me until the next week. On Sunday dd complained of a sore throat. I didnt think too much of it until I looked in her mouth. I seriously about fell off my couch. She literally had over 50 ulcers in her mouth on her gums, tongue, roof of her mouth, tonsils, all over her oral mucosa. I took her in to the clinic where I worked on Monday and from Mon a.m. until Monday afternoon she only drank maybe 1 oz. She was in soooo much pain she literally could not drink let alone eat. They admitted her to the hospital that p.m. due to dehydration and she was there until Friday. She only had ulcers in her mouth, not on her hands or feet as is common. The nurses there said it was one of the worst cases they had seen. She was completely miserable. My younger daughter had it at the same time and had a very mild case with just a few blisters on her fingers. Other than that, no symptoms. Last year after opening my daycare it passed through here and my then 1 year old son got it and I had to close almost a week and 2 of the 3 boys that came here also ended up getting it and I am a fanatic about sanitizing and handwashing. As a previous poster mentioned- it is highly contagious. Shame on that mom for sending him after treating him for a fever. I swear, some people are just plain ignorant and just dont get that "something" is causing the fever, and that "something" is often times a contagious virus or bacterial infection.

[Blackcat31]

Did she get a dr. note saying that doc said dck is able to come back tomorrow? This mom seems to lie a lot

Oh yes! This mom NEVER ever remembers to bring extra clothes, hats, mittens or anything else I ask her to, but you can bet your bottom dollar that she got the Dr to write a note saying he could come back tomorrow. I just decided enough is enough and if the Dr wants to say he is okay, the Dr can watch him tomorrow! I am not allowing him to come back til Monday. This mom makes me want to pull my hair out!!
Her kids are wonderful however and they pay up front, on time, always, so I can't complain about the steady pay.....It is NEVER the kids that drive me batty it is the parents!! Seriously thinking of opening a drive-through daycare....just honk the horn and send them in! Pin your check to their shirt and that'll be that!!!

[marniewon]

Seriously thinking of opening a drive-through daycare....just honk the horn and send them in! Pin your check to their shirt and that'll be that!!!

ROFL!!! That would be great!!! Fortunately, I have great parents - it's the kids that sometimes drive me crazy!! Well, sort of great parents. Some forget to pay me.....and unfortunately, one of them is my best friend from high school, and dcb is just a drop-in, so we don't have a contract and I don't want to ruin the friendship over it