Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease (aka the worst week of my life)

This is a thing that happens to people. When Mr. Go looked our symptoms up on the interwebs and said "I think we have Hand Foot and Mouth disease," I laughed at him. We're not cows, we don't have Hoof and Mouth disease. But no, turns out we actually did.

The first symptom appears 3 days after infection: a high fever and feeling of unwell. I got that Monday night along with chills and a terrible headache. Mr. Go got it the next afternoon. Then the sores showed up. We had no idea the two symptoms were related. We thought they were bug bites at first and I cleaned the entire house and washed everything we own because I thought we had a chigger infestation. Poor Babs had bumps all over her legs and bottom.

The sores are basically deep blisters, and having them on the bottom of your feet means you can hardly stand to walk. Mr. Go had them all over his hands and I had to practically do everything for him.

Nighttime was the worst. Without anything to distract you, it made it seem even worse and falling asleep nearly was impossible. Sleep-deprived and in pain with no reprieve...it was the most miserable either of us had ever been.

We tried everything: Tylenol, probiotic foods and pills, anti-itch creams, lidocaine lotion. The only thing that provided some relief from the pain and itching was ice packs. We each slept with them; me with one on my feet and Mr. Go with one between his hands.

I was a little embarrassed to have contracted it, but my Mom Group assured me it was very common and most of them had had it at one point with their kids. In children the sores don't tend to itch for some reason, which I was grateful for. If Babs was 1/5 as miserable as the two of us, things would have been a million times worse.

Now that the blisters have stopped itching and hurting, they're peeling. Mr. Go's fingers look like weird scaly weenies. The nightmare continues, but it's all downhill from here. Another valuable life lesson.