Contents
First there was a fever – high, exhausting and unbeatable. Then a terrible sore throat that made this common COVID-19 symptom of pleasant tickles. In the end, I had an ailment that completely grounded me – I couldn’t walk through it and use my hands. In the middle of summer I fell ill with HFMD, commonly (though incorrectly) called Boston, an infectious disease that is said to be very rare in adults.
- My son brought the infection from the nursery. The first symptom of the disease was high fever, then a rash appeared
- For me, the course was similar, but the disease lasted twice as long, and the symptoms were much more severe
- All three symptoms of “Boston” gave me a hard time, but the worst rash made me unable to use my hands and had to wear protective gloves
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
A sick child is a sick parent
When enrolling a child in a nursery, you have to take into account that he will be sick. As our pediatrician says: at least 12 times a year, rather more often. It worked for us. In the first year of attending an early childhood facility, my son spent more time at home than in a nursery, and the three-week attendance at the facility was a record worth noting.
We endured it patiently (after all, a child must acquire immunity, and contact with pathogens is the best method to build a strong immune system) and waited for a breakthrough. This one actually happened. Although infections still happen (ironically I would add that “only” 10 times a year), most of them have a milder course than before, and my son returns to form quickly.
However, this is only one side of the coin. The second concerns me and has no such positive response.
A sick child is, unfortunately, a sick parent. Some will only get infected with the most nasty microorganism, others will catch every second infection. I, unfortunately, belong to the latter group. Since my son started to be ill, I have been walking with him in solidarity, shoulder to shoulder, and as much as I got sick in the last year and a half, I must not have been sick for the whole of my life.
The last infection I contracted from him literally “put on me”. The little one crawled out of her after about five days, I struggled for three weeks, and finally I ended up on antibiotics anyway. I remember that the cough that accompanied my illness was so bad that I was convinced I had whooping cough. Anyway, I thought nothing worse would happen to me. I was very wrong.
The child’s health is a priority for parents. It is worth monitoring his health, because the symptoms of diseases may be non-specific. You can check what tests are worth doing at Medonet Market.
We’ve “worked through” many diseases, but I haven’t heard of them
One Sunday morning my son felt bad. It turned out that she had an elevated temperature that was rising rapidly and was very resistant to antipyretic drugs. Other symptoms? Lack.
The rest of the article is available under the video.
On Monday morning we got a message from the nursery that several children reported similar symptoms and two children were diagnosed with “Boston”, actually hand, foot and mouth disease (Ang. hand, foot and mouth disease – HFMD). It is a highly contagious viral disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 10.
Hand, foot and mouth disease is a viral infection caused by an enterovirus infection (usually from the Coxsackie A5, A9, A10, A16, B1, and B3 or EV 71 group). It spreads primarily through the droplet and fecal-oral route, which is why it is called the disease of dirty hands. It is most common in early school age children, and the peak incidence is in summer and autumn.
The first symptom is usually an elevated body temperature. The fever can be very high, reaching even 40 degrees C. It is sometimes accompanied by chills, pain in muscles, bones and joints, headaches and lack of appetite.
After about two or three days, a characteristic rash appears on the body in the form of salmon-colored spots or blisters (called papular rash or maculo-vesicular rash). The earliest changes are visible in the oral cavity (on the palatine tonsils, the cheek mucosa and the palate). Later the rash appears on the body, mainly on the inside of the palms and the soles of the feet.
Treatment is symptomatic. Antipyretic and analgesic drugs are given, soothing throat discomfort as well as pain and itching in skin lesions. The symptoms last for about a week, but the patient may be contagious for up to several weeks after the symptoms have disappeared, because the virus is still present in the stool.
The disease is sometimes called Boston disease, but it is a wrong term, resulting from the similarity of the causes of the disease with Bornholm (Boston) disease or symptoms with Boston rash.
I knew what Boston was, but only recently. Despite the fact that we have already “processed” a lot of infections at home (from otitis, rotavirus, to COVID-19), I have not met “Boston” yet. I heard about it for the first time in February this year, when it became loud about cases in Małopolska – we wrote about it here.
It was an event because the “Boston” was not talked about for a long time, although the disease did not disappear at all, attacking seasonally in nurseries and kindergartens. Reading about HFMD at the time, I didn’t really care. I have only coded two pieces of information: the symptoms are high fever and a characteristic rash, the disease is very rare in adults.
My son dealt with “Boston” quickly. Two days later, there was no sign of a fever, four days after a rash, which in his case appeared only in trace amounts. AT it was just the opposite to me.
A sore throat with COVID-19 is also a pleasant tickle
I fell ill right after my son stopped feverish. Temperature above 39 st. C, difficult to break even by combining ibuprofen and paracetamol. I was glad when it dropped to at least 38 degrees, because at least I kept in touch. I was praying just that the fever should not last longer than that of a child and to get through it somehowespecially since I was alone with my baby at times. Whoever suffered from a healthy and energetic two-year-old knows what I am talking about.
After the fever was over, there was a terrible sore throat. It was there that the changes began to appear in the first place, which quickly took the form of numerous small mornings. I found out about it when I inadvertently took a sip of hot tea with raspberry juice and lemon, which is a great antidote for a sore throat. I felt as if someone had set fire to my burning wound. For several days I had problems with eating and drinking, I only tolerated a liquid, cool consistency. The sore throat I remember from COVID-19 is also a pleasant tickle.
Eventually the rash invaded my body. This time everything was done “textbook”: skin lesions appeared on the inside of the hand and on the soles of the feet. Since these are the most exploited parts of the body, the wounds heal quickly, slowly heal, itch cruelly, and then they hurt a lot. Washing your hands has become a torment and walking has become one great pain.
The rash has invaded other, more troublesome areas as well: the vestibule of the nose, the spaces between the toes, and even the knees and torso. The changes were not great and very scattered, but they caused great discomfort.
Nothing helped with the itching and pain, not even an antihistamine prescribed by a doctor. It was only the old home remedy of this type that gave me relief from my editorial colleague. These are compresses made of overcooked oatmeal. I soaked my hands and feet in such a gruel, which brought me a break.
The disease did not last long, although it turned out to be extremely persistent. What have I learned during this time?
First, humility. Even if the disease in adults is rare, somebody builds statistics and I can always turn out to be me.
Second, empathy. First for the child, because being with him and being sick is something different than to feel what he was struggling with. Later for all people who suffer from rashes, itching and skin lesions on a daily basis, such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, allergies and many other skin diseases. The discomfort associated with it causes great irritation and frustration. I’m glad he’s already behind me.
Do you suspect you are allergic? Perform blood tests to confirm or exclude allergy. You can find the research package in Medonet Market.
We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time Kamila Wykrota, the resilience trainer, will tell us about what resilience is. How does the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and react to adversities affect our quality of life? You will find out by listening to the latest episode of our podcast.