Den of Disease

Last week, Amelia woke up one morning with a fever, accompanied by general grumpiness. We gave her some Tylenol and encouraged her to drink a lot throughout the day. She ate very little. We thought it was probably just related to teething. And then as the night wore on we noticed something new. Blisters started to appear on her hands, fingers, elbows, and ankles. She usually has eczema on her ankles. That dreaded night the eczema was lookin' mighty fierce. It was really red and had some blisters in and around it. 

Day 2 - Not much change, blisters were still there. The fever, however, let up. 

Day 3 - We spent our day visiting with doctors, nurses, and medical students. After a lot of waiting and then talking to someone and then some more waiting we had a diagnosis! Coxsackie Virus, or Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, with a bonus bacterial infection on the eczema sites. Thankfully, Coxsackie goes away on its own in about 7 to 10 days. It's a pretty common childhood illness that's spread from person to person. It's characterized by nasty fluid filled blisters on (you guessed it) the hands, feet, and in the mouth and throat. Amelia looks much better and has been acting more like herself for several days now. She still has some red dots on her arms and legs where the blisters are healing. I also learned that I am not immune to Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. I developed sores in my throat and a few little blisters on my finger pads. 

Amelia gets hogtied four times each day for a not so tasty antibiotic. It's a challenge, but totally worth it.