Since last Friday when my baby girl Marcie’s teachers called to say they suspected that she has hand-foot-and-mouth disease (“HFMD”), my life, my hubby’s and Marcie’s have been miserable. Today is the 6th day of her HFMD, counting from Friday, 1st day where red bumps showed up on her hands and in her mouth. Here are some quick questions answered on HFMD, especially what happens when a baby with eczema has it (btw, Marcie is 17th month old).
1. How do you know if your baby has HFMD? Will it be confused with eczema rash?
When I brought Marcie to the doctor to verify if she has HFMD, the doctor did seem to take longer to check but made the diagnosis of HFMD when he saw ulcers in the mouth. Below are some pictures taken from the Singapore’s Health Promotion Board’s website, provided by KK Women’s and Children’s hospital.
2. What is the difference when HFMD happens to a baby with eczema?
In Marcie’s case, it didn’t look much like the above but instead the HFMD red bumps appear where she has been scratching most frequently, like her hand and her foot. I’m not sure if the degree of ulcers got to do with the immune system of the baby, but Marcie, fortunately, did not get red sores on her tongue but her tongue seems to be swollen and she drooled a lot.
3. Did the scratching get worse on the eczema skin patches?
It didn’t for Marcie and instead got less scratching, until when the red HFMD bumps subsided, she started scratching again.
4. Will a parent get the HFMD from the child?
Yes! Especially as I co-sleep with my baby, I actually got flu (fever, sore throat, running nose) a day before the ulcers showed up on my baby.
5. What food does a baby take given there’s ulcers in the mouth?
Hydration is key as a baby drool a lot when the mouth has ulcers. If you google, every child seems to have their own preference in times of HFMD. It was traumatic to come up with ten different meals/food just to get Marcie to eat some, here’s what she did eat if it helps:
a. Hard-boiled egg
b. Steamed bun
c. Yoghurt (she only ate when I let her explore the fridge!)
d. Noodle
e. Baby rice cereal with strawberry sorbet (even then the trick didn’t work after 2 meals)
She did drink her favorite pear juice, some chocolate milk and Vitagen. For the past 6 days, she lost 1 kg, and I’ve lost 2kgs taking care of her!
17 replies on “What happens when an eczema baby get HFMD”
My boys are ending HFMD. They are all scabby but because of their Eczema is was just like your picture in certain spots but I thought it was chicken pox becAuse it was really going around in our community and so I did what you would do with chicken pox and it really seemed to help! Every morning I have them a bath in the aveeno oatmeal and after I would but the aveeno eczema oatmeal everywhere they had the rash and whenever they seemed uncomfortable and it would calm them right away! They mostly only drank water and a tiny bit warmer than room temp milk for the whole week though.
Hi Olga, thanks for your sharing! The HFMD + eczema always looked different for my daughter compared to other kids; esp for the subsequent HFMDs, even doctors couldn’t tell. Not all the time the blisters appear in the mouth.. last year, a mom told me that the doctor told her it appeared nearer to the throat area so won’t be able to see so obviously. Am so glad for you that the aveeno oatmeal worked well for your boys! Big hugs and take care!
Mei
My 2 year old has eczema and HFMD it’s making his eczema worse! He’s scratching the tops of the blisters and making them sore and because they are open wounds can’t use his eczema cream on him now! (It’s a steroid cream) anyone had this issue is they anything that eased it? C
Hi MummyCJ, sorry to hear that the HFMD made the eczema worse, big hugs! Will cool bath or playing in indoor inflatable play pool work? I used that trick when my daughter had chicken pox. Lowering the temperature more aggressively if he has fever may help – the increase in temperature triggers eczema flareups for my daughter so we always bring the temperature down faster when she’s a fever. Take care and this week of HFMD will pass, press on! Hugs!
Thanks so much for your help! This is exacly what my son and i are going through. I too have caught a cold/sore throat! My son suffers eczema. I noticed his eczema got alot more violent (dark purple/scaby) as these ugly little spots popped up all over. Seen these pictures, and they look the same. Big rash on his bum also made it sore for him to pee. Docs gave antibiotics as eczema patches got infected and mycream its antifungal flamitory cream for his bum as he has bump looking rashes. I did notice less scratching on his arms!? Sometimes he refuses to eat as well. Thanks everyone and mei xox
Thanks Lily and hope your son recovers soon! Be careful that the cold sores don’t turn into eczema herpeticum.. it’s different from HFMD. Read more about herpeticum here
http://eczemablues.com/2012/04/eczema-herpeticum-what-is-it-and-is-it-dangerous/
It’s strange as somehow my kid’s HFMD always look a little different from others.. most times neither the preschool nor the doctor can tell if she has HFMD.
Take care, xoxo!
Mei
Hi Mei, my son has eczema and he is having HFMD now. The doctor did not give any cream to apply for his blisters, saying that it will subside on its own. May I know if you applied any cream for Marcie on her blisters? Thank you in advance.
Hi Melissa!
I didn’t apply any cream on the blisters. She only got special cream when she had shingles (I know, she’s so young!). Hope your son’s eczema is already better, hugs!
Mei
Thanks Mei for your help. After that my husband went to the clinic to ask the PD and she suggested using sodium chloride. Just tried dabbing on his hands today to try out but there doesn’t seem to be any effect. Now I think I am down with HFMD too. 🙁
OH DEAR! I did get HFMD from my daughter, it’s easier for the adult though as we can still ‘force’ ourselves to eat despite the blisters. The HFMD blisters for a child should go down pretty soon, from what I observed in my girl who I suspect got it 3xs!, lowering the temperature reduces the eczema flare-ups.. the blisters don’t seem to make her more itchy, hugs!
Mei
3 times within the same period? I just can’t wait for all these to be over. The blisters on my hands are really bothering me!
Every time her classmate has HFMD, she’d get it! Hugs to you, feel better soon!
Oh dear! That’s the thing about child care. Thankies! Can only wait for time to fly!
Hi,
Just saw your blog and my Lo, has exactly the same symptoms and has these spots where the eczema normally strikes. My Dr didn’t have a diagnosis other than a virus, so seeing the pictures of your daughter completely makes sense. The spots are drying out now, but baby seems to be scratching more now. How long enforce your daughter was fully recovered?
Hi! She recovered in a week, and the next time it happened, she’s not diagnosed HFMD tho I think it is and she coped much better, despite with eczema.
Take care!
Mei
Hi my baby has the exact same thing. She also has eczema so her blisters are a lot like your baby only her rash is everywhere! Specially in the diaper area making it hard for us to change her and hard for her to pee cos it hurts. How long did your baby suffer through hfmd? And what happened to her blisters? Thanks!
Hi Nicole 🙂 Thanks for dropping by, and it’s such such a pain when an eczema child has HFMD. Mine suffered the usual time, and all her blisters healed. The one that didn’t heal was her chickenpox – there’s white spots on quite a few places, but not on my worry list, since there’s plenty of others to worry about!
Have a fab day!
Mei