This July has been a skin slash viral disease kinda month for me. Nurse/Doctor Mommy has clocked in overtime hours like crazy.
A few weeks ago, my two-year-old, Z complained of itchy hands and feet. I noticed her palms and the soles of her feet were quite red. Initially, I thought she had an allergic reaction to something she ate. So I just gave her anti-histamine. In the morning, I noticed that her rash has worsened.
My 9-year-old daughter, N, also showed me a pustule on her thigh which I suspected to be chicken pox because she had several on different parts of her body. Not in clusters but solo.
In the meantime, the rashes on Z's hands and feet were getting redder. I was then suspecting Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).
I consulted my husband's cousin (doctors in the family really come in handy) and she confirmed my suspicion (seconded coz she did not really confirm). (She also seconded my opinion on N's chickenpox.) Her mom (who was also a Doc) told me to bring Z to the pedia already. Because if she has rashes inside her mouth, she might have difficulty swallowing, eating and breathing. So I did. Doc said both N and Z have HFMD.
For Hand-Foot-and-Mouth-Disease, Doc advised to just apply Bactroban ointment on all pustules. Let the kids take anti-histamine to minimize itching. The blisters might be painful at times so if they have on the soles of their feet, keep them off them for the time being. Z had so many blisters on her feet she wanted to be carried all the time. I also let her wear socks and mittens so she wont scratch.
Upside? Z no longer sucks her thumb. She couldn't suck her thumb while she was sick because she had big-ass blisters on her fingertips.
Fast forward to last Friday. Kids were home because of the end of Ramadan. D, my 7-year-old, showed me a budding blister. I told him that that was just a mosquito bite. And he said he has a huge one on his genitals. When I checked, the blister looked like a pox. But I was hoping it was just HFMD that he got from his sisters. Trip to Doc confirmed that it was HFMD. Doc said since both my girls still have scabs from their HFMD, it was unlikely that they would get it again from D. I gave D the same treatment as I did my girls.
Saturday. His chest was peppered with blisters. And it hella looked like chicken pox. I sent the picture to cousin-doctor and she confirmed.
Unfortunately, Z also developed blisters on her neck. She also acquired chicken pox.
My diagnosis/analysis: I was correct that N had chickenpox and Z had HFMD. N's chickenpox was controlled because, being my eldest, her vaccines were fairly complete. She had the varicella vaccine. And since she already scabbed, she gave away her chickenpox to the younger ones.
As advised by the pedia, I gave them both Aciclovir, an anti-viral medication. For Z, Herpex syrup. For D, Herpex tabs. They had to have them 4x a day for 5 days. Aciclovir is pricey. Herpex tabs cost me P101 at Rose Pharmacy and they only had 3 tablets available. Pricey and hard to find! Zovirax is a pricier brand at P171. The pharmacist said there is a discount (30% off) that you can get from the pedia.
I found a RiteMed version of the tablets at only P68 at La Nueva Pharmacy. (We had to drive around town to find the Herpex brand. Hard-to-find!) I also found out that they were also selling the Herpex Syrup at only P500 something. Way cheaper than Rose Pharmacy's P600 something for a 50mL bottle.
However, cousin doc and tita doc told me not to buy any more anti-viral medication for them since the disease will still just take its course even if they take medication. They told me to just apply calamine lotion on the itchy parts and let them take anti-histamine at bedtime. Oh and Vitamin C! I guess to speed up the healing process.
As of today, they are both feeling a little better. No more fever for Z. Many blisters have also flattened. The worst is over. Thank you, Lord!
(Medicine dosage depends on the weight of the child.)
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