PSA: Hand Foot Mouth Disease in Adults

TLDR: I caught the adult version of Hand Foot Mouth Disease from my daughter and it's terrible. There is an increase in adults getting infected this year. Take more precautions than I did if your kid comes home with this.



My daughter caught this at her school and had it all last week. Her doctor told us it was rare for adults to catch it and if so, usually asymptomatic.

Well guess who caught it from her? This guy. The doctor that I visited told me that it is USUALLY rare in adults, however this year they have seen both an increase in HFM and RSV cases in adults.

This shite ain't no joke. Thursday night I had a mild sore throat/sinus drip. Woke up Friday morning and it was gone, felt fine.

Friday night it hit me like a ton of bricks. Sore throat, malaise, exhaustion, light headedness, chills like I was running a fever however it never got above 99.4 to my knowledge. Of course my first thought is COVID. Slept like shite that night.

Sat morning I head to the doctor, got a COVID test which was negative. Got some meds prescribed for sinusitis. I was exhausted all day Saturday, still had the chills a bit. And the sore throat was getting worse. Complete loss of appetite.

Yesterday I felt much better overall. I started noticing the bottom of my feet were sensitive when walking, so I started thinking about the HFM my daughter had just gotten through. Sure enough red bump rash on the bottom of my feet and palms of hands. By yesterday afternoon my entire mouth was hurting, gums tongue and all.

Today I went back to the doctor and got diagnosed with HFM. I've got blistering and sores in my mouth that I can't hardly stand unless i'm sucking on a chloraseptic lozenge. Every time I swallow, it feels like shards of glass are going down. The red bumps on my hands and feet are much more apparent and the ones on the palms of my hands itch. I can't hardly take the lid off of a water bottle because of the soreness. The bumps have spread to my face and my nostrils. A couple of them have already blistered and scabbed over.

I have a feeling I still have a ways to go to get through this. It typically runs its course in 7-10 days and I'm only on day 3. I've read stories of folks even losing fingernails and toenails due to the rash and blistering.

I took zero precautions when mixing with my kid while she was sick, and now i'm paying for it. Hoping I can save someone from making the same mistake! Call me a p*ssy or whatever names you want, but this isn't fun.