Anyone want to play "Name that Virus"?

[DashsMama]

My family is suffering from some unknown virus right now. I don't particularly want to go to the doctor for it because there's not really anything they can do for a virus. I am curious what we have because it seems like more than your typical rhino-virus at work and thought someone here might recognize it.

Here are the symptoms...

Me
Started with fatigue and low grade fever (100 to 102)
Progressed to gunky sinus and deep wet-sounding cough
Finished (I hope) with a sore throat, and itchy, red, pox-like spots all over the body, (mostly on torso, but there are a few everywhere, even in mouth)

DH has the spots primarily on his feet and hands, and in his mouth (they are painful in the mouth). Leading us to believe that it might be Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. He has not had the gunky sinus or cough.

DS had the spots all over his bottom. We thought it was weird diaper rash at first, but then they spread to his legs. He also has spots on his feet, but not on his hands. We haven't seen any in his mouth, but he was experienceing mouth pain earlier in the week that I attributed to teething, but now think it might have been the spots. He has not had the gunky sinus or cough either.

This has been going on now for about 10 days. My husband has been going to work and the baby and I've been going to play dates, but now that we're breaking out in spots I'm worried that we might have infected people with something worrysome.

Anyone have any ideas?

[auld reekie]

My first feeling was maybe chiken pox!! Have you all had CP before? I have a book called"smart medicine for a healthier child" by Janet zand,Rachel walton'bob rountree. i find this book useful,maybe it will help.It does sound like something contagious as you all seem to have it.
My other thought at this time of night: Have you all been out walking in the woods and maybe come into contact with some plant you are all allergic to and it is just a coincidence that you all have a bit of a cold bug at the same time?
Don't know if this is any help to you.Wish you good luck in finding out what it is

[leafylady]

sounds like hand foot & mouth to me.

[daylily]

I concur about hand, foot & mouth. All 4 of my kids had this a couple of years ago. They had fever, crankiness and rash on soles and palms and strep-like bumps in mouth. But they didn't have sinus symptoms or coughing. Maybe you have 2 things at once.

There are lots of benign viruses that cause rashes. I believe there's something called the coxsackie virus that causes a rash. Last week, ds had a lot of headaches and a pin dot rash all over his chest and back. I have no idea what he had, but he's fine now. Over the years, my kids have had lots of mysterious rashes. If this were chicken pox, they only way you'd all come down with it at the same time is if you were all exposed together. The incubation period for CP is 2 weeks. For hand, foot and mouth, it's just a day or two. Also, CP is itchy and makes blisters that burst and then scab over. And, most likely, you and your dh had CP when you were kids.

[hippiemom]

here in the sticks we call it "hoof and mouth disease". yuck! my kids had it, and it was not much fun... sores in the mouth and a few on the hands or feet, and general upper respiratory symptoms. it lasted about 7 days in all, no fun and very contagious.

[DashsMama]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I think we probably did have two things at once, hand, foot and mouth and some other gunky virus. Most of the spots are gone, but now DH ad DS are getting the gunky sinus. Mine has turned into bronchitis. To top it off poor DS has thrush, so the fight is far from over. Fun, fun fun! :

[kama'aina mama]

Coxsackie virus causes hand, foot and mouth disease. Which my daughter has. My books make it sound like adults aren't really susceptable... so much for that.

Now I'm gonna surf for fever advice, cuz it's bad.

[Majormom]

DashsMama, you said yours has turned into bronchitis. It may be a miss-diagnosis of pertussis. If you go to the vaccination site on this board you'll hear a lot of that. I don't know if you vaccinate or not but it is worth checking out.
This question is for anyone who knows:
I've never heard of HFM disease before (actually I just don't know anything about it) but would like to be educated on it. How do you catch it? is it more contagious in certain parts of the world? Any info would be of great help to me. TIA

Majormom

[kama'aina mama]

Majormom, there is a link in the thread I started called "what is the viral cycle' to a page about HFM. It is brief but dense with facts including transmission.

[DashsMama]

I just heard from a friend of mine that there is a small HFM epidemic in our town right now! The doctors are not even having people bring their kids in, but are diagnosing them right over the phone. It always makes me feel good to know that I have the ability to figure things out myself!

Kama, I hope your little one is feeling better!
Majormom, I actually considered pertussis, but my cough was wet and I wasn't making that scary gasping whoop that comes with pertussis. Thank goodness it is almost over!

Now, if I can just get over the feeling that my family was responsible for our town's little epidemic, I'll really feel better. :

[kama'aina mama]

I'll tell you the same thing I told the mom whose kid gave it to mine. "Kids get sick." Someone gave it to you all. As soon as it ws obvious you had an illness I am sure you canceled play dates, etc. Maybe some people do get all worked up over these things, but I don't get it. Unless you intentionally expose others (against their wishes ) I don't see an issue.

In other news... I have run a clinical trial of one. I broke the viral cycle by taking Echinacea and Goldenseal and nursing her. She was feverish for about 30 hours (less than my books told me to expect by about half) and hasn't gotten any rash. So either I kilt me some viruses or she never had HFM, just happened to get a random virus exactly six days after being exposed to HFM. Where can I publish my findings?