HFMD: Our Experience and What Has Helped

Thank God for Toddler-wearing!

Ceaghan caught his first childhood illness. It was only a matter of time really. It is HFMD (Hand Foot Mouth Disease) and it is very common and spreading like wildfire throughout the community currently. The reason it spreads so rapidly is due to the fact that the child (or person) who has contracted in is the most contagious 4-6 days BEFORE the onset of symptoms. It is transferred through saliva and other body functions like sneezing, coughing and in fecal matter. Its like a ninja virus that sneaks up on everyone when you dont expect it at all!
  We were visiting with Nana when it all started. He was happily playing around and excited and then he got very irritable and sleepy. I rocked him in my arms and he actually fell asleep (that is unusual for him) My mom said that he felt kind of warm but I didn't really think much of that. When we got him home he was still sleepy and seemed to get hotter and hotter. We weren't sure what was going on. I had taken him with me to the breastfeeding fair at our local health department the day prior and I was concerned that he had caught something nasty from there. But we believe that fevers are good for you. They are the body's way of fighting off infection. When you use medications to eliminate the fever you are stopping an important body process and drawing out the time it takes for your body to fight. Your brain does a wonderful job of keeping your fever from reaching over 104'. He was hot but not so hot that we couldn't touch him. He was also still playing and smiling at this point. That night he was hot all night and didn't sleep great. He was having chills.  The next morning he seemed a lot cooler to the touch and like he was feeling a bit bad. Towards the middle of the day he started complaining of mouth pain. He would point under his tongue and say "OW OW OUCH!" "My mouth hurts!" He kept wanting to nurse to soothe and comfort himself. I reached out to Facebook friends asking what they thought could be going on. We dont go to conventional doctors unless we really need to or just for a diagnosis and then treat things with natural/alternative medicines. Many friends suggested HFMD and others thought Strep could be possible. Someone suggested that he could be saying that his mouth hurts and it be his throat. I went to the store real quick to grab a few things and left him with Chris. I picked up a homeopathic fever and pain medicine. When I returned he would cry when he ate or drank something and was very upset. Chris and I decided to check in his mouth and throat with a flashlight. And there it was, his throat and the back of his mouth were covered in red sores! It looked extremely painful. Our chiropractor was closed unfortunately and I felt like we needed a diagnosis so we could efficiently treat him. So we all packed up and headed for the emergency room. Right before we left Ceaghan was so hot and lethargic and would not swallow his spit so I gave him a dose of the homeopathic remedy as we ran out the door. By the time we got there he had no fever, was playing, laughing and running around! He was making friends with random people in the ER and making many people laugh. We would have left but I still felt like we needed a diagnosis in order to treat the sores properly. We were seen by a Nurse Practitioner, who was actually very nice. She looked in his throat and was taken back! She said "WOAH, yeah that is one infected throat!" She decided to swab for strep. This was extremely painful and upsetting to Ceaghan. But she did get him a Popsicle for being brave. She told us how we needed to wait on the results and that if its strep she would recommend an antibiotic. We started discussing antibiotics (not in a argumentative way, we just were discussing) and I told her how we really dont do antibiotics unless they are extremely necessary. She told me that she thinks that antibiotics are over used and how she has been reading research about ear infections being best left untreated. She said they will go away on their own. I was so shocked to hear this evidence based information from her! I wish every practitioner would feel the same. Then I asked "If the strep swab comes back negative, what else do you think it could be?" She responded that it could just be a viral thing that we would watch. I then said "What about Hand Foot Mouth? I have friends that had it recently, and the symptoms sound similar." She looked intrigued, and said "Yeah I hadn't thought of that, I will go look up some information while we wait. We sat and waited, Ceaghan ate popsicles and flirted with the nurses.  She came in and told me that the strep test was negative and that she wanted to get a better look at his throat to see if it is HFMD. We held him down and she got a great look with the overhead light. She decided that indeed it did look like HFMD because of hos round the sores were. There is nothing that makes it go away, as with all viral things they need to run their course.

Ceaghan about to get adjusted by our Chiro!

  We went home and continued to give him the homeopathic remedy for the pain. I set out on a search for alternative medicines that would help comfort him and strengthen his immune system. We took him to get adjusted by the chiropractor the next day and also got some OnGuard essential oil blend from a friend. This helped her HFMD clear up quickly and I read other accounts of it helping others. We mixed a few drops into coconut oil and slather it onto his feet where the pores are the largest and it will absorb. OnGaurd contains oils that are immune builders, anti-viral and anti-bacterial. He has been improving and is completely himself other than the painful sores that are still in his mouth and throat. They are taking time to heal but I am sure it wont be much longer. We feel really lucky that Cesilee did not catch it or either of us. What a big reminded that we need to be more  careful about germs. Hopefully we can avoid any other illnesses for awhile!

I am deficient in sunlight.

 I am deficient in the sunshine vitamin; Vitamin D. I first found out about it during my pregnancy with Cesilee. I was feeling extremely tired and just not right. My dr.google search led me to articles explaining how vitamin d deficiencies were a serious problem among pregnant/breastfeeding mothers. I was doing both. I researched more about it and realized that being a vegetarian and not getting  outside enough (it was winter in the midwest) put me at high risk. I discussed my concern with my midwife at the time and she ordered a blood test to check my levels. The results came back at 34 and normal is between 30-100 or 35-100 depending on your source. She blew it off as not a big deal but knowing that having this deficiency during pregnancy can lead to complications, I decided to take a supplement. I wasn't very researched on it and the midwife told me not to take more than 1,000 ius, I decided to start taking 800ius thinking that would help.
   Now lets fast forward a bit to my current situation. I gave birth to my beautiful girl Cesilee 4 weeks premature (due to pPROM) on December 29th, 2011. She is perfect and healthy and doing great. I however have been feeling progressively worse since the birth. I have frequent headaches, fatigue, and weakness. The biggest thing I noticed is that I didn't lose ANY of the pregnancy weight (30lbs) and I even started gaining more weight rapidly. I was eating pretty well, exercising, and nursing two babies; how was I not losing weight?  I just dont feel like myself and my intuition tells me that something is off. I discussed how I was feeling with my doctor at my postpartum checkup but at the time she just assumed it was from the stress of having two young kids and being postpartum. When things got worse and I developed depression, I started questioning that. My friends and family were picking up on things and encouraged me to make another appointment. You see at the time I was thinking that my vitamin d problem was getting better and wasn't thinking that was the issue.  My symptoms seemed like those experienced by friends and family who have thyroid diseases. Since I have a strong family history I decided to ask for some blood testing to see if mine was off. Many postpartum women experience that.
 At my appointment with my doctor I explained all of the symptoms and why I wanted to have my thyroid tested. She thought it sounded probable and was going to get the testing done but also saw I was taking some vitamin d and wanted to check how my levels were doing. Well yesterday a nurse from the doctors office called me to let me know that my thyroid was functioning fine but my vitamin D level was even lower. It was 20; down 14 since last check. They suggested I take a very high dose of a vitamin D supplement for 8 weeks and then come back to recheck my level. The doctor wanted to prescribe a supplement of 50,000 ius to take once a week however it was not available in a vegan form so I told them I would find it on my own, over the counter. I am taking a vegetarian capsule that supplies me 5,000 ius everyday. If that midwife would have treated my issue right away, it wouldn't be so bad now.
 So here I am not about to start the supplementation in hopes that soon I start to feel a whole lot better and start dropping this excess weight. Apparently you need to have sufficient vitamin D levels to lose weight. I am also supplementing the kids with some baby vitamin D drops. Cesilee needs it most since I am deficient (and breastfeeding her exclusively) and she was premature.
 I will keep updating on how I am feeling during this supplementing process. I encourage everyone to get their level tested. It is a simple blood test and vitamin D is so crucial to your health. I read that 40-60% of the entire US population is deficient. In most places spending time outdoors and eating fortified foods is not enough. Its recommended that everyone take a supplement to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D.
Here are some more links to learn about vitamin D deficiency and how to prevent it:
Women to Women; Vitamin D and your health
WebMD: Vitamin D Deficiency Overview
Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Pregnancy Complication
Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy: clinical trial
World Health Orginization: Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy to prevent pre-eclampsia/eclampsia
Optimum levels of vitamin D during pregnancy
About Vitamin D
Vitamin D news