September was a difficult month for me, and definitely kept me away from blogging, or even showering to be quite honest. My husband was away visiting family overseas in Montenegro, and I still remember telling my mom how I knew I could handle twins plus one on my own "because nothing could be worse than when the twins had Hand, Foot, Mouth disease this summer, so if I could survive that, then I can handle anything." Well, little did I know, that something was brewing and the virus would be back for a second time for my twins, just a few days after daddy went away - it was precisely one month since they last had Coxsackie virus (commonly known as Hand, Foot, Mouth disease). When my twins experienced Coxsackie in August of this past summer, I blamed it on our family trip to Lake George, but this time I was just speechless.
It all started with my sweet Matthew being inconsolable one night and a trip to the Emergency Room to figure out why I couldn't control his fever with medicine - the "spots" or rather, blisters, on his skin were spreading rapidly as we waited to be seen by the Attending Physician there. The doctors in the hospital all confirmed the dreaded news that Matthew had Coxsackie virus AGAIN and sent us home with some Motrin and tears for both baby and mom.
After a few hours of leaving that ER room, Matthew was miserable and the sores that I could now see in his mouth were open and bloody, and my poor guy was not feeling any better - in fact, he seemed to be in worse pain. And after speaking to our pediatrician, I decided to do what I'd never done before as a mother: go back to the ER after being discharged! Even though it seemed as though Matthew was hydrated and producing wet diapers, I just realized he needed more help as he hadn't had a second of sleep since waking up at 10pm - and it was about 6am before I got the pep talk from my pediatrician about knowing my child best and making decisions for him. So we made another run for the ER, and this time we got what they call "Magic Mouthwash" from the new attending physician at this point that immediately seemed to calm my baby, along with an ultrasound to check on whether or not the virus had impacted his colon in any way. After a few hours, we were finally off and on our way home again, but this time asleep in his stroller. And as any twin mother knows, I was waiting on Matthew's twin brother, Adam, to start showing symptoms of the virus thereafter - and less than 2 days later, surely enough, I had 2 toddlers with Coxsackie virus. I learned a lot that week - my patience was tested every part of the day while juggling 2 sick toddlers and giving my 5-year old some basic attention like getting him fed and to and from school each day. Thankfully, Gammy came to our rescue on the first night we fell ill here; without her I know I wouldn't have been able to endure all the crying, temperature checks, and medicine I had to fight my little ones to take. Unfortunately, we ended that week with one of the boys getting a Bronchitis infection - luckily though, I brought Matthew in to the pediatrician in time to listen to his lungs and get a Nebulizer machine before having to make another run to the hospital's emergency room!
Looking back now, I am really not sure how my mom and I were able to team up and really get through that week and a half. It took a lot of coffee (that we barely ever finished drinking), many tears (mostly mine and not Gammy's), and a ton of syringes. I am sharing all this in this post because I want to admit to other mom's that seeing your children sick and helpless is one of the worst feelings in the world, and that I always want to blame myself or something I did for not having prevented it. I also have to say that none of that matters, and there's no way as a mom I could ever prevent my kids from getting any kind of sickness, but what I can control is my response to how they're feeling and advocating for them to get the best resources to help comfort and cure them. Coxsackie virus is a horrible infection that is prevalent in the summer and early fall - I hope I never see it again!
Below is a list of my suggestions and tips for how I helped my kids deal with Coxsackie virus and Bronchitis, that I hope other moms may find helpful:
1. Offer cool foods/drinks
I didn't warm up my toddler's milk when they had Coxsackie virus, so as to not irritate the sores in their mouth. Offering cooler drinks/foods to them seemed comforting, though they were barely eating - I would give them cold water, yogurt or Pedialyte popsicles to lick. The most important thing is keeping your little one hydrated - a few times I even squirted some water into one of the twin's mouths with a syringe to ensure he was getting enough.
2. Ditch the thermometer & Stay on top of the pain/fever
By ditching your thermometer, I don't mean getting rid of it completely or never using it - what I do mean, is that fever is fever, despite whatever number you are getting in the reading. Don't focus so much on the number and measuring your child's temperature every 5 minutes, but rather, focus on getting that fever down with medicine. I used both Tylenol (Acetaminophen every 4 hours) and Motrin (Ibuprofen every 6 hours) for each of my boys with the virus to ensure we were managing their aches, pains and fever. (Coxsackie virus looks and feels similar to the flu.) Also, I always double check with my pediatrician about proper dosages for my kids based on their weight - somehow my boys are right on the border line of a new dosage AND it never hurts to ask the professional!
3. Ask for "Magic Mouthwash" to treat the sores
Nothing saddened me more than seeing my son's bloody looking blisters in his mouth. I was thankful for the "magic mouthwash" given to us finally in the ER after our second trip there, and of course, I offered it to my other twin once he started showing symptoms as well. I couldn't have asked for "magic mouthwash" beforehand because I never had heard about it, but if your child has the virus, then you have got to advocate for them and demand you get this from your doctor! "Magic Mouthwash" is simply a mix of Benadryl and Maalox prepared according to the child's weight that gets splashed inside their mouths with a syringe to provide pain relief - it doesn't treat the virus, but it totally got the painful sores in the twin's mouths treated.
4. Use Calamine Lotion & hold off on the baths
I know Calamine Lotion is an old trick many mom's have sworn by back in the day, so why not give it a try? Again, nothing is going to treat the Coxsackie viral infection because it's a virus, but you can do things to treat the symptoms - and one of them is itchiness! I would use some calamine lotion on the worst looking sores on my twin's legs just to provide some relief and comfort to them, though the good part about them being so young is that they are not likely to really scratch themselves. Calamine lotion is available off-the-counter at any local pharmacy (usually in a pink bottle). I also didn't wash my twins like I usually do each evening while they had Coxsackie virus because I wanted to allow the sores and blisters on their skin to dry out - keep that in mind depending on how severe your child's sores look.
5. Offer Goldfish & Pretzel Snacks
I know this sounds bizarre, but all the nurses at the ER told me that kids with Coxsackie will always eat Goldfish and Pretzels - and they were right! The saltiness must have been tolerable and even caused them to drink more then - I even snuck in some Veggie Chips to them as well. But seriously, my kids barely ate any food at all for 10 days! I was simply thankful for the milk they were accepting.
6. Call in the reinforcements
This virus is awful, and if I didn't have family support while my husband was away, I don't think I could have gotten through it. So if your kids are experiencing this virus, then make a plan and call a few other people in your life who could offer a helping hand and ask them to come by. Coxsackie virus is rare in adults any way and with proper hygiene can be prevented (not as easy with young toddlers touching everything and always putting their hands in their mouths). You'll def need the help - especially at night.
7. Keep your phone charged!
We got through much of our time, especially time using the nebulizer machine to deal with Matthew's bronchitis, with many, many YouTube videos on mommy and Gammy's phones. So don't feel guilty about the additional screen time while your kids are sick - they really need the comfort and distraction.
8. Write it all down
As a parent of twins, it is easy to mix things up or forget what you've done for one versus the other, etc. But even when I was a first-time mom of 1, I always found it helpful to write down important details to track what was going on. I like to write down what time and how much medicine I gave each child, how high their temperature was and at what time, how many ounces they drank, their last wet diaper, etc. Having this key information is important so you can communicate with others about your child's progress - so write it down, paper or digital, in whatever format that works best for you.
9. Use antibiotic cream
I used Neosporin around my boy's noses and on their nostrils (which had become so dry and irritated form the virus) and chin sores with the advice of my pediatrician to protect them and prevent any bad bacteria from entering my babies as their skin in these areas was so badly effected and their bodies were fighting Hand, Foot, Mouth disease. Any antibiotic cream/ointment would help for protection - I would apply it while they slept at nap time and then in the evening.
10. Stay positive!
I know this can be hard to do, but as with any illness, mom's have to stay positive and keep upbeat to help get everyone, including yourself, through it. Focus on the positives - that in a few days this virus will go away, controlled temperatures, any food eaten or drinks taken, etc. Eventually, it all goes away and your healthy child reappears again.
11. Disinfect everything when it's over
Once everyone's feeling better, and you realize you're actually still alive, you will want to spend a significant amount of time disinfecting everything and getting rid of that virus in your home. We used Lysol wipes in my home on every toy, every page of each board book, etc. to really kill the virus. Clothes and sheets were washed daily, and bottles all sterilized to ensure there'd be no return of the virus. Hopefully you can enlist the help of some of your family/friends support to offer a hand in the disinfection stage.
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