Should you be worried about hand-foot-and-mouth disease? Mother reveals she caught it from her son

When Erica Jackson Curran’s throat became sore and she lost her appetite, she assumed she had the flu.

But just two days later, her son Oliver was diagnosed with hand-foot-and-mouth disease.

Despite the fact that most adults develop an immunity to the virus, the pediatrician confirmed that Jackson Curran had in fact caught it from the toddler.

The mother-of-one from Richmond, Virginia, has now written a first person account in Romper about what it’s like to be an adult with a ‘children’s disease’.

It comes just one day after New York Mets ace pitcher Noah Syndergaard revealed he had contracted the virus after visiting a children’s baseball camp.

Erica Jackson-Curran, from Richmond, Virginia, said her throat felt sore and she felt feverish just days after her son Oliver became sick – but she just assumed she had the flu. Pictured: Jackson Curran and Oliver

A trip to the pediatrician revealed that her son had hand-foot-and-mouth disease, which is a virus most common in children under age 10, and often under age five. Pictured: Jackson Curran and Oliver

After describing her symptoms to the doctor, Jackson Curran found out that she had caught it from her son. Pictured: Jackson Curran and Oliver

A trip to the pediatrician revealed that her son had hand-foot-and-mouth disease, which is a virus most common in children under age 10, and often under age five. After describing her symptoms to the doctor, Jackson Curran found out that she had caught it from her son. Pictured, left and right: Jackson Curran with her son Oliver

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease, or HFMD, is a virus most common in children under age 10, and often under age five.

According to the Mayo Clinic, it is characterized by sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet. 

The illness is usually accompanied by a fever that lasts a few days and mild symptoms such as a sore throat, rash and loss of appetite.

It can be passed through the air or coming into close contact with a person who hasn’t washed their hands after using the bathroom.  

Children build up antibodies to the virus as they get older and the immune systems of adults are typically strong enough to prevent the virus from infecting them. 

When Jackson Curran’s son came down with a slight fever and was ‘fussier than usual’, she thought he was teething.

But just a few days later, she said she started feeling very weak and fatigue two hours after waking up.

‘I spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between freezing cold and burning hot, burrowing under piles of blankets one minute and throwing them all off the next,’ Jackson Curran wrote.

‘My throat ached, and my appetite vanished. I slipped in and out of a restless sleep.’ 

HFMD is characterized by sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet. It can be passed through the air or coming into close contact with a person who hasn't washed their hands after using the bathroom (file image)

HFMD is characterized by sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet. It can be passed through the air or coming into close contact with a person who hasn’t washed their hands after using the bathroom (file image)

Children build up antibodies to the virus as they get older and the immune systems of adults are typically strong enough to prevent the virus from infecting them (File image of child with HMFD)

Children build up antibodies to the virus as they get older and the immune systems of adults are typically strong enough to prevent the virus from infecting them (File image of child with HFMD)

Children build up antibodies to the virus as they get older and the immune systems of adults are typically strong enough to prevent the virus from infecting them, but it doesn’t mean that adults are unable to catch the disease. (File image of child with HFMD, left, and file image of adult, right)

Jackson Curran said that she woke up the next day with her sore throat still there but just slight fatigue and decided to take Oliver to the pediatrician’s office.

When she asked the doctor if the disease was contagious, she was told that it’s very rate among adults.

‘”It’s really uncommon for adults to get it”, she said over her shoulder, finishing her examination of Oliver,’ the mother-of-one wrote.

WHAT IS HAND-FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE? 

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) is a viral infection characterized by sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet. 

The condition is not related to foot-and-mouth disease found in farm animals.

It is most common in children under five, with outbreaks occurring at nurseries and schools.

HFMD can be passed through the air or coming into close contact with a person who hasn’t washed their hands after using the bathroom. 

Signs and symptoms:   

  • Fever 
  • Sore throat
  • Fatigue and weakness
  • Painful, red, blister-like lesions in mouth
  • Irritability in infants and toddlers
  • Loss of appetite 

Treatment:

HFMD is usually not serious and does not require treatment. However, it can cause secondary infections if skin is scratched.

Treatment focuses on adequate fluid intake, a soft diet and painkillers, if necessary.

 Source: Mayo Clinic

‘[The pediatrician said] most adults’ immune systems are strong enough to resist the virus.’

However, after explaining her sore throat and chills, the pediatrician examined Jackson Curran and found lesions in her mouth – meaning she most likely had HMFD.

‘I felt weirdly triumphant for a moment because I finally had a name for the sickness that was currently ruining my life, until the doctor said there was no cure for HFMD,’ wrote Jackson-Curran. 

The pediatrician advised her to take ibuprofen and stay hydrated as she waited for the virus to pass. 

‘[At home] I googled adult HFMD and found horror stories about blister-covered bodies and cases lasting months. I checked my body for spots, but didn’t see any,’ she wrote.

By the next day, Jackson Curran’s fatigue had returned and she spent the day lying on the couch. When she woke up the following morning, she said a rash had begun to appear on her legs and face.

Unlike my son’s spots, which resembled bright red mosquito bites, my own were fainter but much more abundant,’ she wrote.

‘My palms also looked spotty, with tiny dots accompanied by a weird tingling feeling on my fingertips, and my feet felt as if blisters were forming on the soles, although nothing was visible.’ 

Jackson Curran said that the rash disappeared and reappeared over the course of about a week before completely disappearing.

It was at the end of the week when her symptoms completely disappeared, as did her son’s.

‘The CDC tells me we could be contagious for weeks, but our self-imposed confinement is officially over,’ she wrote.

Her first-person account comes just one day after All Star pitcher Noah Syndergaard was placed on the disabled list on Monday after contracting HFMD.

New York Mets ace pitcher Noah Syndergaard was placed on the disabled list on Monday after he contracted the virus from a visit to a baseball camp. Pictured: Syndergaard pitching against the New York Yankees, Friday

New York Mets ace pitcher Noah Syndergaard was placed on the disabled list on Monday after he contracted the virus from a visit to a baseball camp. Pictured: Syndergaard pitching against the New York Yankees, Friday

The Mets believe Syndergaard caught the contagious virus when he made an appearance at a baseball camp for kids last Thursday.

Team manager Mickey Callaway said the disease was probably why the pitcher’s velocity decreased during Friday night’s victory at Yankee Stadium. 

‘It took its toll the other night. He had trouble breathing, and that’s why you saw his velo down,’ Callaway told The Associated Press.

‘During the game, we couldn’t quite figure it out. But I put my hands on his legs to talk to him when he came out, and I felt his legs shaking. He was just weak and run down.’

Syndergaard had just returned from the disabled list on July 13 after spending six weeks on it due to a strained ligament in his right index finger. 

Callaway said no other team members have shown signs of the disease and that they’re hopeful Syndergaard only misses one game. 



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