Foot in Mouth?

To say I've been M.I.A. is an understatement. In short, life has been really, really good to me--infertility is behind me, and I have an amazing, chattering 15-month-old. Although I've still been following many bloggers, I haven't felt compelled to post in this space.

Until today, with a random, semi-baby-related Public Service Announcement that I hope to develop into a more refined piece of writing: Hand-foot-mouth disease--adults can get it, too.

The internets tells me that it's rare, so I suppose I am lucky. But holy schnikeys . . . my fingers and the soles of my feet are covered in ant-sized blisters. After my daughter had a bad case for a few days, I remarked to my husband that if it were me, I'd be miserable all the time. She had (and still has to a degree) a thick speckling of blisters and welts on all her most useful and high-impact body parts. And even though she certainly wasn't herself (fitful sleeping, inconsolable after being denied requests to hold a bow while sleeping), she still played while awake, even taking her first steps.

And then there's me. I sent her and my husband on three hours of errands so that I could lie on the couch, watch the Olympics, and eat ice cream.

I think that my catching hand-foot-mouth from my daughter, just like my daughter's catching it from daycare, was inevitable. But still, I wish I hadn't been so naïve about the possibility of my catching it. My daughter and my symptoms followed the same pattern:
* fever(she had 101.4, I had 102.4)
* sore throat/ears (she was misdiagnosed as having an ear infection, I as having an upper respiratory infection)
* red rash/blisters on hands, feet, and, oh, also on the tush (yes, both of us); rash appeared about 36 hours after fever

My blisters are still becoming denser, but hers, thankfully, have been subsiding for a few days now.

Have you experienced hand-foot-mouth disease with your child? Or have you experienced it as an adult? Are you going to block this blog now and take a shower?