Herpangina - the horrible sister of Hand, Foot, and Mouth

So my baby boy who is 9 mo old is just getting over Herpangina. It is an absolutely horrendous virus!! Just want to give a heads up on what to look out for because with herpangina there is only sores in the back of the mouth. They do not appear on the body like with HFM.

First it started with some fussiness, drooling and bad breath. He’s never had bad breath before but we chalked this all up to teething! As we could see one tooth coming through on the top. Then ear pulling started and we thought okay maybe it’s not just teething but an ear infection. So I booked an appointment that night for the next day just to make sure it wasn’t an ear infection. The next day he progressively started to get worst. He started refusing bottles and lots of crying and just so much drool. Also, started to feel a bit warmer than usual but no actual fever. Took him in and they say no ear infection but they can see 2 ulcers in the back of his mouth! 😭 honestly, it was the last thing I thought he would have! I’m a stay at home mom, we rarely go out or are around other children but it was still picked up and spread to my poor bubs even me being super cautious when we’re out. I know germs are everywhere and you can literally get anything from anyone but I just wasn’t expecting this virus that I never even heard of. I can’t even imagine if he had sores all over his body too. What even more of a nightmare that would have been for him.

Anyway, if I’m correct on when we noticed the symptoms starting, day 3 & 4 were the absolute worst. Excessive drooling, fever, inconsolable crying, screaming, coughing, gagging, vomiting, so much phlegm, refusing bottles, and on the verge of dehydration. He was in so much pain and I felt completely helpless. I want to say we are on day 6 and things are looking up. He’s doing so much better. ❤️

I’m just hoping this helps any other moms or dads out there on what to look out for if your baby is experiencing any of these symptoms.