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I would not at all be concerned about this. There is by no means a certainty (or even a likelihood) that she will catch it from her child, and for you to catch it from her would be even less likely. Just wash your hands a lot and don't kiss her on the mouth and you'll be fine

Am I missing something? Does she have HFM? Or are you just assuming she's a carrier?

My son recently had strep. My husband stayed home with him and I went to work. We both work full time and cannot afford to be out weeks as a family whenever my son is sick. Unless we seem to be sick with it as well, we divide and conquer.

This is not something I would be concerned about. Plenty of kids in the same daycare rooms as kids with HFM don't get it. Maybe she doesn't want to use PTO, but I also know from personal experience that we don't always get the "choice" to come to work when our children are sick. Thems the breaks for most families. I wouldn't hold this against a co-worker.

@Meowkers: that sounds like an extreme reaction by the doctor! I've never heard of parents being quarantined when their children are sick with a common childhood illness.

I would not be concerned. D had HFM and was all up in my grill and I never caught it. The risk of your kid getting it from you getting it from a coworker getting it from her kid is SO incredibly slim.

I caught HFM from my son and was at work until I felt awful and had the blisters. I advised my co workers to maybe wash hands a little more religiously and they knew my son had it, but even in dealing with 20-30 clients face to face and a small office during the contagious time, no one else caught it from me (including DW at home) AND my son was the only one of 4 kids at his daycare to get it, so maybe picked it up somewhere else. It's certainly not a fun sickness, but we managed. I would say just wash your hands and don't share anything with that person! No one was quarantine from our doctor and we took him back to daycare when he was well enough to attend again.

I wouldn't be concerned at all.

Not an issue.

Both our girls have had HFM and neither of us (DH and I) have caught it.

That said - my coworkers son had it and I was the first she told (since I have small children). I think its fair to be concerns and take extra precaution (i.e. wash hands after touching common items with her and/or ask her not to borrow things from your desk etc) but I dont think she needs to be quarantined.

I dont believe its an airborne virus...I think its fluid - so you have the control here as I see it. If you dont come into contact with her "fluid" you are safe. That said - she also can protect herself the same way - and likely is.

HFM is definitely an unpleasant and borderline scary experience (especially for those who have not had it and only heard horror stories) so I understand your initial reaction...

I wouldn't be worried. When E got it he was on top of me (literally) for days, and I never got it.

One of our managers got it from his daughter, though...she dropped her paci on the ground, and he picked it up and cleaned it off in his mouth without thinking!

I clicked on this because my son just got over his HFM

I'm a big germaphobe, so I totally understand why you're worried. However, as others have mentioned, it's transmitted by bodily fluids (saliva, pee, poop, vomit, etc). My son vomited all over me when he was sick, and I didn't get it, just as an anecdotal aside.

Anyway, if it were me, I would probably religiously wash my hands any time I had any kind of contact with the co-worker. I'm sure you will be fine, though

Our ped did tell us that HFM was going around now, so probably good to be diligent with the hand washing anyway!!

On the scale of childhood diseases, HFM is kind of inevitable but not usually a big deal (little if any risk of death or permanent disability.) I mean, it's not pleasant, but most illnesses aren't. I'm definitely a big worrier when it comes to my child's health and safety, but when my 4mo infant got HFM, it was not a big issue for me.

Also, our dr explicitly told us that quarantine was not necessary.

@Meowkers: from what I understand from when HFM went around my kids' center, the incubation period is up to 10 days and you're contagious for 3ish days before you even get the fever/blisters. It'd be a lot of time off to properly quarantine for HFM and, while it sucks, I don't think it's that serious of a disease to warrant using all that time.
For what it's worth, its very possible to be in direct contact with children & adults who are sick with HFM and not get it.

Same thing happened to me as @Cupcake: -- none of my co-workers or their fams got it