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HFM sucks because of the name (i mean, it sounds so much more terrible than "cold"), the visibility of it (blaring red sores), and the pain associated with the sores. LO has had a mild to moderate form of it 3 times. it's pretty contagious, i think during the fever stage. i don't think there's anything to do besides rest and medicine (if you opt for that).

i've had it twice. the first time wasn't so bad, just a few red bumps here and there. the second time was horrible. i had about 10 painful sores inside my mouth that made it extremely painful to talk or eat. i used orajel A LOT to help with the pain.

Unfortunately, you don't know it's HFM until the sores have appeared and by then it's no longer contagious. I would just sanitize at home really well to get rid of any germs that may have been brought home.

I don't think littles can use orajel. You should have some ibuprofen at home anyway so it wouldn't hurt to buy some.

Adults absolutely can get it. DH got it when dd1 did and it was SO much worse for him. But he has a really weak immune system.

I think you will hear a variety of stories on when it's contagious. We've been through it with each of our girls. DH got it after our older daughter. We've been told by our pediatrician that it is contagious until the sores all scab. The fluid within the sores is contagious. Which is a different sort of contamination management than airborn spreading.

We've only had to use ibuprofen to get through our HFM. If it gets in the throat, eating/drinking can be painful. You might want some pedialyte in that case.

There have been cases of HFM 3 or 4 times at my son's daycare over the last year and so far, luckily, he hasn't caught it yet. YET. hopefully you'll be in the clear.

There were a few cases of HFM 2 weeks ago in the preschool rooms (including hers) at daycare, and LO didn't catch it.

Our daycare had it in June and all 5 kiddos caught it. Then I caught it too and have scars on the outside of my nose from the welts. My DD's just looked like a bum rash for a couple days and then she started complaining that her mouth hurt. Hers was never that bad. I think by the time someone at daycare has it, they have all been exposed. At least that was my understanding. You have to be careful with handling diapers because it stays in fecal matter for 6-8 weeks.

Our daycare doesn't even bother to exclude kids as long as you get a doctor's note saying its HFM -- they figure that by that time, all the other kids have been exposed and what's done is done. And it can be miserable but it's not dangerous. They basically treat it like the common cold. DD has had it twice but it was relatively mild both times, fortunately.

@littlejoy: honestly I would stay home. My daycare policy is until the sores have scabbed over. It sucks as a FT WOH parent but it's the right thing to do. Poor kids are miserable when they have HFM. DD1 only had a mild case and the only time she felt worse was when she had pneumonia.

Unless you think LO caught it I would go on with life as usual. It sucks if they get it but it's not the worst thing in the world, tho it can mess up holiday plans. But for something LO may or may not get it I don't think it's worth the trouble.