Just over a month ago I got a crash course in an illness called Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (not to be confused with Hoof & Mouth disease which is very serious).
Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease is actually a common illness that affects mostly young kids, toddlers and infants. The disease itself is not serious but the downside is that you can’t take anything to make it go away any faster than it will on it’s own.
It started with my oldest who just wanted to lay on the couch one day, all day. She just wasn’t herself. She was complaining of a sore neck and she had cold-like symptoms. Then my youngest started showing signs of a cold. Then both of my girls broke out in some sores on their bodies, mostly on the outside of their mouths and my youngest broke out in some really bad, ulcer-like sores on her legs.
Had the mother of the child whom my girls caught it from not been so awesome and called me as soon as she realized her daughter had it to notify me and explain what it was, I wouldn’t have had a clue what was going on when my girls both started showing symptoms. I would have thought it was a cold that they had briefly. Not only that, if I didn’t know what it was I would have thought they were fine because they weren’t coughing and we would have gone out a lot that week. I would have taken them to the things I had ready for them that week, including ballet, a couple of trips out, and a program that my youngest leads (at 10 months old, I’m a proud mom) to teach kindergarten students about babies and how they develop. Oh, the kids we could have infected, had I not known.
That being said, I was lucky, Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease is not deadly, but it should be monitored while it is happening. There are many worse things sitting around the house just waiting for that moment to infect. All it is waiting for is a simple touch to attack.
As a parent, one of the worst feelings is knowing that your child is sick or in pain and there is nothing you can do at that moment to help. You can’t take it away, you can only hug and hold your little ones and pray that they will be okay. The only defense I have in situations like this is to start way before the illness occurs. It starts with knowledge and prevention. It starts with making educated decisions, having a lot of information at your finger tips and making choices that will keep your family safe.
Lysol understands this and they have created their Mission for Health. Their mission goes far beyond their products to offering information and resources for new mothers, teaching children in school about the importance of washing hands and how to stop germs, and helping out when disaster strikes by providing disaster relief and aid to families who need it most. You can read more about their Mission for Health at Lysol.ca.
This is why I chose to join Lysol as a Healthy Families Ambassador, and I am looking forward to sharing information with you over the coming year.
Disclosure: I am part of the Lysol Healthy Families Ambassador Program by Mom Central. I received compensation as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
Sheri publishes, and writes at This Bird’s Day where she shares all of the thoughts in her head without the voices. Sticking mainly with content for Canadians, Sheri shares family stories, product information and anything that fits into her (and her family’s) daily activities.
