Parents of kids who’ve had hand, foot, and mouth, I have a question for you. Or adults who’ve had it themselves too, I guess. Anyone with any experience with HFM, please come over here.
Did any of your kids’ fingernails or toenails fall off after a really bad case?
Yeah, I know, that’s disgusting, isn’t it? Here’s the thing…
The index, middle, and thumb nails on Della’s right hand have all been looking like they’re going to fall off this past week. Discolored, kind of thick-looking, and starting to separate from the cuticle area. My first thought was she must have gotten them slammed/stuck in something at daycare, because we never heard her cry about it at home. But there’s never been any bruising on any of the fingers or nail beds, just these weird nails.
Then this weekend Ryan noticed that both of her big toenails are doing the same thing. So gross!
He typed in “toddler’s fingernails falling off” in Google yesterday, and apparently a bunch of the comments about it were from parents who saw it as a result of severe cases of HFM. Bingo! That must be it. D’s 2nd case was definitely much, much worse than her 1st, and I would call it severe. Wouldn’t you?
Has anyone else ever experienced this or even heard of it? Those dangling nails are really grossing me out.
I have never heard of that but have you told your OB that she had it? You might want to mention it if you haven’t.
Hi Erin! I haven’t, but Ryan did ask her pediatrician if I should be worried about it at all when he took her in for it a few months ago. She said I had nothing to worry about, but I will mention it to my OB at my next appointment. Do you think it would cause any issues?
ScooterMarie recently posted..Anyone else ever heard of this?
Hello there. Sorry to hear that your daughter had the virus. My 3 year old had HFMD about a month and a half ago, but it was a very mild case and she got over it fine and went on about her marry little way. Today (6/26) I was trimming her toenails and stumbled upon one of her nails coming off completely, except for the tiny piece of skin holding it on and two more nails look like they could start falling off as well. It worried me even though it didnt appear to bother her but it looked awful! Thank God for the information.
Don’t know what happened but my comment published before I was finished. Anyways, from what I have read on the internet, it seems that parents have carried their kids back to the doctor, afterwards, for an explanation and the doctors aren’t sure. But all of us parents who have children that have had the virus aren’t having any problem with piecing together what is causing these poor kids (and sometimes parents) to lose their finger/toenails, which I think we all believe is the HFMD. Hope everything goes well for your daughter. Cheers!
Thanks, Jillian! Yeah, it’s the weirdest, and seemingly most delayed, side effect ever. My husband looked it up when Della’s started falling off and discovered so many parents commenting on it after their kids had HFM, so we assumed it was the culprit. Fortunately we haven’t been back to her pediatrician since this case (and hopefully we won’t be until her 2 year checkup!), so I’ll have to remember to ask her then too. So glad to hear your daughter had a mild case and wasn’t too affected. As bad as D’s sores were this time around, they didn’t seem to bother her too much. Just the insane itching of her feet the first couple nights, which totally disrupted her sleep.
ScooterMarie recently posted..11w5d
All three children had HFM including myself,, almost right to day 6 weeks later my daughters nails have started to fall off from the cuticle up. From all the posts that I have. Even reading it seems to be a symptom after having the disease.
It’s so bizarre! But I’m very encouraged by hearing of others who have experienced this side effect too. Makes me feel better that we’re not just dealing with some freak case. 🙂 Thanks!
Yeah, fun as an adult just recovering from an awful bout of hfm, am now finding that my nails are not really interested in staying attached to me. I’m having separation issues….
Oh no way! I knew getting it as an adult could be much rougher than it is for the little ones, but I didn’t realize our nails would fall off too. Yuck. I’m so sorry you got it!