The fever

It has not escaped my notice that Madeline hasn't been sick in her entire life. She was diagnosed months ago with acid reflux, but that's more of a condition than a sickness. Otherwise she's been happy and sniffle-free.

That all changed this week with today's odd and surprising diagnosis of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (not to be confused with hoof-and-mouth disease, which affects livestock and is unrelated to the human illness).

Madeline came down with a slight fever yesterday, but it wasn't high enough to warrant a visit to the doctor. She was also very tired all day and not quite as interested in eating her solid foods. We attributed her symptoms to the vaccines she received during her regular checkup the day before.

When her fever increased today we made an appointment with the pediatrician. After a few questions and a short inspection, the doctor hit us with the diagnosis. He mentioned he's seen several similar cases in the last few weeks, and that the disease is common among children under 2. It's a viral infection, so there's nothing we can do but let it run its course while treating the symptoms with ibuprofen. The fever should last about three days, and a sore throat is common with this virus. She should be back to normal within a week.

We suspect Madeline contracted the virus during a visit to our neighborhood playground last weekend. I guess this is a taste of what childhood is like - constantly picking up germs from all the unsanitary surfaces she comes in contact with.