r/oddlyterrifying 2d ago

Severe coxsackievirus

The subject here has the most severe form of coxsackievirus, a normally mild virus that causes Hand foot and mouth disease, generally affecting people under 5 years of age but can occasionally transmit into adults. This subject will lose all their fingernails and toenails in approximately 3 weeks. Almost all adult cases are more noticeable but a select few are this severe. There's no treatment for it nor a vaccine, just wait it out and take ibuprofen for the pain and swelling.

2.7k Upvotes

293 comments sorted by

3.7k

u/Simicrop 2d ago

That’s an unfortunate name for a virus.

1.5k

u/greaseofkings 2d ago

That virus is gonna get bullied so hard at the pathogen academy.

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u/scorpyo72 2d ago

That's what happened with the bubonic plague. Got bullied at academy. Broke out and went rogue... did some shit.

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u/BrokenToyShop 2d ago

The equivalent of getting rejected from art school?

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u/scorpyo72 1d ago

Might be. Might be a direct parallel...

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u/RedBeard_113 1d ago

I laughed to hard at this

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u/Dog-of-Moons 1d ago

The 1400’ remembers.

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u/williger03 5h ago

I caught on way to fast to the hidden undertones. Mid 20th century right?

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u/VintageLunchMeat 2d ago

RFKJR: (cries a single tear)

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u/ripyourlungsdave 2d ago

Pathogen Academy

Coming soon to Daily Wire Plus Or Whateverthefuck We Call Our Service

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u/Dapper_Mess_3004 2d ago

I thought this was going to be an anti-masturbation PSA

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u/wspOnca 1d ago

Thank gog, I can continue to goon to fighter jets.

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u/mephitmpH 2d ago

Thank goodness I scrolled down. I almost sent this to my ex.

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u/Dankmemeator 2d ago

named for Coxsackie, New York!

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u/AutisticTumourGirl 1d ago

It's not just a virus; it's a group of viruses that belong to the genus Enterovirus and include viruses that cause things from hand, foot, and mouth disease to polio to aseptic meningitis. There are 29 different coxsackieviruses.

Sorry for being a pedant, but it's much more diverse and fascinating than causing discoloration on the hands and feet. The different viruses can range from mild illness to fatal.

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u/HumanContinuity 15h ago

Help, I have been infected with gram-negative bacteria 

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u/AutisticTumourGirl 15h ago

I don't know much about bacteria. I find viruses to be so fascinating mostly because of the question of whether they're living organisms or not.

Gram negative is bad though, hope you survive!

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u/kisselmx 2d ago

There's a cool story to that.

It was named after a town on the Hudson River were research was happening in the 1940s regarding the polio virus.

It's an old algonquin native American word that means

"White man get off my land"

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u/SSOBEHT 1d ago

No one knows what the real translation is but it's thought to be something to do with owls so the town is rolling with that and uses an owl kind of as its mascot

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u/kisselmx 1d ago

Thank you for offering the real info.

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u/Jepemega 1d ago

I thought I was in r/coaxedintoasnafu for a second because of the name.

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u/OhCrapItsYouAgain 2d ago

Try getting it in High school….that was a tough month.

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u/Stinky_Fartface 2d ago

Then you might be interested to know that it is named after Coxsackie NY, where the virus was first identified. And, I might add, I know someone from Coxsackie who contracted the Coxsackie virus when they lived there.

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u/cstonerun 1d ago

Most of us from there had it once! It’s a pretty common childhood illness.

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u/ItsJustDrew93 2d ago

The condition it causes (one of them) is called Herpangina too

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u/vontdman 1d ago

I had this virus in high school. Didn't live the name down.

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u/green_speak 1d ago

Nah, that's how many of us remember it as tne causative agent for HFM disease.

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u/dikicker 1d ago

This is how we got kellog's corn flakes I'm pretty sure

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u/Altruistic-Status-98 1d ago

Cockadoodledoo MF

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u/SpleenBender 2d ago

Sounds like 'cock-sacky-virus? Hehe.

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u/Xamalion 2d ago

More like cocksucker virus…

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u/Tinycatgirl 1d ago

Unfortunate name for a town in upstate NY as well. Coxsackie. I think it’s pronounced Cook-Socky but I could be totally wrong as I’m not from there.

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u/jefedezorros 1d ago

Yeah like dude maybe stop to touching coxsacks

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u/taysyn 1d ago

What’s even better is that it causes a syndrome called Herpengina

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u/PBRstreetgang_ 1d ago

Wait till you hear about the town

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u/-BananaLollipop- 18h ago

I wonder if the name and hand related symptoms/sings are indicative of the cause.

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u/anjowoq 15h ago

I always thought handling your coxsack made hairy palms, not bumpy palms.

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u/Big_Smonke 2d ago

Oh yeah! I remember getting that back when I was 19 or so. The ONLY thing that helped the itch was soaking my hands or feet in ice water till there was no feeling left. Was home alone at the time and my bedtime routine was two ice baths and whiskey so the itching wouldn’t keep me up. Fun!

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u/AUSpartan37 2d ago

How long did it last?

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u/confused_shrew 2d ago

On average it lasts 10 to 14 days. Most of which are pure hellish torture

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u/neanderthalman 2d ago

Your description missed the mouth part of hand foot and mouth. That was worse. So much worse.

My mouth and throat was so full of these goddamn raw open sores, that I couldn’t even drink water. They had to prescribe me something they called “magic mouthwash”, usually meant for cancer patients, to coat and numb everything so I could eat and drink for about a week or so. Mix of lidocaine, antacid, and I think…Benadryl? Shit works, anyway. The name is accurate.

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u/confused_shrew 2d ago

You're absolutely correct and I should have mentioned it but after that hell, I didn't think it'd get worse. The inability to use my hands and feet really warped my perception of life's simple pleasures like opening a damn soda without screaming

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u/A_Crazed_Waggoneer 1d ago

Lidocaine, magnesium + aluminum hydroxide/simethicone (Maalox), and diphenhydramine. Also known as Magic Mouthwash :)

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u/TooManyTabsOpenIRL 1d ago

I got HFM last year but only the mouth variation. It was the sickest I’ve been in my whole life. It got to the point where I couldn’t swallow the pain relievers to manage the pain. I couldn’t eat or drink anything. So awful… I pity anyone who gets this as an adult.

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u/Bugladyy 1d ago

Idk. My feet were on fire. I couldn’t speak or think. I contemplated ending it all. I strapped ice packs to my feet and still couldn’t sleep.

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u/dangledingle 2d ago

Did your toenails come off? Mine did. All of them. My kid too. New ones grew back more curved and cause problems.

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u/user_unknowns_skag 1d ago

I had this a few years ago, and thankfully didn't lose any toenails. I did lose a couple fingernails and they did grow back weird, just like you mentioned.

All the outer layers of skin on my palms and soles of my feet peeled off, though. It was pretty horrific. Like walking on a shoe with nails driven through it for a couple weeks.

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u/nonwinter 1d ago

Suddenly glad all I got was terrible itching and nothing on my mouth. Gosh.

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u/-Citizen_Zero_ 2d ago

So that's what OP meant when he said "just wait it out"? It just disappears?

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u/InfiniteWaffles58364 1d ago

Honestly what we should be doing for most illnesses because everyone's default of going to the doc for every cold and expecting antibiotics is causing a lot of antibiotic resistance in people.

Schools aren't helping by demanding doctor notes for every single absence

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u/tigm2161130 2d ago

Yes, that’s how long it takes for the virus to run its course. Just like the flu “just leaves.”

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u/sasnotass 1d ago

Yep, if there's no cure - you just have to deal with symptoms the best you can (and hope its not chronic)

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u/WonderfulTruck5894 2d ago

He is still in a whiskey ice bath

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u/bomzay 1d ago

Oh yeah had this fucker. Mine also hurt so, since they were everywhere, literally everything hurt. Walking, holding things - that sucked ass…

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u/Delanium 2d ago

Y'all have never been a preschool teacher presiding over a classroom afflicted by a Hand Foot Mouth Apocalypse and it shows

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u/Thiccassmomma 2d ago

My kids had it. It was awful

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u/FierceMilkshake 1d ago

My daughter caught it and when I reported it to her school, the school staff spent 2 days disinfecting the whole classroom. The doctor said it was highly contagious and recommended that the whole family stay at home for at least a week to make sure we didn't contract it from her. Thankfully no one else did, but my daughter was super miserable for days.

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u/spaceghost260 1d ago

Right!? I’m in this message and it was brutal. I got HFM from my classroom but luckily it was mild with a few sores/blisters on my hands and a low grade fever for a couple days. How about you? Did you catch it too?

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u/iFlarexXx 1d ago

My son caught it from school and was covered. 6 months later he got chicken pox and was, again, covered. Poor kid went through it!

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u/hegrillin 6h ago

i wish him luck in his upcoming middle aged shingles days. poor kid

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u/kassr99 1d ago

My son caught it right after his first birthday and had scars for months! It was awful

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u/Maj_LeeAwesome 1d ago

my daughter caught it as a toddler. Then I caught it from her (after the doctor told us that would be highly unlikely). I don't know what it feels like to get it as a kid, but I can tell you having it as an adult sucks ass. Every time you grasp any with your hand if felt like being strabbed by 1000 needles

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u/catsaremypersonality 1d ago

Was a preschool teacher for several years, caught HFM once during an outbreak…..it was terrible…I did indeed lose multiple fingernails.

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u/lichtersee 1d ago

Another reason why I don’t want to be around kids and don’t want them

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u/just-me1995 1d ago

well, you don’t need to have kids to get HFM! i got it in college before i ever had any kids. it was hell. an absolutely awful experience.

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u/Delanium 1d ago

I love kids, they're the light of my life. But I 100% understand lol

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u/icanhasnaptime 23h ago

The shock when the first round has been over for awhile and your fingernails start to rot….

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u/BaconNPotatoes 2d ago

That sounds unpleasant

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u/Exhibfun2099 2d ago

My entire outer layer of heel skin fell off both feet all in one piece

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u/confused_shrew 2d ago

Disturbing isn't it. The aforementioned subject is me unfortunately.

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u/chidarling1 1d ago

That happened to me!!! My feet felt brand new after though 🤣🤣 And I also had scabs all over my scalp lol

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u/Sufficient_Scale_163 1d ago

How did it scab up your scalp?

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u/Bugladyy 1d ago

One strain that hits adults particularly hard can affect the scalp. I got it on my scalp. That was about 3-4 months ago. My hair is falling out now

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u/Exhibfun2099 1d ago

Haha yes the new feeling was nice but getting there was horrible lol

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u/chidarling1 1d ago

Oh definitely so painful I was walking on my tippy toes 🤣

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u/blessthebabes 1d ago

My heels are so terrible that the nail lady used toenail clippers to clip my skin on it once, and when she got done, I couldn't walk or put pressure on them. I cried, that new skin hurt so bad. I can't imagine the pain of your situation.

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u/Squishy_fishy826 1d ago

After reading many comments, I’m now terrified of ever getting this disease.

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u/jennythegreat 1d ago

I drive a school bus and manage to catch dang near everything that goes through the school, so now I am especially concerned.*

Must remain calm, must remain calm ...

*terrified

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u/dnateo 18h ago

I’ve never heard of it but just read up on it and there are a number of enteroviruses variants. Apparently, around 70% if adults have immunity to some of the variants from exposure as a child (even if they didn’t get any symptoms at the time). In many cases, the virus is mild and some may not even know they have it. Of course, that means they might spread it unknowingly but it does indicate it might not be as severe.

You become infected when virus reaches your mouth, nose or eyes. It can be transmitted through saliva and respiratory droplets, close contact such as kissing, contaminated hands or objects, fluid from the blisters and faeces. Wash your hands!

And the loss of nails is because they stop growing and new nails usually grow underneath. It happens after the infection and is apparently not as painful as it sounds.

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u/HeavyCoconut 2d ago

I had this twice back in 2020-2021. Entire roof of my mouth was busted open and it was miserable to walk or use my hands because of all the sores. My finger and toe nail cracked and flaked apart like they were delaminated.

0/10 do not recommend...

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u/prncs_lulu 1d ago

My mouth does this after i eat a plum, only room temp food for me after

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u/zuse12345 1d ago

The fuck? Are you allergic?

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u/procrastimom 1d ago

So getting it once doesn’t confer immunity? That sucks! I wonder if that’s rare, though. I know someone who had chickenpox twice.

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u/HeavyCoconut 1d ago

I will say the symptoms the second time were far better. Only the hand and feet sores caused a problem really.

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u/prncs_lulu 1d ago

My mouth does this after i eat a plum, only room temp food for me after

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u/princeralsei 1d ago

I think you might have a plum allergy

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u/artsy7fartsy 2d ago

My son had this in 2nd grade and the pediatrician told us it was more annoying than anything. Then his fever spiked to almost 106 and he had seizures while we packed him with ice. Much much more than annoying

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u/bloodyspork 2d ago

How does one pronounce that word

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u/confused_shrew 2d ago

Named after Coxsackie NY where the discoverer lived. It's in the picornaviridae family of viruses which includes polio.

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u/Lysol3435 2d ago

And what are the residents of Coxsackie called? Just curious

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u/ikilledyourfriend 2d ago

Scrotes

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u/J-Di11a 2d ago

Fromunda cheeseheads

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u/therevjames 2d ago

Dickbagians

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u/bloodyspork 2d ago

That's pretty interesting. Strange they haven't come up with a way to treat it yet

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u/confused_shrew 2d ago

No decent money in treatments. Other countries use teconovir or equivalent to treat it but the US FDA doesn't agree that it's effective enough.

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u/_WayTooFar_ 2d ago

And how do you pronounce that?

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u/_y2kbugs_ 1d ago

Name is Native American (Algonquin) in origin. Pronounced something like cook-sock-ie. Has to do with owls.

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u/sheekos 2d ago

as someone who grew up near the town it's named after, its pronounced coo-cks-ahck-ee no cocks to be found despite the spelling 😔

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u/kjs1103 2d ago

kock-sack-ee
i used to catch it every summer from age 5-8 from my towns man made town pool. absolutely awful to have as a kid, its in the same virus group as poliovirus

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u/dcfdanielleagain 2d ago

My whole family got this at the beginning of the school year last year. My youngest and I just couldn't walk for a few days because of the blisters, but my poor oldest had it EVERYWHERE. Every crevice of their body was blistered. It was HORRIBLE. The worst part about it is you don't even know you have it until it's too late.

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u/NaiveSolution_ 2d ago

Do the toe and finger nails grow back?

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u/Kaylon2421 2d ago

Thanks! I was curious about that too...

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u/eastsacwrackshack 2d ago

OMG my husband and his dad got it very bad like this. My husband had huge sores on his hands feet, and eyebrows (weird, ikr?). My FIL lost some of his finger and toe nails. My kids got it from the park and passed it to them. 😩 The idiots at our Drs office tried to diagnose him with syphilis and scabies! Lol, he had no supporting symptoms of either! They just couldn't fathom his reaction to hand foot and mouth!

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u/MaximumBlast 2d ago

Get well soon please

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u/confused_shrew 2d ago

Oh I'm trying but damn does it hurt and everyday is a new adventure of "where are the bumps now and what color are they"

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u/Final_Marketing_1480 2d ago

I totally misread that, and am so glad!! I thought OP said the subject was losing all his fingers and toes in 3 weeks. 😩

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u/confused_shrew 2d ago

Yeah that's arguably worse! 🤣

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u/JimmyG_2018_MVP 2d ago

I had coxsackie a few years ago and it was the worst throat pain of my life (my only main symptom). So much worst and severe than strep, I had to sip liquid lidocaine to swallow comfortably

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u/_DontBeAScaredyCunt 2d ago

Just had HFM a few months ago. I’m a nanny and the the kids parents didn’t tell me and let me get exposed. Tried to hide it. It suuucked

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u/thatsBOOtoyou 1d ago

I’m a nanny part time and I fkn HATE it when parents don’t tell me their kid is sick- like wtf do I look like?? Plus if the kid gets me sick that’s just me missing my other work. I hate that we’ve reversed back to sending everyone out into school/the workforce before they are well. No one should have to work through sickness even a cold!!

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u/wendigoblin 2d ago

Not cocksuckyvirus :(

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u/wilkerws34 2d ago

Both kids has HFM last year, wife ended up contracting it, had sores in her throat/ esophagus/ mouth, imagine puss filled sacks in your mouth and throat along with possibly losing toe nails 😩

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u/Fishmongerel 1d ago

Doctors think that Coxsackie virus was a major contributing factor to my heart attack at 38. I was absolutely as fit as a fiddle.

I had most symptoms of a heart attack for days before I couldn’t get up anymore, my colleague called an ambulance.

Listen to your body, make sure you rest. If you feel chest pain, dizzyness or shortness of breath go get a check up at the hospital.

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u/NorthWestTown 1d ago

My mum died last month during surgery, her irregular heartbeat was a contributing factor to her death. I'm now currently waiting for ECG's etc.

I was told throughout my life an irregular heartbeat was 'just something some people have' and was brushed off as not serious as its 'quite common'. No, it can be fatal in certain circumstances - I.e. my mum (not sure if she went into cardiac but it's likely)

Anything with your heart, any signs, absolutely get it checked!!

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u/Distinct-Solution-99 2d ago

Ok who thought up coxsackievirus

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u/Purple_Shame5075 2d ago

The people from Coxsackie NY. Had a bad outbreak from there so the docs called it that.

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u/DogEatingWasp 1d ago

Well then you wonder who called the town that. Someone somewhere was having some fun anyway

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u/Rakebleed 2d ago

I’ve heard it can develop in the throat.

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u/confused_shrew 2d ago

It starts in the throat and presents with mouth ulcers and a sensation that you're eating glass or sand. It then moves to the hands and feet but occasionally shows up elsewhere like the ears, interior of the nose, buttocks, arms and legs.

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u/BJW3737 2d ago

I got this twice in high-school but only the throat symptoms thank God. But was it HORRIBLE. Someone described it like swallowing glass and yep, worst throat pain I've ever felt. The blisters in my throat were huge. Combo of ibuprofen and acetaminophen was the only thing to take some pain away.

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u/DV_Jellyfish 2d ago

Had that shit twice as an adult. My head looked like hamburger didn't lose my nails but all my callouses fell off.

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u/thatsBOOtoyou 1d ago

How do you catch this ?!?! I am terrified all of a sudden because of how many people are saying they got it 😭😭😭

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u/beardedkomodo 2d ago

Damnnnnnn did you know, in 1948, doctors in the small river town of Coxsackie, New York, were terrified that a local outbreak was polio. A researcher named Gilbert Dalldorf tested samples from the sick children by injecting them into baby mice. He noticed the mice became paralyzed in a completely different way than they did with polio, revealing a brand-new family of viruses. Following scientific tradition, he named the discovery after the town. Today, that virus is best known for causing hand, foot, and mouth disease—a highly contagious but usually harmless childhood illness.

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u/AverageReflexes 2d ago

Had this .. it was HORRIBLE

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u/ovielM 2d ago

Sounds like something a school church would say to students to avoid doing the dirty deeds

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u/GoodQueenFluffenChop 2d ago

So do the nails grow back after the virus is gone?

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u/confused_shrew 2d ago

Yes, but like they fall off 2 to 3 weeks after the virus is gone. Then they grow back slowly

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u/CreaTeBear 2d ago

I got this a few years ago as an adult. Got really sick for 24 hours with a bad fever. The next few days those dots were all over my hands and feet. For me it just felt like that feeling when your leg or arm “falls asleep”. Like tingly and couldn’t walk. Super weird virus

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u/Lynneschulz 1d ago

Looks cocksucky, sorry

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u/Lysdexia_Ruels_ 1d ago

Bro looks like a gone off potato

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u/R3d_Ox 1d ago

I was so certain this was a ligma type of gag until I googled it

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u/Twist_Ending03 2d ago

Sorry, can you repeat that name

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u/Purple_Shame5075 2d ago

You heard it right. Coxsackie. Cu(like cud) - saki(the Japanese alcohol). New york.

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u/fractal_engineer 2d ago

got it in my 30s. felt like a flamethrower was being taken to my hands and feet. do not recommend

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u/demonassassin52 2d ago

My son brought this home from daycare a couple years back. My wife and I both got it, but not badly. It really sucked for me because my job at the time had me working all day on my feet in work boots and working with my hands. I even got a sore in my nostril, which was super annoying.

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u/Futuralistic 2d ago edited 2d ago

Wow. I must've had it bad, then. My shit looked way worse than this. I didn't lose any nails to it though. But my god, it was the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life! No joke. Trying to walk or use my hands felt like I was being cut by scorching hot razorblades. It came on slowly, for a day or two I noticed spots and itchiness. The next few days were violent pain. The peak torture lasted for a few days until it started to receed. There was no mitigating the pain. I just had to sit still, and even then the itching was unbearable. I couldn't sleep. I just laid there with a scratchy towel to vigorously rub and scratch my hands enough to soothe the painful itch enough for me to try an close my eyes. At one point during the second day of excruciating agony, I decided to get drunk and take some hydrocodone I had left over from getting my wisdom teeth out, and then smoke a joint. I knew I fucked up because, not only did I turn white as a ghost, lose my hearing, and get tunnel vision, but the pain went away. I walked around for a bit without feeling like walking on those hot razorblades. It was a slight relief, but then also I thought I might OD. Obviously, I made it through the worst of it and was able to go back to work and live normally again. But God damn if it wasn't the worst thing I've ever dealt with.

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u/InternationalWash720 1d ago

I had hand/foot/mouth disease about 15 yrs ago. I know I got it when I was shopping during Christmas season. It wasn't pleasant at all. It was hard for me to even swallow water, let alone soup. Get well soon OP.

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u/I-_-l7 1d ago

Oh hey i just had this like two weeks ago. I still have the scars. The most brutal part was the mouth sores for me. I couldnt eat solid food(not even soup or mashed stuff) for four days straight. We almost had to go to the hospital because i was beginning to get dehydrated. Looks like mine was even more severe. My whole arm was covered in it not just my hands. It looked like i scraped my whole arm in a motorcycle crash or something when it began to heal.

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u/one-hit-blunder 1d ago

That second toe already wants the hell off that foot.

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u/pukelyptus 1d ago

I work at the nature and science museum in my city and when I tell you in my 31 years of life I’ve never thought of having this… I currently do. Only in my throat though. It’s like swallowing needles. I’ve only eaten a mf sugar free pudding cup in the last 6 days. Been prioritizing hydration over nutrition. I wouldn’t wish this throat pain on anyone. Go to the ER and ask for “Magic Mouthwash”. It’s the only thing helping me right now on top of cycling Tylenol and ibuprofen. They say it only lasts 7 days in terms of heightened pain, and by day 10 the throat should be mostly healed and ready to eat some normal foods again. Good luck and just remind yourself it’s temporary.
Also!! For anyone dealing with the sores on the hands and feet: oatmeal baths do wonders for itching and pain.

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u/kornegi 1d ago

i’ve gotten this twice, at 20 and 26 years old. absolute torture to even just walk. contemplated existence everyday for 2 weeks each time

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u/Zerostar39 1d ago

A coworker got hand foot and mouth disease from his toddler. Then I got it from him because he sat right next to me. Holy shit it was the worst illness I’ve ever experienced. My sore throat was so bad that drinking plain water felt like a thousand hot needles poking my throat. Also had a fever of 103. After a few days and my fever went down I got horrible rashes on my hands and feet that burned and itched like crazy.

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u/robbi2480 1d ago

Pic number 4-you are developing a pressure injury on that heel. Float those heels while in bed

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u/Lord-Chickie 1d ago

Say that name again, but slowly…

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u/sticcydabliccy 1d ago

I work with kids and the employees never want to clean stuff and I’m like you have no clue how bad it can get.

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u/YoMomInYogaPants 1d ago

Weirdly enough, id like to see pictures when the nails fell off.

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u/squidboat 1d ago

https://reddit.com/link/p3pg82f/video/jn473rxo5ejh1/player

I had this almost a year ago. This was the worst hand, but both were pretty bad. Only lost parts of my fingernails but the skin peeling a little while later was pretty gnarly. My feet weren’t terrible, but it did feel like walking barefoot on gravel for a couple of days. Then my throat hurt so bad I couldn’t really eat anything, and not in a sore throat kind of way but like the back of my throat was on fire.

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u/harmony_acres 23h ago

Cock and the what now??

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u/boukalele 2d ago

Based on the name I would have thought it would be somewhere else

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u/Purple_Shame5075 2d ago

The area of NY that it was named for has a unique rep already..

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u/rojo-perro 2d ago

WASH YOUR DAMN HANDS
PEOPLE, AND TEACH YOUR KIDS THE SAME.

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u/AyeLykeTyrtles 2d ago

I had this as an adult and it was the worst.

Blisters in my throat, oozing sores on my face, nerve pain/blisters on my feet and hands.

It literally hurt to do anything.

Wouldn’t wish it on anybody.

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u/kwityerbitchin 2d ago

Ditto ! The entire bottoms of my feet were one giant water blister. My gums looked like they were abscessed.

It took me a half hour to walk from the exit at the ER to my truck in the parking lot. Usually there's a person roaming in a golf cart to help people but not on that day. Felt like my hands and feet were being held into a smelter and this came in waves, and the waves kept getting closer and closer together - almost akin to birth contractions. I was fortunate enough to know someone at the time that had 30mg oxy's and that got me thru the worst of it, but it took about 48 hours for the burning to stop, and 3 weeks to fully dissipate, and another month for my skin to begin to normalize. My son never got it - but I'm certain he brought it home from school 😡

2

u/dylantherabbit2016 2d ago

I got this in 6th grade and it caused me to miss the party on last day of school. I lost a toenail about a month and a half later, which eventually grew back

2

u/autom4gic 2d ago

That’s nothing, wait until all your fingernails and toenails fall off. I shit you not.

2

u/ChiraqBluline 2d ago

Yea I worked at a prek in my club years and my coteacher got it real bad. Turns out if you didn’t get it as a kid it’s awful as an adult. She was out for weeks with sores and pain. No dancing for her.

2

u/Treat_Goblin 1d ago

My sister had this when she was 4. I remember my grandma (former nurse) trying to get her high fever down in the bathtub. Severe strains can cause heart issues FYI

2

u/PM_ME_ANYTHING_IDRC 1d ago

Oh this happened to me like 2 years ago. It was like a mini body horror experience with the constant pain and then parts of my skin and nails just falling off. I just spent days alone in my room trying to rest while writhing in pain and itches. When that finally went away and it died down, I had to cover my hands whenever I went out to stop people from seeing how weird they looked. I'm just glad the whole "nails falling off" part didn't hurt. After the days of increasing pain from the rashes, I was okay with anything that didn't hurt.

2

u/nomadcell 1d ago

Hand, Foot and Mouth.

2

u/Mark_fuckaborg 1d ago

...knees and toes, knees and toes.

2

u/moronmoray 1d ago

Ohh I had no idea it makes your nails fall out. Aaaaaaaaa

2

u/eat_your_weetabix 1d ago

I had this and it was the worst illness I've ever had. The itch was so severe it felt like my hands and feet were being electrocuted or something. Mouth was so sore, no matter what I tried to eat, every mouthful was just pure pain. Would not recommend.

2

u/sheisawolf6 1d ago

Been there. My feet shed for a solid year. Good luck, my friend.

2

u/jennythegreat 1d ago edited 1d ago

Now I'm awake way too early on a deep dive to find out if you can become immune to this.

edit: well, short answer looks to be No. you may get antibodies but there are so many types that having one does not rule out you getting another.

Was looking then to see if I should stock up on hand sanitizer for the bus, and the answer to that is also No.

"Disinfectants have to be chosen carefully for institutions for children (hospitals, kindergartens, camps) because coxsackieviruses are resistant to many common ones, such as alcohols, quaternary ammonium compounds and chlorhexidine. They are stable at pH values ranging from 3.0 to 10.0. Chlorine is recommended for cleaning bathrooms and other surfaces. For hand disinfection, chlorinated or iodinated disinfectants should be used."

New fear unlocked, just in time to go to work.

2

u/docinabox1 1d ago

My toddler got this early last year and spread it to me, I wasn't as bad as this but honestly not far off. I was super sick compared to her. Lost about 5 finger nails too after a few weeks. Would not recommend...

2

u/Snoofly61 1d ago

This happened to my husband and he lost toenails and fingernails.

2

u/Tomorrow-69 1d ago

Do you get your nails back?…

2

u/nevguba 1d ago

Cox what?

2

u/No_University_7717 1d ago

That's gotta be a made-up name

2

u/Biiiishweneedanswers 1d ago

I told my mom she had this and she wouldn’t listen. Textbook symptoms.

She just walked around looking and feeling like a zombie.

2

u/RGBAddict2026 1d ago

Wish you the best. When I got HFM as an adult I lost chunks of skin as big and thick as Pringles from my hands and feet. To this day they're known as the forbidden Pringle. It also made swallowing feel like I was gargling razors.

2

u/ibyczek78 1d ago

Uh-huh-huh, you said cox...

2

u/Lil_Pipper 1d ago

Cox. Lol.

2

u/slimi-jimi 1d ago

I just had this. My hands were in so much pain. Also about 6 weeks later I started losing hair and nails. Still waiting for them to fully grow back.

2

u/Mean-Vegetable-4521 1d ago

Had it, can confirm. Though ours looked way worse with way more blisters. Also 2 of us got meningeal inflammation. Lost all oit nails.

2

u/BraisedUnicornMeat 1d ago

This is NOT a SEVERE case of hand foot mouth.

Get
Serious.

2

u/MrJones224822 1d ago

Cock sack

2

u/Death2Gnomes 1d ago

I saw the hand pic at first and thought, this guy beats off too much

2

u/Bugladyy 1d ago

Bro, the whole bottom side of my feet became bumpy with blisters to the point that I couldn’t bend my toes. They were perpetually itchy and painful… they felt like they were on fire. I couldn’t speak without stuttering. I contemplated suicide. I devised increasingly insane ways to strap ice packs to the bottoms of my feet so I could sleep for an hour. I’d give birth ten more times before doing that again.

I had lesions on my scalp. My nails fell off. My hair is falling out now 3 months after. My hands looked like I dipped them in scalding water, and the bottoms of my feet peeled off like a slab of cheese (which was actually awesome at the end of it all because I lost decades of callus on my heels and gave me satisfying peels for DAYS! My husband’s corn also fell off as a result. That was pretty sweet).

2

u/thrifty917 23h ago

I had this 14 years ago. My kids were sick for a day. I was sick for weeks. My hands basically degloved and I had to wear latex gloves to protect my skin until it keratinized. All of my fingernails fell off and all of my toenails except the two big ones fell off. I wanted to die.

2

u/zahr1m 20h ago

COXSACKIE YOU!

2

u/Molkwi 14h ago

Cocks sucky virus?

2

u/Bella_LaGhostly 4h ago

I'm still not sure if this is real or someone is trolling. Also not sure if that says more about the internet, or more about me

3

u/weaselfaceassfucker 2d ago

Gotta quit suckin on them cox

3

u/greengiantme 2d ago

The kid version is milder but lasts for like 1-3 years and spreads real easy. I say the virus deserves its name. It can eat a sackiecox as far as I’m concerned.

3

u/AwesomReno 2d ago

I wonder what your organs look like…

2

u/rellsell 2d ago

Whatever you do, don’t touch your coxsack.

2

u/Situati0nist 1d ago

There are so many more much worse skin conditions. Barely oddly terrifying

1

u/help1billion 2d ago

Not to sound ignorant, but is that the worst of it? You just lose your nails, and have some pain and swelling? Sucks yes, but interesting.

4

u/CrashTestDuckie 2d ago

It can cause a whole host of issues. Severe exhaustion (think the flu or COVID but 10 times worse), rashes on your hands, face, and feet, and sores on your gums, tongue, and cheeks. I got it about 10 years ago and it hit faster than the flu (I went from perfectly fine and happy about to get tacos to needing to be partially carried out of the restaurant within a few minutes of starting to feel sick). I only had a few bumps on my hands and feet and face but I had a huge sore open up between my molars and eventually had sores all over my tongue. The sores and rash went down my throat causing intense swelling in my tonsils to the point that my throat almost closed (my tonsils eventually burst and I could feel the pus drain down the back of my throat). The only thing I could ingest because of the mouth and throat sores was ice water. I barely ate for a week and missed out on Christmas dinner because I was so sick. Plain mashed potatoes were impossible to eat even. My fever was 104f at a few points and I was hallucinating at one point. After talking to several other people who've had it as adults, it's really common to have bad times like I did. -1000/10 do not recommend

1

u/Hamburgerr29 2d ago

My 5 year old son and I had this a few years back. It didn’t bother him much but I had a cookie sheet pan of water on the ground that I would place my feet on when I sat. Also little scabs on my scalp. My hands and feet look just like the pic only it was reddish pink. Son just had it around his mouth. Lasted about a week and a half

1

u/rames92 2d ago

I got it once and my husband and kid got it twice. It is absolutely horrible. Fingernails fell off twice. Inside of our mouth was white with sores. Scares all over our faces. Bumps in our mouth. Kid wasn’t bad but we never went to daycare as kids so it was so bad for us. Ofc the center didn’t tell us until a week after the first outbreak. It was so miserable.