Hand, Foot and Mouth exposure

We had some friends over last Friday with their 1 year old child.  We found out on Monday that he has Hand, Foot and Mouth.  We have a 9-week old child in the house, and he was playing with some of her toys.  We are washing all the hard toys in hot bleach water.  But we have several soft toys that cannot easily be cleaned.

How long does the HFMD virus live on items?  If the 1 yr old put a soft toy in his mouth, should we just discard that toy, try to wash it and hope for the best, or can we wash it and keep it out of reach for a time period to allow the virus to "die"?

How long after the exposure are we "in the clear" and not have to be on high alert looking for signs every diaper change?  We are about 6 days after exposure right now with no symptoms.

Any input to put us new parents at ease would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

[Charlotterose]

throw them in the freezer for a few days...

[Crritter]

Oh, that's tough, my older son had it twice, and Cam looked like he was getting it, there was a big outbreak in the schools before they let out, and then it spread to the daycares.  You just never know, but call your Dr. if you are worried.  It's extremely contagious, so your little one could get it easily, but I think you should have seen something by now.  It's pretty miserable and I'm sure the other parents had no idea, it was just about to hit them.  I try to keep any soft toys up and away if we have friends over, my neice sticks everything in her mouth, and she's almost 7!  Just do the best you can, but you should be in the clear I would think by now.

[tiredbuthappy]

charlotterose's suggestion is good- someone suggested the same thing to me last fall when dd was sick.

symptoms appear 3-7 days after exposure. one of the reasons it is spread in schools so quickly, in addition to it's contagious nature, is that in many cases the fever is mild and may go unnoticed. the fever is the first symptom. If the child had the sores on monday, he most likely was incubating the virus on monday. you are close to being in the clear- just watch for fussiness or low grade fever.

[2ndBaby]

Do what you can, like washing the toys (can you throw any of the soft things in the washer?), but try not to over-worry this. I know you don't want your child to get sick, but this one is so easy to pick up, your child could get it anytime, anywhere.  My DD had it once and I'm convinced she got it from a shopping cart.

[tiredbuthappy]

eewww... shopping carts. very good poin. i don't even want to think about what they can pick up from those things. i keep a cart cover in my car.

[deanne11]

That virus can last quite awhile.  My DD had it twice, just wash everything...disinfect as best you can.    It is highly highly contagious.

Believe or not though....while I was nursing my son...he never caught it or anything DD brought home....

[Nitro40]

Great.  Thanks for all the suggestions.  

Putting away all the toys that are not easily cleaned is a good thing to remember as well.

Sounds like if we can make it through the weekend we should be in pretty good shape.

Thanks,

[2ndBaby]

I have a cart cover for my son now, but back in the dark ages (6 years ago-lol!) I didn't know about them :)