Saturday, November 03, 2012

Loss of Nails Following Hand Foot and Mouth Disease Infection in 2 Children

I present an unusual case of 2 unrelated children who coincidentally presented to me on the same day with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease and then returned 7 and 8 weeks later with the same uncommon complication of this disease.

The first was an otherwise healthy 3 year old boy whose symptoms at presentation were a 2 day history of fever up to 102 degrees, and a vesicular rash on the hands, feet, buttocks and around the mouth.  A diagnosis of hand, foot and mouth disease was made, he and mom were sent home with reassurance.  No further contact was made until he presented 7 weeks later with his mother who was complaining that his nails were peeling off.  He had no other symptoms.  I had no specific explanation for this, so I inquired about any recent systemic illnesses.  She reminded me of the recent HFM infection so I did some quick research - Google Search:  "hand foot mouth disease onycholysis" and I found this article.  It describes 4 cases of onycholysis and/or onychomadesis following HFM infection.


 
 The second case involved a 20 month old girl who had initally presented with 2 day history of temp. up to 99.8 and vesicular rash on hands, feet and groin area.  The diagnosis of hand, foot and mouth disease was made and reassurance was given.  A few days later she returned with worsening of the rash but had no significant feeding problems.  There were no signs of dehydration or fever at that time, but the child now was extensively covered with the vesicular rash over all extremities, trunk and external lips.  No further treatment was recommended at that time and f/u by telephone a few days later revealed that she was finally improving and further follow up for this was planned on an as needed basis.  Our next encounter was just under 8 weeks later for an unrelated minor problem.  As we were finishing the visit, the mom said "All her fingernails and toenails fell off after she had that hand foot and mouth disease".  Indeed, on her exam, all of her fingernails had shed and were growing back with some small irregularities and indentations and the same was true for her toenails except the nail of each great toe which had not completely lost the older portions of the nails.
 



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posted by Clay @ 11/03/2012 03:57:00 PM   94 comments

94 Comments:

At 1:02 AM, Blogger joe said...

Interesting I have never seen this before.

 
At 11:02 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you for this information. I have 2 young sons and both of them were diagnosed with HFMD. My 2 year olds symptoms were the worst. Highest temp was 103.7. He was unable to eat or walk for several days. It's been about 8-9 weeks since both of my sons were diagnosed. My 2 year old is losing both his fingernails and toenails. So far with my 6 year old it's only been toenails.

 
At 6:50 AM, Blogger angelovmyn said...

Thank you so much for this post,
My daughter now 22 months old had HFM at the end of October, and what first looked like those white marks on all her nails )you know the ones when there is a mineral defficiency) and then when they grew out I realized they were bubbles.....

Eventually now these bubbles are peeling,
Luckily not down to bare skin, but down to a very thin layer of nail....
I was really starting to worry, and the info I found about this condition wasn't very good....but this now totally makes sense if I think about how her feet peeled for a month after the HFM....

Can you tell me if there are any other long term symptoms that I should be concerned about?

Thanks again for this post.

 
At 5:34 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

this has really eased my mind, my 2 year old was told he had HFM about 8 wks ago and 3 days ago his nails on his hand started peeling off, i was growing really concererd untill i read this, thank you

 
At 10:37 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My son also contracted HFM from our church nursery (as did dozens of other children). After a horrible rash and fever, he did recover, but now several weeks later, I have noticed the peeling skin on his feet and now his fingernails and toenails are starting to fall off. Wish the doctor would have mentioned this, because I was on my way to schedule an appt. when I jumped on the internet and started reading about it.

 
At 4:21 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you for your article my 12 year old also shed her fingernails and my son lost his toenails they both had HFM 6weeks before. My daughter especially found her fingers very sore where the old nail was still attached at the side and new fingernail pushing up underneath.

 
At 10:12 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the internet for this very reason...I was worried as my 4 year old sons nails were peeling from the bases. Thinking that he was deficient in some way..I checked the internet and found so many posts about it . Relieved to know it was lasting effect from HFM that he had 6 weeks ago and nothing more:)

 
At 7:43 AM, Blogger angelovmyn said...

I must say this was one of the only places on the Internet that I found evidence... Or more reports of it...
There certainately isn't any on webMD...etc....

Other than that a few chat forums where parents are reporting it....
Weird that There isn't any advise given by paediatricians or GP's about the possible after symptoms...

 
At 7:46 AM, Blogger angelovmyn said...

Interesting how this is one of the few places on the Internet where there are reports or discussion about this post symptom...

From the few blogs and forums that I have read, it appears to be common enough for a paediatrician or GP to make mention of as a possible side effect of this disease.... I wonder why it does not happen, and we all have to self diagnose on the Internet?

 
At 3:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

14 years old and got hfmd really bad couldn't move hands or walk on feet, weeks after getting over the virus nails started peeling off from the back while there is another nail growing underneath im not sure how to prevent or speed up the process !

 
At 2:53 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

my 2 year old daughter had a very bad case of this , lost all her finger and toe nails ,was hospitalized as they thought it was kawasaki disease they way her skin was turning, thank god it turned out to be just hfmd but 1 of the worst cases the doctors had seen

 
At 2:36 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ahhhhhhh!! I'm 30 and had this about 7 weeks ago and am now losing my finger nails!! Not happy but glad I finally have an answer!! Thank you!!

 
At 1:34 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you SO much for writing this article! My 6 yr old daughter had HFM about 6-8 weeks ago and almost all of her fingernails are falling off and a few of her toenails are gone. I have been very upset thinking something is terribly wrong with her. This was the ONLY info i have found that explains why this is happening to her. Thank God this is all it is! Thank you!!!!

 
At 12:45 AM, Anonymous Jeannette said...

my daughter was diagnosed with HFMD too and just last week she stared to lose her finger nails and her feet are pealing so much i got berry worry and call her doctor i got some good information thank you but i still seeing her doctor this fryday. !! thanks again for the 411

 
At 6:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

my son also had hand foot mouth virus high fever didn't want to eat diagnosed with the virus took almost 3 weeks for the blisters to all go away about 2 to 3 weeks later his feet completely shed all of the skin very thick skin was coming off now 2 months later all the nails on his hands are peeling from the cuticle up not from the top very painful you have to trim it daily

 
At 9:24 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you for writing- my 33 yo husband contracting HFM from our daughter - weeks ago and just started to get bubbles on his nails and they are peeling. Glad we have an answer!

 
At 1:34 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Thank you so much for this info! We have been to 2 pediatric drs for our 6yr old daughter wondering what is going on with our her nails. They appear to be lifting at the cuticle, chipping away and hurt (especially along the sides)-and impacts both hand and feet nails. We just got done with an expensive full blood panel/draw (after 12 hours of fasting) thinking its a vitamin issue-the dr still has not said it is from HFMD but both my husband and I feel this site is describing everything we are going thru!
Our daughter had a 'mild' case of HFMD 8 weeks ago-she had 47 sores in and around her mouth but only a few dots on her hands and feet with tingling. Now 8 weeks later, her nails are breaking away. They begin with a white mark, some pull away from the cuticle, other white spots begins to turn yellow and then nail will begin peeling/chipping away. These chips will snag on clothing and before you know it, there are large 'chunks' of nail that are lifting and snagging. The pain my daughter describes is a pinching feeling along the edge of the nail which another reader said where the old and new nail are still together and that appears correct for us too. As our chipping continues, some nails have actually turned bruised looking but that does not hurt according to my daughter. It appears at no time is there a gap in the nail down to the raw skin (I cant confirm this with the cuticle lift spots since we dont pry them up too much but once they chip away this is true) rather there is a thin new nail underneath the old chipping nail. For treatment, we are super gluing the nail 'chunks' down (including the cuticle lift spots), covering the nail with UV gel nailpolish (since it turns rock hard and lasts quite some time) then file new parts down with a file and repeat as necessary. So far this has been working. We have one nail that seems to have finished peeling which is a little more than half way up the nail but the newer nail is a little bumpy-but normal looking. We have some marks that dont start chipping until 1/3 up the nail (again another reader described a bubble blow out and I would agree with that statement).
I really wish we would have found this in the info given to us with HFMD and/or been informed by our doctors this could happen. Being mentally prepared would have made a huge difference vs finding one day 5 nails are falling off your young child with no real reason known to you! When you search nail chipping or loss of nails the pictures can be horrifying and get you more worked up then necessary. I would love to hear what to expect when this is done-do all nails fall off or just some (we are at 7 nails so far) and what do they look like afterwards-any lasting issues?
* Editor-I would love to send 2 pictures that currently show what the nails look like in each of these stages for other parents to see if you know how to do that.

 
At 9:17 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

HI
I am 51 years old with a 12 year old daughter. She contracted HFM and was sent home with a virus, She only had a sore throat and several sores on her hands that turned brown and eventually fell off. I however contracted a very severe case. My doctor told me I would have to go home and suffer it out for 10 days as it was a virus and nothing could be done. I had some very stressful events at the time and my job was very busy so I was very worn out. I had sores all over my hands and feet,in my throat, mouth, nose , and arms. My skin peeled off the bottom of my feet and toes completely and also on my hands. It was extremely painful and had more of a severe burning sensation. I did not go see a doctor. I had this at the beginning of November 2013 and now in Mid January 2014 by nails are starting to fall off. I have pain still and have had burning sensations since this all started.
Prior to getting sick I had a physical for a life insurance policy I took out and I received a low rate due to the fact that I am so healthy. Three days later I was very, very sick. My hands were a disaster and I had to wear gloves as they were very gross.
Now I use hand hand sanitizer every where I go.
I would suggest not touching the sores, not itching them when they are itchy. I told my daughter not to do that and her disease did not
develop into the awful case I had. She got this from a girl on the bus who was thirsty and wanted to drink from her water bottle. I had had several conversations about not sharing but of course my A student daughter needs to find out common sense things the hard way. After she saw me suffer and what happened to me - she realizes the importance of not sharing personal items. My husband was not affected by this disease at all. It was awful and I would want to have it again. I would compare it to child birth that lasts 10 days. I really suffered. I am healthy, eat carefully am not overweight and a clean person. I did kiss my daughter on the lips prior to getting this. I no longer do that. I kiss her on the cheek instead. I told one of my neighbors about this and she said all her kids had this and it was very similar to what I had. They had it over 10 years ago though. So apparently this is not rare here.

 
At 8:15 AM, Blogger Renz said...

Thank you for all the information people have posted it has been very helpful.
My 3 yr old son was diagnosed with hand foot and mouth on Christmas Day as he was sent to A&. He also had a secondary infection so was given antibiotics on his discharge. He suffered really badly but he seemed to recover well until two weeks later when his hands started to peel then the skin on his feet. Now a month on from the initial infection his nails are starting to come off on his fingers, nothing as yet on his toe nails. They are coming away from the nail bed but by bit so luckily the nail has started to grow underneath so it isn't raw.
I have searched everywhere for information on these odd symptoms but haven't had any luck other than the skin may peel. It is very helpful to know others have had the same as it starts you thinking that there is more to this than we know!

 
At 4:53 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My daughters nails are now peeling I'm so worried they won't grow back normal. She is 2 and they break really low and get snagged on things any help or advice would ease? Can anyone tell how her nails will be after this is all over?

 
At 8:13 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Thank you so much everybody for your stories. its nice to know im not alone. My 2 year old daughter and i contracted HFMD about six weeks ago and gave it to my sister and her 4 month old son. All four of us broke out in fever then the red flat rash all over our hands feet and mouth. (i had it the worst i think because im the sensitive skin type, i get everything) anyway all four of us healed up nicely but then i noticed my hands peeling and then my feet and it was horrible! chunks of skin are coming off my feet. i looked at my daughter and she too is peeling but not as bad. My sister and her son are now starting to peel too. And then Yesterday i noticed my index fingernail is starting to peel off and my daughters toenail is peeling off from the cuticle up. Im really hoping everything heals up and the nails grow out healthy. I was really starting to freak out until i read this. So thank you everyone Hopefully the ongoing odd freaky symptoms will stop soon!!!

 
At 12:05 PM, Anonymous NK said...

Thank you all for sharing this information, I was really worried that my 3yr old daughter was having these same symptoms, and I thought it might be some deficiency.. as mentioned by others, doctors should inform parents about the possibility of nails brittleness after HFM diagnosis..

 
At 9:51 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Thank goodness I found this. My dd had HFM in Dec. Her nails started doing the same thing. Also her toe nail os doing it now, but it doesn't seem like another nail is under. Did anyone else have this problem?

 
At 12:22 AM, Blogger Julia W said...

Wow. Glad I found this site. My son got HIM a few weeks ago and his feet and hands are peeling really bad. Is there anything type of lotion or something that will help? I don't want to freak him out if his nails start to come off. But the hospital and then his doctor didn't say anything about the peeling.

 
At 4:39 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

I think the peeling is normal due to the blisters. I took my daughter today about her toe nail and the dr said its from HFM and to let the nail fall off and run its course. You'll notice bubbling in the nails before they fall off. Her fingernails grew them out bc we didnt notice that it was happening.

 
At 9:48 AM, Anonymous emma said...

emma.
its absolutely related. my 3 yr old and 22 month old both had hfm about fuve weeks ago and about four weeks later my 3yr has nearly lost all her finger nails and the toe nails have just begun to drop off too. bless her heart, its very uncomfortable, though they r growing back.

 
At 3:36 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

My 3 yr. old grandson came down with this 6 wks ago, has now lost one fingernail and the others are starting to come up at the cuticle his toe nails seem to be fine so far. This is so sad. Is he still contagious with his nails falling off?

 
At 6:44 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

I'm a pediatrician and in 16 years of practice I've never seen post-coxsackie B nail loss (to my knowledge). I now have 3 children in the same family with nail separation at the matrix, 1-2 nails affected each, 3 weeks after 4 siblings got HFM simultaneously (also a first for me).

Thanks for your post! It has saved me from pursuing referrals and massive toxicology workups.

 
At 2:26 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

OK so 3.5 weeks ago my 20th old son and 3 old daughter, myself as well as my oldest son of 8 years got a horindus case of hfm. Now my youngest sons toe and fingernails are peeling off at bubbled cuticle two at a time after both went through skin peeling. But now he's got hfm again only days from the first sign of nails peeling. What the heck?? Can the peeling cause it to be reactive? Like the liquid from the blisters are said to be very contagious? Ugh I hate this virus! My poor little man is absolutely miserable! ! HEALP

 
At 12:38 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

My daughter is 1 years old and gf HFM a month ago and no her finger nails are falling off I wanted t know onc they fall off will they grow back the right way without th bubble an dark spot

 
At 5:07 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you for your posts. I also thought my two year old child had a vitamin deficiency (he's a picky eater) rather than lingering effects of an illness.

He had some sort of virus, can't recall what the dermatologist called it. Just like Hand, Foot, Mouth, but not in the mouth. He had two days of high fever and bumps all over his legs, arms, cheeks, and ears. It took three weeks for all the bumps to clear, then two weeks of peeling on the feet.

It's been two months now and he has lost one fingernail. The others are bumpy and peeling. Two toenails have turned dark and a few are brittle.

Do the nails eventually grow back normally? How long does it take for the nails to appear healthy again.

 
At 3:30 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

I seem to be in the minority. My 4 year old son has never had hand food and mouth disease, or anything close to it. Yet he just recently started having his nails peel from the base up, as if two nails were growing (basically what people here are describing). There must be something else that causes this besides HFM disease. Any ideas?

 
At 8:20 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Oh thank goodness for this post. My 7yr old daughter had contracted HFMD about 5 weeks ago. She had it pretty bad on her palms, bottoms of her feet, and in her throat. Now her two index finger nails are starting to separate and I was getting scared. I wondered if it was because of HFMD. I'm sorry for everyone's little one's having to go through this as well, but I'm glad I got confirmation on my suspicions and not have to run to the doctor.

 
At 6:14 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

July 2014 - we are in NYC and like most of you 4 weeks later we are having this nail issue. Finding this information may save us of a misdiagnosis of FOOT FUNGUS...which is 3 months of antibiotics. YIKES!

 
At 3:38 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

July 2014 my 1year old son caught hfm in spain around 8 weeks ago and gave it too my partner last week my son lost a toenail 2days later the next one started to go and now my partner who is 40 is loosing 2 fingernails and 3toenails. Thank god we found this site feeling much better now

 
At 5:47 PM, Blogger Jason said...

I'm sorry if I'm repeating any information here, but this nail-peeling occurred with myself (38 years old at the time of infection), my wife (29 at the time) and my daughter (5 years old). I can't recall about my wife, but after losing several layers of skin due to peeling, I lost both of my big toe toenails and both of my middle finger fingernails about 6- 8 weeks after initial infection. They have all since grown back. My daughter lost at least one thumbnail. It is odd to me that this is on the rarer side of this disease as it just seemed like the natural course for our family. This infection occurred about a year ago and we went to a drug store clinic who did not diagnose this in our children. It was only until this week that we finally have an answer to what disease we had.

 
At 12:17 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for this information, my son had signs and symptoms of head foot and mouth disease a couple of days after having a temp of 103.7 and a seizure. I took him to a small clinic that tested him for strep which he didn't have. They decided to treat him for strep just in case it was coming on or in the end stages with amoxicillin. A few weeks later all his fingernails began peeling exposing another layer of nail just like in the pictures...This really helped alot especially when your a concerned parent.....

 
At 1:59 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

9/1/2014

35 days later, the rashes are 95% gone... there are deep purple small specs still around the hand and the bottom of feet. fingernails and toenails starting to peel from the lunula... i decided to clip off as much as i could from the nails on the sides and off the top. feels so much better

 
At 11:27 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm 21 had HFM the week's ago and now the top layer of some of my nails are peeling off.

 
At 5:04 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Thank you for this information! My 11 year old was crying with worry over her finger nails coming off. She is very greatful to know they will grow back after having HFMD..!!

 
At 4:45 PM, Blogger joe said...

I had not notices all the comments....looks like you have become a resource in nail loss/peeling after HFM. We are currently in the middle of an epidemic of HFM now. Will start warning the patients.

 
At 7:12 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

This post has made me feel so much better. My son had hfm end of july, and now is loosing his toe nails. As a mom this can be scary to see.

 
At 10:16 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My daughter caught hfmd in May with blisters in her mouth, on palms of hands and soles of feet. She lost only two nails and they grew back with no problems. Then she caught it again two months later but this time the most severe case doctors had seen! She blistered on her lips, mouth, hands, feet, elbows, knees and lost thick layers of skin I had to cut peeling skin off daly for one week! Now she still has purple patches all over the palms of her hands that are not going away and we are at 25 days! She is also losing ALL of her nails and toenails too. Does she have an immune deficiency being she has caught this twice in two months and BAD? And will her hands ever recover or be scarred for life?:(

 
At 10:17 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My daughter caught hfmd in May with blisters in her mouth, on palms of hands and soles of feet. She lost only two nails and they grew back with no problems. Then she caught it again two months later but this time the most severe case doctors had seen! She blistered on her lips, mouth, hands, feet, elbows, knees and lost thick layers of skin I had to cut peeling skin off daly for one week! Now she still has purple patches all over the palms of her hands that are not going away and we are at 25 days! She is also losing ALL of her nails and toenails too. Does she have an immune deficiency being she has caught this twice in two months and BAD? And will her hands ever recover or be scarred for life?:(

 
At 10:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My 5 yr daughter also had HFM about 6 weeks ago and is also losing her toes and finger nail. Do I need to do anything or take her in to a Dr? Or just let it run its course since they really can't do anything for HFM?

 
At 9:47 PM, Blogger The McRae's said...

THank you thank you - I was starting to worry about my son. I have twin boys, both got HFM but only one of them has his nails peeling away. Looks JUST like your pictures.

 
At 9:24 AM, Anonymous Lindsay said...

Really glad to read this. I'm a 31-year-old who contracted HFM three months ago. About 2-4 weeks ago, my nails began peeling off. It's very painful as it's gone down to the bed on one nail.

 
At 1:32 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Me and my two kids got hmf and it was horrible. Me and my 16 month old both had nails falling off its very painful and the blisters are Very painful. This is a new aggressive strain my doctor had never even seen this happen and told me it's very rare for adults to get hand mouth foot but I caught it and another adult I know caught it.

 
At 10:28 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My 6-year old son had HFMD a number of weeks ago. A very high fever of up to 104. Couldn't eat for a day and couldn't really walk. He was supremely itchy and thus unable to sleep for 1 day (as was my 2-year old daughter who caught it from him) and everything we read said that HFMD doesn't itch. His nails are now peeling. Two have peeled at the nail bed and left major craters on the lunula. I thought that he picked his nail during the stress of a soccer game and even scolded him. When the second peeled and he said he didn't do it, I began to get concerned. Thought it was some disease or vitamin deficiency. So thankful for this post!!

 
At 3:38 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

This is the only place I could find information on this....My son had hfm at 23 months and then at 25 months he was losing his fingernails....I have read allot of comments previously from parents that their drs said they didn't know what it was

 
At 1:28 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's all making sense now.... My 2 1/2 yr. old Son started out with a very high fever @ 103.8 with many red dots in his mouth, fast trip to the ER & quickly diagnosed with HFMD. He got worse before better with fever going up & down for about 4 days & rash spreading to hands, feet, chin, & his bottom. By day 3 I needed to take him to Dr. for an emergency visit because he would not eat nor drink & was in a lot of pain. It was then the Dr. prescribed him Pain Medication so he would be able to at least drink & not become dehydrated.
Now here we are 8 weeks later & his finger nails are all falling off & it's causing him a lot of discomfort. I had no idea why this was happening until I found this site. I am extremely thankful that all of you took the time to tell your stories & put my mind at ease.

 
At 7:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I had HFMD about a month ago (I'm 22 so that's a little strange in itself apparently). Three of my toenails have fallen off since, and the top layer of one of my thumbs is coming off starting from the cuticle.

Just posting to aggregate more experiences. This blog came up when I looked up "nail coming off starting at the cuticle," it just started happening today.

 
At 12:35 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am 32 and had coxsackie in late September, after my infant son had it. Starting mid-november my fingernails started to split horizontally (2 on each hand) and now (early december) look like they will soon shed. He did not lose fingernails or toenails, but had fewer lesions than me. Not pretty (but not painful ... yet ... either). Reassuring to see others have had this experience. Does anyone know how to treat this? Do you just let the nails fall off naturally? Is it harmful to paint over them with polish? I work outside the home and the condition is somewhat embarassing. Thanks for thoughts.

 
At 11:55 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

We are currently going through this as well with my now 2yr old. He caught it on Halloween from his cousin. His fever got up to 103.9, for days I fought to keep it down. He got the horrible rash just about everywhere. And wouldn't eat for 2 days. About a week ago (Thanksgiving) I noticed his fingernails turning white at the cuticle. I thought he smashed them in the gate. A few days later I noticed it was coming away completely from the base. Now a week later, the nail is half gone, and the finger next to it appears to be next to go. I also noticed his baby toe nail has fallen off completely, and his big toe nail is separating at the base as well. I'm so glad I found this article, I was really starting to freak out! Wishing everyone luck that nobody catches this nastiness again. I too had a fever and sore throat while my baby was sick. I never showed any symptoms, I'm just really hoping my nails don't start coming off too.

 
At 8:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My 2 1/2 year old got hfmd and gave it to me. It started with a fever and the worst sore throat of my life. I could feel the sores forming but they didn't start popping out from the skin for two days. Once the sores came out it felt better but they didnt all pop for 3-4 days. At first it itched worst than I've ever felt and I've had some pretty severe bouts of poison ivy. Then it burned like a horrible burn from a hot stove. The only thing that helped was ice packs on the hands and feet. Then it was hard to walk or even open a door because of the sensation of needles poking. It lasted 5 days but then my hands and feet peeled thick chunks of skin and that sucked and looked terrible. Now 6 weeks later my nails are peeling at the cuticle. So ready for this to be OVER!

 
At 10:47 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I caught HFMD in February, 2014, from my grandsons, and had a miserable time with it. The bottoms of my feet were solid blisters. I lost 7 of my nails, but they were pretty much grown back by July. Now one of my big toe nails is going through the process again (for the second time, more than a year later). I've been under a lot of stress, so I'm assuming that doesn't help. My advice is don't stress - easy to do, right?

 
At 2:39 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks to all. My 8 years daughter had the same problem where her nails and toes are peeling off from the back. Doctors fo not know the reason nor they knew the illness. However a britich nurse said that it might be HMF illness she know back home. However this illness is not known to us in Saudi Arabia. My question is how long it takes for the nails to peel off completely and how long it takes to get new one. Also, is there any complications after the nails and toes peel off. Appreciate your feedback as her situation makes me a lot worried. I just placed a photo of her finger nail the one most affected .
https://goo.gl/ejYfzd

Yours
Abdulkareem

 
At 8:14 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

my 3.5 y o son 2-3 months ago he had scarlet fever ..streptococcus.. So 3 days fever then rush and redness in all his skin for 14 days and then his skin feeling off for an other 1.5 month..till today he is losing his finger nails....

 
At 5:35 AM, Anonymous portia said...

This has been very helpful, and a little calming to me, because my 10 years old son got Hand Foot and mouth about a month with a fever 0f 102, and four weeks later he is loosing all his fingers nails and toes nails he tells me that he is not sick other than loosing his nails they are growing back, but how ever I'm going to take him to his doctor just to be sure that's the cause. Thanks to all who blog I think it is a fact that this is a side effect of this illness again thanks.
Portia.

 
At 2:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Both my 2.5 yr and my 8 yr old sons got infected with HFMD about a month ago and now they are both loosing their fingernails. When I took them to the ER no one told me this could happen, thank God I found this information because I was going crazy trying to figure out what was wrong with them! This virus is horrible and I think the Doctors should be more inform about it and we should take better precautions not to get infected. Thank you.

 
At 8:00 AM, Anonymous Rhiza said...

Really glad to read this.this very helpful. Doctors should inform us earlier about this side effect of FMHD...

 
At 1:14 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am a nurse and have never seen this before now. My daughter is 17 caught HFM about 5 1/2 weeks ago and came to me a couple days ago showing me her nails. She has three fingernails, so far,that have peeled off from the cuticle up. I searched all my medical books and found nothing! Thank you SO MUCH for this article, we have a Drs appt scheduled and I'm curious to see if he is aware of this? I will be taking this article to show him, if not. If I find any additional info as to further complications, I will be sure to post. As for now, I'm making sure my daughter keeps hands clean and have been applying neosporin to affected nails to prevent any infection. This may not be ideal for younger babies prone to putting their hands in their mouth. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a very Blessed New Year!

 
At 6:45 AM, Blogger relieved mom said...

Thank you so much!! My 3yr old daughter had HFMD 7 1/2 weeks ago.She ran a fever of 102. Her fingernails and toe nails are both peel off starting from the cuticle.

 
At 11:15 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

My son, 2 years old, had HFM right before Thanksgiving and now his finger nails and toe nails are all doing this I started to freak out! Now that I know they are connected it puts my mind at ease. Thank you so much!

 
At 11:18 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

So interesting! My daughter (2,5 years old) had HFM a little under two months ago, and for the last few weeks we have noticed that her nails have been very brittle and cracked. A couple of her fingernails looked like they had been slammed in a door or something. Today her big to nail fell off. This article and the comments seem to offer a reasonable explanation.

 
At 10:46 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This article just gave me the missing puzzle piece to this mystery. My two children (1yo and 2yo ) and my (34 yo) self had hand foot and mouth about 8 weeks ago and lately one of my children and myself have been having air bubble looking spots turn up under our nails near the cuticle. I was told it was a vitamin B deficiency so I went to the store and bought some good vitamin B supplements and have been using that on all of us. I still thought there was something more to what was going on as our diets have not changed and it seemed so odd that both my son and I got this at the same time. I love the Internet!

 
At 5:37 AM, Anonymous Michaela said...

This article has been a god send! After trawling the internet and looking through numerous sites inlcuding the NHS I couldn't any explanation for the same symtoms my middle son is going through atm. He had HFMD last AUGUST so this is very delayed if it is related to this. However he did contract impetigo mildly just before xmas (2015)and was treated for this. He underwent a blood test which came back absolutely fine which is why I turned to the internet again and found this. His fingernails are the ones coming away from the cuticle but his toe nail are fine. He has 5 atm coming away and we are keeping an eye on the others. It started with white lines at the cuticle which became one big white line and a kind of bubble then it started coming away and moving up the nail. One has just come off without any pain as he didn't notice with it happening at play time in school. Another has just been taken off by myself as it was literally hanging by the tiniest bit and again it didn't hurt. The nails underneath are growing back slowly and will keep a close eye on these too. If this is related to HFMD then why is it so delayed .. 5 months! I'm not as worried now I've read some of these comments and I think the NHS need to do more research!

 
At 3:55 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Not all children have the same symptoms of HFM, and some children and parents never even know it was HFM, my son had maybe 3 bumps on the corner of his lip and then had no rash or bumps or blisters on his hands feet or anywhere else. He had a scratchy throat for a couple days and never even really had a fever, but he did indeed have HFM and his nails and toenails all of them are falling off as described in other post, so I would see a Dr but more than likely your one of the lucky ones who has unnoticeable symptoms except for now the falling off of nails.

 
At 7:07 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

My son had a very severe case of HFM, was covered in spots that all got infected. 8 weeks later he lost all his finger nails and then toe nails. The doctor wondered if he'd been through any trauma or had any severe illness as nails coming out is a sign of a very weak immune system, he'd never seen anything like it. Bizarre as a quick internet search brings up this. I was in a state of distress for weeks thinking something was really wrong. They fell off obey one, which was painful and upsetting for him, but have all grown back ok. Glad to knowin not the only one!

 
At 2:33 AM, Anonymous sahithi said...

Hi,

My daughter who is 2.6 years got HMFD 3 weeks back and she got normal after 10 days and started going to school.Today I found her finger nails are coming out i was afraid as i saw her hand in her mouth.But your article brought some relief to me.Can youtell the precutions we need to take.
Thank you very much.

 
At 11:56 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

My daughter is having hfm .her nails starts peeling off from cuticle end.any remedies plZ

 
At 3:32 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Is it dangerous? My son got HFM also and he's peeling some of his nails now. Am scared

 
At 6:36 AM, Blogger angelovmyn said...

No remedies Swarna.... just time... it will be fine in a few months.

Marlene, dont' worry, it just looks bad... not dangerous.
I would only worry if it get's infected from Dirt.....so to prevent that just clean hands thouroughly often enough...

 
At 8:24 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

I live in Tijuana Mexico my soon is almos 2 years old he had a fever for 3 days and then a rash I took him to the doctor and he said it was chickenpox. Like 2 weaks later his nails started to peal off . it's been like 3 months all his nails greew back but 2 days ago i loked at his toe nails and 2 more are going to fall off is this normal because now im scared..

 
At 11:02 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

My soon to be 4yr old son had hfm a few weeks ago and now his fingernails are peeling off from the base. Feel a lot better knowing it's happened to others with same condition! Very weird....

 
At 9:18 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you! My children also experienced this side effect weeks after contracting HFM. So glad that I found this article.

 
At 4:24 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

My Daughter (11 yr old) had bad HFMD and now about 4 weeks later her nails are starting to come off. She is a pitcher for her softball team and I am worried about what to do for her two big end of summer tournaments coming up. Do the nails come off completely? Is there any protection for the nail bed? Did you wrap them or use band aids to prevent infection? What about swimming? Thanks

 
At 4:00 PM, Anonymous Pat said...

I too was so happy to come across this blog/posting. My grandson caught the virus from his babysitters 1 year old and surprise at 61, two weeks later I came down with a 103 fever and the next day painful blisters on my feet and hands. It's now 4 weeks later and I am still peeling and have nasty beige colored marks/blisters under my nails. I can't believe this is happening! This is the gift that just keeps on giving! Good luck to all the adults and poor little ones that are suffering. That "oh there's nothing you can do line" seems crazy! Let's go doctors?! seems like this virus is expanding how about a vaccine?

 
At 3:09 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Omg this has been so informative reading everyone's post. My 3yr old contracted it from a park and suffered for about 2wks and all the er doctors could tell me was to keep calm and let it pass. I kept it clean and used A&D which helped alot but now about 2 months later my babies toe nails are lifting and has blisters on her mouth again. So this time around I'm using hydrocortisone to dry the blisters out and A&D at night to keep it from drying up and hurting her while she sleeps. Hope this helps and thanks everyone for posting their comments. Good luck to everyone and hope everyone gets well

 
At 10:16 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Hi to all my son have this hfmd he was 6years old and from philipines ..it started when all his finger and palm skin peeling then his foot skin pelled off after aweek Rashes grows in the hand foot and mouth.. Then the doctor said it was hmfd. So we know then two weeks past the Fingernails of my son started to deformed and peel of one by one .now I was very worry we where told to get a 2decho test. Doctor suspect a kawasaki virus.. Is it possible but my son has no fever ..tnx

 
At 1:32 PM, Blogger LeeNicholas said...

Fun fact, not only children experience this. My 2-year old son got HFM and gave it to me, a 28 year old male. I got it WAY worse. 102 fever, awful sore throat for days, tons of sores, acheyness, the whole nine-yards. That was over a month ago and now my fingernails are peeling like this as well. Not fun at all.

 
At 7:28 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

I picked it up from my grandchildren! I'm 55yrs old. The foot and hand pain was unbelievable. I couldn't walk for two days. Now, two months later, the nails on both thumbs, and both ring fingers are coming off. It's a nasty little virus.

 
At 9:27 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

hi, I'm a 46 year old woman with no children. I'm not sure how but I came down with HFMD but I got it. I went to the emergency room on 7/22 because the pain in my feet was unbearable and I was developing a rash. The diagnosis was HFMD. It is now Nov 15 and I am still experiencing nail loss. I have lost 3 toenails with another 2 about to go. One fingernail is also affected. There wasn't much information out there especially for adults. My initial dr visit was a misdiagnosis. How long does the virus stay with you? Just when I think I'm over it, I lose another nail. Thank you in advance for any links or articles.

 
At 12:44 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

My daughter had HFMD mid December wasn't bad but did what we were told. Week later noticed the skin peeling and looked it up and saw nails can come off too. When that didn't happen I was happy. Now a month later I see holes in her nail bed on two fingers. How do I know it's from this? She also in school so how do I take precautions?

 
At 6:20 AM, Blogger angelovmyn said...

Hi Anonymous 46 year old woman.... Nothing to worry about, the virus is gone, it is just the tissue/skin nail damage that takes a while to grow out from my experience.
it has to grow out, so just some patience.

Hi lady Unknown with daughter at school...
As far as I can tell there is nothing to worry about.
It must just grow out.
Unless the nail pealing is so far back that it is into the life...
then I would suggest keeping it covered... you know sandpits etc.
But more than that, nothing to worry about.
if it is HFM related, then it is just superficial, and will grow out over the course of the next few months.

This is all personal/daughter experience related, an in no way a medical opinion.
xx

 
At 12:32 PM, Blogger Jason said...

Of course I'm not a doctor nor have I seen your daughter but, I can pretty much guarantee that her current symptoms sound like the aftereffects of HFMD. It's also my understanding that she is no longer contagious. I believe that period is only for a few days or so. The nails will begin showing signs of thinness or holes near the cuticles and then peel upwards from there. I remember peeling them up until it got a little painful, clipping away what I could, and then repeating the process the next day. HFMD is the gift that keeps on giving.

 
At 6:00 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

this really eased my worries. but was worried only one of his nails hurt..is that normal?

 
At 3:33 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks for info. Was extremely concerned when my 4yr olds nails started coming off. I started researching and couldn't really find answers until i seen this and the light bulb came on and I remembered HFMD. Thanks so much greatly appreciate the info only place I found that helped. Keep up the good work!!

 
At 3:36 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks greatly appreciate the info. Stress & worry reduced ++

 
At 2:28 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Both my 3 and 4 year old had fevers a few weeks ago and I assumed it was a small cold. After reading this post I remember seeing my 4yo hands and toes with red spots and then peeling. It makes sense now why his nails have been peeling from the base. I was very nervous about this when I saw it, but can now find relief in knowing why they were sick and what is happening now.

 
At 11:44 AM, Blogger Landrey said...

I had never seen this before today! Just saw a 14 mo with same history and nails.

 
At 1:24 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Many thanks for this article, what a relief :)
Magda

 
At 6:14 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

My 1 year and 4 months old daughter had HFM disease, now 3 weeks to 1 month later she starts loosing her fingernails - both hands and feet, as seen in the above pictures.
I am a physician and this condition is not known to me, I am not a podiatrist or pediatrician.
Interesting

 
At 7:34 AM, Blogger angelovmyn said...

It's amazing how the medical fraternity are quite in the dark with this.... even our GP didn't diagnose it ....it is VERY interesting.

 

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