Coxsackie, anyone?

We had a bit of a chicken-pox scare last week when a relatively benign-looking rash (if you could even call it that, more like a few red dots on Preston's arms and behind his knees...) started turning vesicular. In my limited scope of pediatric dermatology knowledge, what I do know is, there are few benign causes of vesicular rashes. Our 24/7 on-call doctor, Uncle Mike, confirmed that this was possible cause for alarm, since the following day we were set to attend a baby shower. And unborn babies do not like chicken pox. An urgent visit to our pediatrician confirmed that it was not chicken pox, but a coxsackie virus more commonly known as Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. Now, what I also know, in my limited pediatric dermatology experience is, that Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease is usually identifiable by its presence on the hands, feet, and mouth. Interestingly, this was not the case with Preston. With the exception of a small red vesicle on his right knuckle, his hands and feet were essentially rash-free, which had falsely led me to the conclusion that this was not coxsackie. Needless to say, the entire illness was rather anti-climactic, with the exception of a few nights of poor sleep. (Which I had attributed to teething pain, but now in hindsight, was probably a wicked sore throat. Thank goodness I'm liberal with the Tylenol.)
Sadly, my idea for a quick money-maker also fell to the wayside with the exclusion of chicken pox. So much for holding a weekend clinic in Ithaca offering natural innoculation of varicella to all the anti-immunization hippies...