Homeopathy At Home with Melissa

Natural Relief For Hand, Foot, And Mouth

• Melissa Crenshaw, RsHom, LCHE, IBCLC • Season 6 • Episode 13

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The fever hits fast, the blisters follow, and suddenly your week is upside down. We unpack hand, foot, and mouth with a calm, practical plan that helps you care for kids and protect your sanity. You’ll learn how to spot the classic patterns, choose the right homeopathic remedy for mouth ulcers and itchy blisters, and use simple home care to keep hydration and comfort front and center.

We break down clear remedy pictures so you can act with confidence. Rhus tox for restless, itchy, fluid-filled blisters that ease with warmth. Borax when mouth sores burn and a child refuses to drink. Mercurius solubilis for a wet, oozy mouth with foul breath and drooling. Graphites for crusty, sticky lesions that heal slowly. Pulsatilla for the clingy, weepy child who wants to be held and breathes easier in cool air. For fever support, we cover Belladonna, Aconite, and Gelsemium, along with when to dose and when to step back. You’ll hear how improvement often shows up first in better sleep, calmer moods, and a return of appetite, even as the rash runs its course.

We also share practical home care: cold smoothies and coconut water for hydration, oatmeal baths for itch, trimmed nails to prevent scratching, and realistic timelines for recovery. We address contagion etiquette, common pregnancy worries, and the red flags that mean it is time to call a doctor. Expect an honest, parent-first guide that replaces panic with a plan and helps you move through a contagious week with steady steps and fewer tears.

If you want ongoing support using homeopathy at home, join the Inner Healing Circle for step-by-step teaching and community. Prefer one-on-one help? Visit MelissaCrenshaw.com and tap Schedule My Call. If this episode helped you feel more prepared, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review so more families can find it. 

  1. You may also gain Access to my Fullscript dispensary and save 30% by going to: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/mcrenshaw

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SPEAKER_00:

Welcome back to Homeopathy at home with Melissa. Hey Melissa.

SPEAKER_01:

Hey, Bree. Excited to talk with you again today.

SPEAKER_00:

I know, me too, especially about what we are tackling this time. Um, this will hit home for most families, if not already, at some point, especially if you have little ones. They run around, touch everything, lick everything, sneeze on everything. And um, if you're in any kind of social life at all, you will probably get hand, foot, and mouth. Um, I think maybe more for the little kids. Some parents even get it, though, pretty severely. So hopefully this is helpful for all of you. We're gonna talk about what it looks like, what to expect, how to support your child or yourself naturally. And of course, our favorite part, the top homeopathic remedies that can make a huge difference in the healing process and in your whole experience. So hopefully this will help you. If you're a parent, grandparent, we have a ton of usually grandmothers who are in here helping their family, um, or even just friends. If you're a child care provider, there's so much people in your life you can speak into for sure. Um but as always, we want you to feel confident in managing your your family's health care. So this should be a good one.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Let's start with because you know I love to define my terms.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, same.

SPEAKER_01:

What is hand foot and mouth? We have to know what we're talking about so that we can actually address it, right? Yep. What is it?

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, so hand, foot, and mouth is it's viral. It's a viral illness, usually caused by coxacy. That is correct, right? That's how you say that. Koksaki.

SPEAKER_01:

Broccoli, coxaki. Oh, well, I'm southern, so I'll say coxaki.

SPEAKER_00:

You see, and I've always said coxaki, but I'm also from the north. So here we go again. Think she got tomato tomato. Um, it is extremely common in young kids. And like I said before, adults can catch it too. Usually the symptoms include a fever. It's typically a more, it feels like it comes out of nowhere. So maybe more a sudden fever can start with a sore throat, fussiness, clinginess if they're little ones. Um, and usually the blisters or the rash starts around the mouth, hands, or feet, obviously. Sometimes they do extend to the trunk, and you can see them on other parts of the legs and arms. Um, but you I've even seen sometimes they're just little red dots. They're not even necessarily bumps yet. But of course, that's why it's called hand foot and mouth. Um, drooling can sometimes happen if their mouth is sore, if there's some sores in the mouth. They will have trouble eating sometimes if that's the case. That usually comes later, but that is one of the symptoms. It is longer, which I used to say until my kids had in beta, that hand, foot, and mouth. I am laid back about sickness. But if you have hand, foot, and mouth, get out of my life because I will be stuck home for a month.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

It's usually seven to ten days of active, you can't go out till their, you know, their wounds are completely scabbed over. And when you have multiple kids, you're just sometimes that's one after the other. So if it's seven to ten days for each of them, that's a long time.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, and while it is extremely uncomfortable in some cases, usually just a normal level of uncomfortable, it's not dangerous for most children. And homeopathy can help. And honestly, I'm not just trying to sell anything like very often pretty dramatically.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Yeah. It would be, I mean, obviously that's what we do, but it's um, it would be my number one choice. It would be the only thing. So my youngest had hand, foot and mouth, but sorry, my oldest had hand, foot and mouth, but my my younger two never got it that I knew of. And have your kids had it?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, they had it. I actually don't know if my youngest has had it. The other two did, and of course, it happened when I had a toddler and a baby, and then Kyle was out of the country, and they both get hand foot and mouth. And I'm like, And at that time, I did not have homie. That was right when I was starting to use remedies for croup, but I didn't have any idea the things homeopathy could do. Yeah. So I was putting like this kind of embarrassing, like bags of yogurt on their feet to help with um like the itch and the pain. I don't even know where I read that. So if you're hearing this and I'm a kook, I don't know. You know, when you're desperate and you Google weird stuff, I was trying to do everything because they wouldn't sleep. They were so itchy and in pain, and I didn't have anything, and I didn't just want to do Tylenol over and over and over or whatever. I knew I didn't want to do that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Well, homeopathy shines right in viral childhood illnesses. So because we're not treating the virus, we're supporting the immune system. That's the beautiful thing about homeopathy. If we can really just get people to understand that that's what we're doing, we're not trying to give a remedy so that the symptoms go away. Because we're not treating a virus, we're not treating a bacteria. We are addressing the immune system and we're looking at the unique experience of each child. So we're gonna look at things like how are they expressing this illness? What does it what does it look like for this child? What's their energy like? What kind of pain are they describing if they can describe it? And if not, what are you observing? What helps? What makes it worse? So hand, foot, and mouth disease has some really distinct remedy patterns, and once you learn those, you'll feel so much more confident. These remedies can help with comfort, pain, mouth ulcers, rash, sleep, fever, irritability, and recovery time. So let's jump into the remedies, the top remedies for hand, foot, and mouth. Number one is roostal. And so this is um really the number one remedy for hand, foot, and mouth. So you're gonna use roostalks when the child has itchy, or the person, the adult, whoever it is, the person has itchy blisters, um, they can't stop scratching, they're restless, whiny, irritable. The rash looks like clear fluid blisters, fluid-filled blisters. Uh, worse at night, worse with cold air, and better with warm baths or warm compresses. So if your child is up tossing and turning because they can't get comfortable, or the itching is driving them wild, then roost tox is the remedy. And so you could use a six, a 30, or even a 200 every few hours. Meet the intensity of the condition with the frequency of dosing. Um, so you know, we're not prescribing here. I'm not telling you, these aren't protocols. So you're gonna choose the potency 630 or 200 is the middle, you know, middle of the road, good frequent uh good um potencies to use, and you you give it as often as it's needed, and then you reduce the frequency of of um administration as the person gets better. Number two is borax, and um this is huge for mouth sores and ulcers. So you're gonna think of bulborax when there's ulcers inside the lips, cheeks, or on the tongue, severe pain with eating, the child refuses to drink because it burns, drooling because swallowing hurts, crying at um at the sight of food, sores that look white or shallow, and borax is especially great when there's a fear of the pain, and then the child doesn't want anything coming near their mouth. So again, six, thirty, two hundred as needed every few hours if it's really bad. Merk saw is another great one, excellent for hand, foot, and mouth, um, that presents like a wet, oozing, painful mouth infection. And so you're gonna think for of Merk Saw when there's excessive drooling, very foul breath, ulcers that bleed or look deeper, lots of saliva pooling in the mouth, sweaty kids with a big coat of moisture on their skin. They ask for cold drinks, and they're thirsty, but they drink small sips. So Merck Sol is that wet, oozy, smelly remedy picture. And um, again, 630 or 200 are all great potencies to use. When you don't know, and here's what I always say: start low and slow when you don't know. So use the lowest potency that you have or the lowest potency you can get and give one dose and see how it goes, see what happens. Um, graphites, graphites is for the skin, especially when lesions are crusty or sticky. So think crusty rash, sticky or honey-like discharges, blisters that break and ooze, soreness around the rash. The kid might be clingy and needy. It's also great for later stages when blisters are healing but slow. So you might consider um for graphites. I think you maybe you could use a six, but it's most likely gonna be um or it might be a 30 or 200. Um, but six might be okay. And then um pulsatilla. So pulsatilla is that weepy, clingy, needy child remedy. So think um the child wants to be held all the time, crying easily, very uncomfortable, but wants comfort, low appetite, soft, gentle, whiny mood, worse in warm rooms, better in the cool air. This is for the for the emotional picture as much as the physical. So dosing or uh potency, usually a 30 or a 630 or 200, all are okay. You can again you can use that as needed. And then we want to think about the fever. So if there's a fever that needs support, and that means the child is miserable, right? So we don't suppress fevers, we're not trying to um reduce the fever. We are support, we're addressing the fact that there is a fever. So Belladonna is for the sudden high fever with hot red cheeks and glassy eyes, aconite for the fever that starts after fear, shock, or exposure to cold wind, and gelsemium for the droopy, heavy, tired fever state. But remember, if the child is playing, drinking, resting, you don't need to give a uh remedy for the fever alone. What else can people do, Brie?

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, so this is probably all the stuff I tried over and over that may help. So here's some extra things you can try. Actually, before I get into this, but when we're in refer, oh my goodness, in reference to remedies. Um sometimes when you're hearing these, it might feel overwhelming if you're in the middle of it and you don't have all of these, so you can't get a specific with what we call differentials or the symptom picture. Let's say Roostal sounds like the best fit, but all they have is Merckzall. Is it fine to just start the remedy that you have, even if all of those points we just told you don't match it as well as maybe Roostalks would?

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

So that's how I think sometimes that is the reality, right? Like if you don't have something, but it's one of the good ones, just try it. And maybe you can order the other one, but maybe it'll work great.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And you don't need it.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00:

Um home care tips as far as other things. So besides homeopathy, here are some things. Obviously, maybe not obviously, cold foods, like smooth, cold foods, smoothies, popsicles, cold water, frozen fruit. Typically, they feel cold, feels better on those ulcers than something hot. Um, I wouldn't worry too much about nutrition, like or food nutrition during that part when the ulcers are there. It won't be super long time, so they're not gonna starve. Hydration matters most, especially if there's a fever. Um, coconut water has electrolytes without a lot of junk in it. And if they can tolerate that, oh, coconut water is probably more tolerable than just water with um the salty electrolyte mix in it, I would think. So that might be a better fit. You can add that to a smoothie, even if it's more palatable for them. Um, oatmeal baths did help a lot. Sometimes I put oatmeal in an old sock and just put it in there and squeeze it around because cleaning oatmeal out of a tub, maybe that's like common knowledge. But I literally did it when I was in my early 20s, had my first kid. I like put oatmeal in there and was like, why did that might be dumb? But you know what? If I can make you guys all feel better about yourselves.

SPEAKER_01:

I never thought to do it. I never did it. I never thought of it.

SPEAKER_00:

Ever oatmeal bath at all or put it in I thought you like in a sock.

SPEAKER_01:

Did you say something about putting oatmeal in a sock? Yeah, like putting it in a sock, like uh no, I never thought of it in a sock. I did oatmeal baths, but not in a sock.

SPEAKER_00:

How did you just put the oatmeal in the bath? Yeah, and then you clean that out of there, is the worst, right? Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01:

I didn't even think about it.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, that was probably actually Kyle who thought of that. He put it in a sock. And then when it was like wet and you squish it off, it does release a lot of that stuff, whatever the stuff is. I don't know. But anyway, oatmeal baths are very soothing, um, not too hot. The water probably should not be too hot there. Um keep nails trimmed, don't so they can't scratch open those spots as much. They can get infected, you know, they can be prone to infection, which some of those remedies cover. So don't when you're already using homeopathy, you are also supporting the body's um what do you like the whole immune system?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah, it's yeah. I wouldn't expect that.

SPEAKER_00:

Infection is less likely when you're already using remedies. Yeah, thank you. Um, I would probably just keep them home. It's very contagious. So when there are open stores, I have a question for you.

SPEAKER_01:

Um is it dangerous for pregnant women to be exposed?

SPEAKER_00:

That's a great question.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Typically, the danger in most, and this is not, I don't actually know, what I would lean toward, knowing what I know about other viral illnesses, is the high fever, if it's very high, um, and if it's untreated viral stuff that can sometimes be dangerous. I personally would not worry about anything if you're using remedies. Like if I am using homeopathy, and it's not because I'm villainizing every other type of medicine, but other medicines do suppress symptoms and not treating the virus. You know, you can't treat a virus the same. And I would be more concerned in that regard than I would with remedies because you're building your immune system. So that's something we can look up. Um I have been pregnant when my kids no, I wasn't pregnant at that time. Yeah, great question. Don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that's what I just thought I wanted to look it up really quick because when my oldest son had it, um I really I just didn't know that it was I didn't think it was a big deal at all because he wasn't that sick. And so we were honestly, we were at a grocery store and one of somebody that I know saw us and she was like, I mean, she let me have it in the middle of the grocery store. She couldn't believe I had him out. And I was like, she was like, he's touching, you know, he was you know, the um, I don't know if they still have these, the cars that you can ride in and push the bug that he was in that, you know, having a great time. And I'm just like shopping, and she's like, I can't believe you have him out here. And I and I the reason I thought of the pregnancy question is I think this was so long ago, so I could totally be not remembering correctly. I thought she said something about how dangerous it is for pregnant women, but you know, maybe that was something we used to think, it was a long time ago.

SPEAKER_00:

I know. Well, and there's a lot of things we're really careful about, obviously, when you're pregnant, because we don't know, but I tend to leave there's a lot of things we do in American culture when you're pregnant that treat you like you um, like pregnancy is a disability or like an allergy, like I'm allergic to everything now.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And a lot of other cultures don't live that way and have very healthy babies. So, you know, that's my pregnancy soapbox. But I would just support your immune system. I would not worry. Um, if you feel like you're you have a high fever or you want to go in and get fluids or just check on the baby, I mean, do that. That's totally fine. Um, but it is very contagious. And if it is, if you do go to church or you're in a daycare, I mean that stuff, every kid will get it. But usually by the time one kid does, it's already been everybody's been exposed. So if somebody's there with it, it's probably all over anyway. Um, but so the how long it usually lasts when you start remedies in any acute situation, we give it 24 hours. And usually that's a that's usually four, three, four doses in is what we go by. So you've had a few doses, you've given the body some time. I find with my little kids, I'll give a remedy during the day, and it won't be until the next morning when they wake up that I really can get a gauge on how they're doing if it made a big difference. You might see their mood and their sleep improve first, or their appetite because they're in less pain. And the rash may also move because we are moving the illness through the normal progression, so we're not stopping it. You might see it move around, and so you might see more spots, but maybe they're in a better mood, or the spots are not as severe and they're not as much pain. So don't worry or freak out, right? If you give a remedy and they wake up the next day and you're like, it looks so bad. It has to still go through the stages. Um, but several days until it totally resolves is what I would plan for. We always want to remind you um that homeopathy is powerful and awesome and a wonderful tool, but use your wisdom and your intuition. And your discernment as a mother or parent or caretaker. So if you feel like you need to go in, trust your instincts, go in. If they can't stay hydrated, if they're very lethargic, if the blisters get infected, if the fever lasts for more than a few days, if you have a newborn or an immunocompromised family member exposed, also a different story. So trust your instincts, go see a medical professional doctor if you need one. And homeopathy can still support you alongside that if you have to do anything else.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely. Good stuff. So that was our um deep dive into hand, foot, and mouth and homeopathy and using homeopathy for that. And so if you want to learn how to address illnesses like hand, foot and mouth disease confidently at home, I want to invite you to the inner healing circle. This is where I teach families just like yours how to use homeopathy safely and effectively every day and in all kinds of conditions. I don't just teach acute care in the inner healing circle. I teach chronic care also. And so if you are not interested in learning how to use homeopathy right now and you just need an appointment, then go to MelissaCrenshaw.com. Right on the very front page, the first thing you're gonna see is schedule my call. Um so you can click on that button and I'll get in touch with you and then um can really help you and guide you in whatever condition you're dealing with, you know, chronic or acute, whatever it is. And then so I hope that this episode leaves you equipped, empowered, and encouraged because you can absolutely take care of your family with confidence. You can. We are living proof. Brie and I are living proof of that, and you don't have to be a homeopath to do it. You can take care of your family with homeopathy. It's you know, homeopathy is such a beautiful tool that uses all the things that God gave us in the beginning. So thanks for hanging out with us. We'll look forward to seeing you next time.

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