HWN Suggests

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease HELL

I remember the first time I saw the sign posted on the door of the daycare door when my daughter was 6 months old.  It said something like, “This classroom has been exposed to Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.”

I was used to signs on the door, but this one stopped me in my tracks.  It sounded a lot like the Foot and Mouth disease that made international headlines years back and caused the slaughter of many pigs and cattle.

I read the sign, learning that Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease is totally different from that (phew), but still a nasty virus in its own right.  I watched my daughter for signs, but didn’t think much of it for myself, as the sign had said it was typically a…

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Articles of Interest

Name That Rash

Red bumps or blisters on the palms, fingers, soles of the feet and occasionally around the butt, which can be painful and itchy. Some children will get “these painful red blister lesions on the tongue, gum line and inside the cheeks,” said Dr. Silverberg. Other symptoms can include fever, diarrhea and sore throat. Eating and drinking may become painful.

Explainer: why children are at risk of hand, foot and mouth disease

Hand foot and mouth disease is a fairly common viral infection that mainly affects infants and young children. It is often confused with foot and mouth disease, a dangerous infection of animals.

Hand, Foot And Mouth Disease

If your child has a fever and seems to have completely gone off their food suddenly, get them to open wide so you can look for the first signs of hand, foot and mouth disease...

My child has hand-foot-and-mouth disease. What do I need to know?

The main treatment for HFM is comfort. Give extra fluids, or popsicles, or ice cream, and painkiller/fever reducers like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. And then a milkshake, or a blueberry banana smoothie.

U.S. Colleges Try to Stop Spread of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

The disease is easy to pass on because those who are infected may not know it for the first three to six days, since there are no symptoms, said Mark Reed, director of the Dartmouth College Health Service. The virus can be passed along if an infected person touches a door handle or computer keyboard, and then someone else touches it and rubs his or her eyes or nose.

Resources

CDC

Hand, foot, and mouth disease, or HFMD, is a contagious illness caused by different viruses. It is common in infants and children younger than 5 years old. However, older children and adults can also get HFMD. In the United States it is more common for people to get HFMD during summer and fall. HFMD is usually not serious, and nearly all people recover in 7 to 10 days without medical treatment.

StatPearls

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common viral illness usually affecting infants and children but can affect adults. The infection usually involves the hands, feet, mouth, and sometimes, even the genitals and buttocks. The cause of hand, foot and mouth disease is coxsackievirus A type 16 in most cases, but the infection can also be caused by many other strains of coxsackievirus. In the western Pacific, hand, foot, and mouth disease has been linked to enterovirus. The coxsackievirus is a member of the Picornaviridae family which includes non-enveloped single-stranded RNA viruses.