Foot and mouth disease

You pick your child up from daycare, and you notice she or he is developing a fever. A few days later, you see your child scratching their palms. Once you notice the small sores that have formed around her mouth, it clicks. Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) has taken hold. Here’s what you probably didn’t know: Despite its tendency to affect children, hand, foot, and mouth disease is just as capable of affecting adults. And what’s more, you might not even know you have it. What is Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease? “Much like its name suggests, hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is caused by a contagious virus that classically affects your hands, feet, and mouth, but can actually cause a bumpy or blistery rash all over your body,” stated HFMD cases can range from mild to severe. They are more likely to impact children 5 years and younger, and the disease usually clears up completely within 7 to 10 days. However, adults can catch the virus that causes the disease as well — and even though you may not show any signs of the virus, you still can pass it along to others. Telltale Signs of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease Hand, foot, and mouth disease usually begins with a fever, reduced appetite, sore throat, and feeling lethargic. At the same time or shortly after these sores appear, an itchy skin rash can develop on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The rash may extend to the arms, legs, buttock, genitals, belly and back. How Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease Spreads HFM...

The hand-foot-mouth disease is a viral infection affecting children and infants below 5 years of age ( The infected person may transmit the virus even after several weeks of the initial infection. However, following simple remedies and adopting a few lifestyle changes can minimize infection risk to a great extent. Learn more about this infection and the home treatments here. In This Article • • • • • • • • • What Is Hand-Foot-And-Mouth Disease? Hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) is a mild but contagious infection quite common in children. Its main cause is the coxsackievirus. It is characterized by mouth sores and rashes on the hands and feet. Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is the most infectious in the first seven days. The virus often stays in the body for weeks and can easily spread to others. How Can You Get Hand-Foot-And-Mouth Disease? How Does It Spread? The viral infection easily spreads through the spit or feces of the affected children. Even close contact with an affected individual puts other people at a high risk of contracting the disease. Wiping the nose of an affected child or changing his/her diapers are other ways the disease can spread. Hence, it is important you wash your hands thoroughly after any contact with patients. Let us now take a quick peek into the cause of this contagious disease. What Causes Hand-Foot-And-Mouth Disease? The most common cause of the hand-foot-and-mouth disease is the coxsackievirus A16 virus. This virus belongs to the group of non...

Dots, dots, and more dots. The rash and bumps covering your hands, feet, and the inside of your mouth aren’t chickenpox, though. Nope, you have a case of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). If you or your little one has HFMD, you may need to stay home for 7 to 10 days, depending on your symptoms. It takes Read on to find out what you should expect when it comes to recovering from HFMD and how you can avoid transmitting it to others. Call your doctor or another healthcare professional if a child: • has a weakened immune system and symptoms of HFMD • is not drinking enough or has become dehydrated • has symptoms that do not improve within 10 days • is younger than 6 months and has symptoms of HFMD • has a fever lasting longer than 3 days • is producing less urine than normal • has blisters or sores that are taking longer than 10 days to heal, or they look like they’re getting worse • has worsening symptoms after 7 to 10 days Symptoms of HFMD usually begin to develop about 3 to 6 days after contracting the illness. They can include: • • • decreased appetite • • headache • painful red blisters in the mouth • red rash on hands and the bottom of feet A fever and sore throat are usually the first signs of HFMD. These symptoms are typically followed within a few days by a rash and bumps that cover the hands, feet, mouth, and buttocks. It’s extremely rare, but some people may develop symptoms of complications from HFMD, such as: • acute flaccid paralysis (weakness) • • • HFMD wil...