Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease - Symptoms, Causes & Treatments

Microbe-laden diseases are highly contagious and mainly spread through the exposed area of your body. Hand, foot and mouth disease is one of those infectious illnesses.

This disease is significantly common in toddlers and young teens as they are less conscious about hygiene.

Keep reading to learn about this disease and its symptoms, causes, treatment, and other details.

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What Is Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease?

HFMD or hand, foot and mouth disease is a highly infectious disease. A virus from the Enterovirus genus, commonly known as Coxsackievirus, causes this disease.

It can spread from one individual to another through direct contact with unclean hands and any contaminated surface. Other than that, it transmits through flies from a person’s infected wastes.

You will find red flat or raised spots, blisters or rash in your mouth, on hands and feet, along with soreness.

What Are the Symptoms of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease?

The symptoms usually appear 3 to 6 days after your infection, known as the incubation period.

Your child may experience the following symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease -

Mild to high fever
Headache
Sore throat
Ill-temper
Malaise
Sore red blisters in the mouth
Salivation
Red rashes on their hands and feet’s sole

What Causes Hand, Foot and Mouth Diseases in Your Child?

Primarily, the hand, foot and mouth disease is caused by a breed of a virus named Coxsackievirus. This virus transmit from person to person quite quickly through the following elements -

Contaminated droplets of cough and sneeze in the air
Saliva or waste material of the infected person
Fluid from an infected blister

Who Is at Risk of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease?

Children are at most risk of this disease, significantly when they attain school or daycare. Younger children start building up immunity to this disease after getting infected by the virus.

However, you still can notice hand, foot and mouth disease in adults and older children too.

How Is Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease Diagnosed?

Most doctors may only conduct a physical checkup or look at your child’s symptoms. They diagnose the rashes and blisters on their body and mouth and ask about other symptoms.

Your doctors, at most, ask for a swab or stool test for the virus to confirm their diagnosis.

What Are the Treatments for Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease?

In most cases, children can fight this infection with their innate immune system. The disease disappears within 7 to 10 days without any treatment. However, doctors prescribe some treatments for hand, foot and mouth disease to soothe your symptoms during the infection.

Ointments to ease the irritation of your blisters and rashes
Medicines for fever, pain or headache
Pills or syrups to relax your sore throat

How to Prevent Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease?

The best way to prevent this disease is to maintain good hygiene. You must wash your hands and feet after coming home from outside and clean your palm before eating.

Most of the time, children put an unwashed hand or random objects in their mouth. Teach your child not to put their hands or other things into their mouth. Also, teach them to practice washing hands frequently and cover their mouth in a crowd to avoid this infection.

What Is the Outlook for People With Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease?

Hand, foot and mouth disease must completely disappear after 7 to 10 days. You and your kids generally develop an immune system to defend against this virus. Therefore, not often does this virus cause a medical emergency.

However, consult a medical expert if your symptoms do not fade away or get even worse after 10 days. You may find these possible complications mentioned below:

Loss of fingernails and toenails
Dehydration
Encephalitis
Viral meningitis
Paralysis

Frequently Asked Questions

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Which age group is at high risk of hand, foot and mouth disease?

This disease primarily affects the age group of newborns to 5 years old children. However, there are chances that adults may catch this infection without showing any symptoms.

How long will I be contagious with hand, foot and mouth disease?

You or your children are highly contagious, mainly during the first week of the infection. Children shed the virus from their respiratory tract through coughing and sneezing for 1 to 3 weeks. The virus comes out with their stool for about a week or month after the disease starts.

Are hand, foot and mouth disease and chickenpox the same disease?

No, hand, foot and mouth disease and chickenpox are not the same. Though, characteristics of their symptoms match, the appearance of their blisters differs. Chickenpox blisters develop over the torso, neck, back, arms and legs. In contrast, HFMD rashes spread in the mouth, hands and feet.