Introduction
Hand, foot and mouth disease is caused by a virus, usually the Coxsackie A virus. It is very contagious and common in children under 5 so outbreaks can occur in playschools. The disease is usually lasts about a week, but it is not usually serious. It affects girls and boys, but boys may have worse symptoms.
Hand, foot and mouth disease is rare in healthy adults. Most adults are immune to the Coxsackie A virus as they have been previously exposed to it. Occasionally, it can cause complications if a pregnant woman catches it in the final stages of pregnancy (see Complications).
Hand, foot and mouth disease is not the same thing as foot and mouth disease, which affects animals.
Symptoms
Hand, foot and mouth disease has an incubation period of 3-6 days. This is the time between catching the disease and showing symptoms. The child is most infectious before they start to show symptoms. For this reason hand, foot and mouth disease is easily passed around between small children, because they are in close contact with each other without knowing they have the virus.
The early symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease are fever, loss of appetite, sore throat, and generally feeling unwell. The younger the child, the worse the symptoms.
After 12-36 hours, yellowy-red ulcers (sore breaks in the skin, or on the inside lining of the body) develop in the mouth, around the roof of the mouth, tongue and inside of the cheeks. Because they are sore and uncomfortable, the child may not want to eat.
Within about a day, sores develop on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, between the fingers and toes, and on the buttocks (in some people). They last for about 3-6 days and may be a bit itchy and uncomfortable. They are smaller than chicken pox sores.
Healthy adults rarely catch the virus. Anyone who does may feel ill with a fever, but may not have any sores.
Causes
The virus spreads through the air in the droplets from coughs and sneezes (hắt hơi) of infected people and can also be spread through faeces (phân). The virus stays in the faeces for about four weeks after the person has got better. Adults and children must wash their hands properly after going to the toilet or handling nappies.
It can also be caught from touching the sores and kissing or hugging infected children.
Diagnosis
Hand, foot and mouth disease can be recognised by the sores in the mouth and on the hands and feet. You may be aware of a recent outbreak (dịch) at the childs playschool.
The symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease are similar to chickenpox. It can also be confused with mumps (bệnh quai bị), herpes (bệnh mụn giộp) simplex (cold sores) and a virus called herpangina that only causes sores in the mouth. Your General Practitioner (family doctor) (GP) will be able to recognise the virus. If it is necessary to do tests (such as throat swabs) results will take several weeks to come back, by which time the person will be better.
Treatment
Hand foot and mouth disease usually clears up by itself after about a week. It does not need treatment except to relieve (làm giảm bớt ) the symptoms.
Give your child plenty of fluids (water or weak squash) and childrens paracetamol if they have a fever or sore throat. Do not give aspirin to children under 16.
In rare cases, the sores might become infected because the child has scratched them. The infection will need to be treated with antibiotics. Your GP will advise you.
If your child has hand, foot and mouth disease, it may be advisable to keep them away from playschool until they are better. Remember though, that they will have been infectious before they had any symptoms, so they may have already passed on the infection.
Because hand, foot and mouth disease can be serious if a pregnant woman catches it, it is advisable to keep children with the virus away from pregnant women. However, as mentioned above, the person is infectious before they show any symptoms, so this may not be possible.
Complications
If the child is not given enough fluids, there is a risk of dehydration. In very rare cases, hand, foot and mouth disease can lead to problems such as heart failure and pneumonia.
There is normally no risk to your baby if you catch hand, foot and mouth disease during pregnancy. But, if you catch the virus shortly before having your baby, it can pass to the baby and they may need hospital treatment to avoid developing further problems. However, it is worth remembering that the virus is rare in healthy adults and, in reality, the risk of infection is low.
Prevention
Because the virus can be spread in the faeces, it is important to always wash your hands thoroughly after going to the toilet or handling nappies and make sure the toilet is clean. Make sure your children also wash their hands.
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