Recently I got a strong allergy that happen to my both hands from taking a medicine that supposed to treat my sore throat. It hurts me really bad with itchy and painful rash on my hands for few days but finally got healed. And because of this, I have done some research just to make sure if it will happen to get transmitted to my family especially to my 2-year-old son. Coincidentally I found a diseased that has similar symptoms to what I have that will mostly happened on the kids named hand-foot-and-mouth(HFMD) disease? It causes sores in or on the mouth and on the hands and feet and sometimes on the buttock and legs as well. Although the disease won’t cause complication and will go away without any treatment in about 7-10 days in most cases, it does cause itchy and painful feeling to the patient.
What causes hand-foot-and-mouth disease?
It causes by a virus called enterovirus. This disease spreads easily by coughing, sneezing or infected stool. It usually takes 2-7 days for a person to get symptoms after being exposed to the virus called incubation period. This disease mostly happened to children under the age of 5 but it sometimes find in adult as well.
What are the symptoms?
During the incubation period, they person will have a strong bodyache, a sore throat followed by a fever of around 101°(38°) – 103°(39°). After a day or two, rash or blisters may appear in or on the mouth, hands, feet and sometimes on the buttocks as well. The rash may cause itching and sometimes pain and but it usually go away in a week or so even without any treatment.
How is a hand-foot-and-mouth disease diagnosed?
A doctor can tell if a children has hand-foot-and-mouth disease by the symptoms you described and by looking at the rash or blisters. Test are usually not necessary.
How is it treated?
Usually this virus infection will go away in 7-10 days without any treatment. But you can also use some home care to relieve your child’s symptoms.
1. Drink plenty of liquid to make sure the child is hydrated and it also help with the sore throat.
2. Don’t give any juice, salty or spicy food to your child because this can make the mouth sore painful.
3. For pain and fever, give your child Tylenol or Ibuprofen. Never give your your child aspirin if they are under the age of 18.
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious disease and mostly spread during the first week of the illness. But the virus can stay in the stool for several months and may spread it to the others. To avoid spread the disease:
1. Do not bring your child to school or day care if they are infected.
2. Make sure to wash your hands frequently especially after changing the diaper for your little one.
3. Do not share the toys with other kids if your child already get infected.
– webmd.com
– Mayo Clinic
