HAND-FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE
What is it?
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is a mild, enteroviral disease characterized by a fever and vesicular eruption in the mouth and over the hands and feet. It occurs most frequently in children younger than age 5.
How do you get it?
An uninfected child gets the illness when respiratory droplets from an infected child are inhaled. Respiratory droplets are formed during coughing, sneezing and during speech. The virus also gets transmitted when spit or sputum contaminated objects (Eg: Toys) are handled by an uninfected child. Stool contamination (feco-oral) of food and drinking water has also been documented as a transmission route.
What are it’s signs and symptoms?
After an incubation period of 3 to 6 days druing which the newly infected child remains well, the illness begins with mild fever ranging from 38° to 39° C, decreased appetite, malaise, and, often, a sore mouth. Within 1 or 2 days vesicular lesions appear in the oral cavity, most frequently on the inside of the cheeks and the tongue, but also on the inside of the lips, gums, and hard palate. In the majority of preschool children, but in only some of the infected adults, the oral lesions are accompanied by vesicular skin lesions, most often on the hands and feet and on the fingers and toes, but not infrequently on the palms and soles. Less often, lesions occur on the buttocks or more proximally on the extremities, and rarely on the genitalia. They are generally 3 to 7 mm in diameter and surrounded by a narrow zone of redness. They range from 2 or 3 to 30 or more.
How do you diagnose it?
Diagnosis is clinical, from the symptoms and signs.Blood tests are not required.
Home care:
Patient should be given bed-rest, plenty of oral fluids (not just plain water) and Paracetamol for the fever. In addition, patient’s with this disease should be kept separate from individuals without the disease.
How do you treat it?
Treatment is supportive. The lesions usually resolve in 1 week even without any treatment. Treatment mostly targets reducing discomfort while the body clears the infection by itself.
