Hand-foot-mouth disease
Find out what hand-foot-and-mouth disease is and why it is so common in young children.
Hand-foot-mouth disease is a viral infection that is usually suffered by children between the ages of 1 and 5 . This disease usually occurs during the spring and summer months and is characterized by being contagious quite quickly and easily. If you want to know more about this disease, do not lose detail of this article as I explain what its symptoms are and the best way to treat it.
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WHAT IS HAND-FOOT-MOUTH DISEASE
Hand-foot-mouth disease is an infection caused by several types of viruses, so even if your child has had it a few years ago and his body has been immunized against it, he can contract it again due to another type of virus that belongs to the same family. In this type of infection, the child has an incubation period of about 5 to 7 days until he begins to show all the symptoms.
What is most striking about this disease is that the child will present a series of blisters all over the mouth area , on the palms of the hands, on the soles of the feet and in the diaper area. These blisters do not itch although they are usually quite annoying. Apart from the blisters, the little one usually presents other series of symptoms such as fever, malaise and sore throat. The aforementioned disease usually lasts about ten days until the blisters disappear completely.
HOW IS THIS DISEASE SPREAD?
As it is a viral disease, it is very easy to spread, especially among children. It is transmitted through sneezing or saliva, although it can also be spread through the fluid secreted by the blisters themselves. Mouth-hand-foot disease is usually spread very easily during the first days of infection, although contagion can also occur during the incubation period of the disease. That is why experts on the subject advise not to take the infected child to kindergarten or school since it is infected very quickly and many children would be infected by this disease.
HOW TO PREVENT HAND-FOOT-MOUTH DISEASE
As it is an easily contagious viral disease, preventing it is quite complicated. Despite this, a series of measures can be taken to help prevent such contagion as much as possible.
- Children’s hygiene is essential in preventing this disease. It is very important that the child wash their hands continuously and several times a day. In the case of changing the child’s diaper, parents should wash their hands quickly .
- At mealtime it is necessary to avoid that children can share glasses or plates.
- The toys that the child has been playing with must be disinfected in addition to disinfecting the place in which they have played.
Despite presenting quite spectacular and striking symptoms, hand-foot-mouth disease is benign and does not mean any harm to the little one. Apart from some discomfort when eating due to the blisters in the mouth and a moderate feverish state, it is a viral infection that does not negatively affect the health of the child.
Its rapid contagion makes it advisable that the minor who is infected by these viruses , remain at rest at home and do not go to school or daycare. In most cases the infection is due to the ineffectiveness of some parents as they take their infected children to school, unfortunately causing the virus to spread.
Dr. Tabriella Perivolaris, Sara's mother and fan of fashion, beauty, motherhood, among others, about the female universe. Since 2018 she has been working as a copywriter, always bringing to her articles a little of her experience and experience as a mother and woman.