Hand, foot and mouth disease

Hand foot and mouth disease is usually seen in children undr 10 years of age ( more commonly seen in children under 5 years of age).It is usually caused by coxsackie virus. It is a highly contagious disease.

Symptoms:

-Fever

-Sore throat

-General feeling of being unwell(malaise)

-Rashes on hands, feet and sometimes buttocks

-Sore spots near the mouth and inside the throat or back of the tongue

-Loss of appetite

-Irritability in infants and toddlers

-Itchiness due to the rashes

-Difficulty in swallowing

Children with hand ,foot and mouth disease may have all of the above symptoms or just some of them.

Causes:

As mentioned above it is caused due to Coxsackie virus. It is highly contagious and can spread through handshake or hugs, kissing, sharing a drink from the same bottle or glass.

Prevention:

- By frequent washing of hands.

- Isolation of a child having hand, foot and mouth disease so that others are not affected by it.

Treatment:

It is a self treatable condition that usually resolves in 7-10 days. There is no specific treatment required as such. A few remedies to ease of the symptoms are:

- Pain killers can be given to a child if the rashes are too severe and causing discomfort or pain.

- Lactocalamine lotion can be applied to ease of itching due to rashes.

- Give plenty of water and fluids to prevent dehydration. The sore spots in the mouth may make swallowing difficult and painful, but it is important to keep the affected child hydrated.