Signs of hand, foot and mouth disease: How to treat and prevent it

Hand, foot and mouth disease is considered a common disease in children, and you will occasionally hear outbreaks in some localities in the media. So do you understand correctly about this disease as well as the signs to recognize in babies?

Learn about hand, foot and mouth disease

Hand, foot and mouth disease is common in children

HFMD is what?

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is common in young children and signs in infants have some characteristic manifestations such as fever and blisters mainly on the palms, feet and inside the mouth . It is a disease caused by viruses of the enterovirus family , and most commonly Coxsackie virus A-16. In some cases, patients were again infected with enterovirus 71 and it caused more complications for patients such as myocardial damage or meningitis .

Usually, children with HFMD are under 5 years of age , and kindergartens or daycare facilities are often suitable environments for the spread of this disease. However, for adults who do not yet have antibodies to the virus, it is also possible to contract the disease.

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease usually doesn’t require specific treatment and can clear up on its own within 2 weeks because it’s not too serious. However, there are still cases of dangerous complications such as paralysis, meningitis or more seriously, death.

This is a very common disease in children

Causes of hand foot and mouth disease in children

Hand, foot and mouth disease caused by Coxskie virus is a fairly common disease in children under 3 years old, caused by an intestinal virus. Hand, foot and mouth disease is transmitted mainly through contact , oral, saliva, nasal discharge, feces, healthy children can be infected directly through touching, holding hands, feet or even indirectly through handling Holding sick children’s toys…

Details: Causes of hand, foot and mouth disease in children

Signs of hand, foot and mouth disease

According to Dr. Tran Thi Linh Chi of the Department of Pediatrics – Neonatology – Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital, usually in the first stage, the patient will have no symptoms at all , and it takes place from 3-7 days. .

To the next stage is the onset, the child will have symptoms such as loss of appetite, sore throat, low-grade fever, diarrhea several times a day, and it will take place from 1-2 days . Of all the symptoms, the two most common symptoms are sore throat and fever.

Your baby may have a slight fever during this period

In the ongoing stage, which is full-blown, the patient’s body will show typical symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease and recognizable signs in newborns in 3 – 10 days such as:

• The baby’s body has a rash in the form of scalds for a short time in some places such as palms, legs, buttocks, knees , … and when it stops, it will create bruises on the skin. In some cases, instead of vesicles, papules appear with sizes ranging from 2 to 10mm . They are usually pink, hidden or raised above the skin and are oval or round in shape.
• The inside of the baby’s mouth will appear pink rashes and develop into blisters after about 24 hours , causing the baby to feel pain, leading to poor appetite, salivation. Then, on the posterior mucosa of the oral cavity, uvula, anterior tonsils or posterior pharyngeal folds, blisters or red sores appear and sometimes take several weeks for the wound to heal.
• Low-grade fever is another common presentation, and may be accompanied by symptoms such as cough, vomiting or diarrhea . Babies can experience some dangerous complications to nerves, respiratory, cardiovascular in case of vomiting and high fever.

Finally, in the case that the baby does not experience any complications, it usually only takes 3-5 days for the baby to fully recover from the disease .

3 signs of worsening hand, foot and mouth disease requiring immediate hospitalization

Hand, foot and mouth, if not treated in time, will leave a multitude of dangerous complications such as: viral meningitis accompanied by some symptoms of headache, fever, stiff neck, back pain…

3 signs of worsening hand, foot and mouth disease requiring immediate hospitalization

Some more serious complications such as: paralysis, paralysis or encephalitis, at this time the child often has trouble sleeping, crying, easily startled when awake or at the beginning of sleep. convulsion…

These complications, if not treated promptly, can lead to death within hours.

In addition, it is necessary to clean the skin of the child so that the child does not get superinfected at the location of the blister on the skin. Here are 3 signs of worsening hand, foot and mouth disease requiring immediate hospitalization:

Baby crying constantly

Baby crying constantly

At night, children often cry or can sleep for 15-20 minutes while having hand, foot and mouth disease, parents should take the child to the hospital urgently, because in this case, the child does not cry because of pain or discomfort, this can be a sign of pain or discomfort. may be a sign that the child is at high risk for early neurotoxicity.

Children are often startled

Children are often startled

In addition, children often startle is also a sign of neurotoxicity , so parents need to observe the child, count the number of times the baby is startled, how often or not, if startled continuously even while playing. If you’re joking, take your baby to the doctor right away.

The child has a high fever that does not go down continuously

The child has a high fever that does not go down continuously

Due to the child’s temperature, if the child’s fever is above 38.5 degrees continuously within 48 hours , even though taking antipyretic drugs still does not reduce, the child should be hospitalized urgently, because persistent high fever is a warning sign of serious inflammation. may cause neurotoxicity.

Complications of hand, foot and mouth disease

The most obvious complication of hand, foot and mouth disease is dehydration, which causes mouth ulcers in children, sore throats, sore throats and difficulty swallowing.

However, when the disease is severe, the following serious complications can occur :

• Viral meningitis: This is a fairly rare infection caused by inflammation of the meninges and cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
• Encephalitis: Encephalitis is very rare but can be dangerous if a child gets it.
• Myocarditis: Rarely occurs but will greatly affect the child.

Hand, foot and mouth disease can cause many complications

How to treat and care for children with hand, foot and mouth disease

What to do when detecting a child with hand, foot and mouth disease?

This disease is caused by many viruses and currently there is no specific treatment.

Depending on the level of the disease, there will be reasonable ways to care for the child and avoid the spread . If the child is suffering from a level 1 illness, the mother can take care of and monitor the child at home.

When you see signs that your child has hand, foot and mouth disease , you should take your child to the doctor .

• Use painkillers, antiseptic mouth mucosa such as 0.9% saline, Kamistad… to avoid infection for the baby
• Attention to nutrition : Prioritize giving your baby easy-to-digest liquid foods such as diluted porridge, milk…
• Regularly clean to avoid infection : You can bathe your baby with folk water such as tea leaf juice, … then use Betadin solution to apply to the baby’s skin after bathing.

How to prevent hand foot and mouth disease for children

Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease, so parents need to wash their hands and feet and bathe their children with soap to remove all bacteria to prevent the disease from spreading.

Clean and disinfect children’s daily items such as diapers, toys, bottles… through boiling water and drying in the sun to kill bacteria.

Wash your baby’s and family’s hands often with soap , especially when cooking, when feeding, when holding the baby, after going to the toilet or after changing diapers, cleaning the baby.

Feed your baby cooked food, drink cooked food, don’t give your baby food, don’t let your baby touch when eating and don’t let your baby suck on toys , …

Clean and disinfect baby’s toys and everyday items

Detailed reference: How to handle when detecting children with hand, foot and mouth disease

Although hand, foot and mouth disease is not usually a serious disease, in rare cases it can cause unwanted complications. In case the baby shows severe symptoms, you should immediately contact the nearest medical facility for support.

Hopefully with the above information, you can help you detect the disease early on your baby as well as have a suitable solution.

Source: Vinmec

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