7 Hand Foot And Mouth Disease Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis & Treatment

Hand Foot And Mouth Disease – There is a long list of diseases that can affect kids under the age of 18. Most of these diseases are not serious. The diseases are serious, The health experts around the world try to find a vaccine or specific treatment for the disease.

Similar things happened with polio and other serious diseases, which usually caught a person during childhood. All you have is a serious condition, and it can stay lifelong. The virus can cripple a kid for life, and that is why health experts around the world work together to find the vaccine.

Hand foot and mouth are another popular disease in kids, especially below the age of five. It is a contagious disease, and children can spread it to each other without even knowing it. 

The cases of Hand foot and mouth disease are once again rising in most parts of the United States, and that is why today we are here to discuss it. We will take a look at everything, starting from basics to all the way treatment options.

What are hand foot and mouth disease?

Hand foot and mouth is a very common Contagious viral infections that can affect young children. It is more common in kids under the age of 5, but anyone can get infected with the virus. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States will leave the United States to record more than 200,000 cases of Hand foot and mouth disease each year.

Apart from that, the CDC has also mentioned that there is no specific treatment available for Hand foot, and mouth. Frequent hand washing and avoiding any type of close contact with others can help get better in a short time, apart from that. It can also contain the spread of the disease as much as possible.

Symptoms of Hand foot and mouth

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe that a child who has been affected with hand foot and mouth disease is going to feel better within 7 to 10 days.

At any time of the infection, you are advised to consult with your health care providers. Some of the symptoms might get worse and require additional medical assistance.

• Fever
• Sore throat
• Painful blisters
• Rashes
• Fuzziness in infants and toddlers
• Loss of appetite
• Sore throat

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the American Academy of dermatology association, have also released its timeline of all the symptoms related to Hand foot, and mouth.

During the first two days, your child might develop symptoms like mild fever, sore throat, stomach pain, and loss of appetite. Apart from that, his general feeling of being unwell is going to be there.

After day three, your child will develop symptoms like mouth source, rashes, and swollen lymph nodes in the neck. The mouth sores developed during this time are going to build a little bit painful, and they usually develop around the tongue.

When should you see a health care provider for Hand foot and mouth?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States have specific guidelines related to a similar topic. The CDC believes you should be consulting the disease with your health care provider if you or your kid is experiencing any of the below-given conditions.

• Your child is not able to drink normally, and there is a probability of dehydration.
• The fever of your child lasts longer than three days
• Your child is not alert and responsive to anything.
• The symptoms of the disease are not improving within 10 days
• Your child has a weak immune system or struggling with chronic disease
• Symptoms are getting severe each day
• Your child is younger than six months

Even if your kid does not fall into any of the above-given conditions, you can consult with your health care provider anytime you want. 

The Centers for Disease Control and prevention of the United States do not bar anyone from consulting with their health care provider. Another thing you should keep in mind is not to send your kid to daycare or school if your kid is affected by the disease.

At the same time, you can also tell every parent in your neighborhood and school/daycare that your kid has been diagnosed with Hand foot, and mouth. It is a contagious disease, and other kids might get affected the same.

Causes of Hand foot and mouth

Before we move to diagnosis and the treatment process of the condition, let’s take a quick look at all the causes of hand foot, and mouth disease. The Centers for Disease Control and prevention will leave the most common cause of the disease as coxsackievirus.

The virus belongs to a group of viruses called a non-polio enterovirus. This virus usually affects children below the age of five, but anyone can get infected despite their age. Apart from that hand, foot, and mouth disease is more common in Asian countries, especially China, where they recover more than two million cases of the disease each year.

Even though the outbreaks of the disease are rare in the United States, you should learn about all the causes. The CDC believes most people who get infected with the disease get it through the mouth. Which might also include

• Throat discharge
• Saliva
• Nose secretions
• Fluids from blisters
• Stool
• Respiratory droplets
• Sneeze

Diagnosis of Hand foot and mouth

The process of health foot and mouth disease is very easy as your healthcare provider will easily be able to diagnose it by taking a look at the symptoms.

Apart from that, the disease mostly affects kids below the age of five, and Age along with the unique symptoms are the perfect way to diagnose it. 

Your child’s health care provider might suggest you go for a throat swab or stool specimen to determine which virus is causing the illness. 

Treatment of Hand foot and mouth

As we have already talked about, Hand foot and mouth diseases do not have any specific treatment. Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have mentioned on its official website that there is no specific treatment available for the disease.

Still, your healthcare provider is going to focus on decreasing the intensity of symptoms. Even if you don’t visit any doctor for the disease, the symptoms of the disease are going to clear up in 7 to 10 days.

Your health care provider might use some portal anesthetics to relieve the pain of mouth sores. Apart from that, over-the-counter pain medications may also help you relieve general discomfort.

Kindly do not take any aspirin unless you have consulted with your healthcare provider. Aspirin is known to increase the intensity of these symptoms.

Prevention of Hand foot and mouth

Just like any other disease in the world, hand foot, and mouth disease is also easier to prevent than the treatment. As per the guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention of the United States, you should follow the below-given guidelines to prevent hand, foot, and mouth disease.

• Kindly wash your hands for at least 20 minutes after using the toilet or changing the diaper.
• Apart from that, you should also keep washing your hands before preparing food and eating it.
• Teach your kids how to perform hand wash and stay sanitized.
• As the disease is highly contagious, you should maintain a social distance as close contact with the infected person can also affect you.

Lifestyle and home remedies

Along with medical treatment, your doctor might also suggest you go for some lifestyle and home remedies.

Some certain foods and beverages may irritate your blisters and make the symptoms worse. Your healthcare provider might suggest you completely stop consuming given food items, or you can also limit them.

• Avoid any acidic foods and drinks, including citrus fruits, fruit drinks, and carbonated sodas.
• Eat soft foods that don’t need much chewing
• Eat ice cream or sherbert
• Sip cold drinks 
• Suck on ice pops