Hand Foot Mouth Symptoms And How To Prevent It From Spreading

Health & Medical Blog

Hand foot mouth disease is a disease that typically affects young children, but if your child gets it, you can also get it. Hand foot mouth can be seen on the hands, feet, and mouth as sores or as a rash, and can also appear in the throat, and in more severe cases it can appear all over the body. If your child has hand foot mouth, it can easily spread on the body if not treated and can also spread to others in the family. Read on for symptoms of hand foot mouth, and how you can prevent it from spreading throughout your household.

Hand Foot Mouth Symptoms

Some of the symptoms of hand foot mouth include:

• Rash-like sores on the hands and feet. These may feel painful and appear to be blister-like. They may also appear around the mouth as well.
• Blisters inside the mouth in the cheeks, on the tongue, or on the gums. These blisters may also appear in the throat as well, which can make swallowing very difficult and painful.
• A fever may be present with hand foot mouth.
• Tiredness or irritability may also be present with this disease.
• Loss of appetite, especially if the sores are in the mouth or in the throat.

Hand foot mouth can appear differently in children and in adults if you notice any of the symptoms, especially the rash on the hands or feet or sores in the mouth, it's important to get to a physician right away for treatment.

Preventing Hand Foot Mouth From Spreading

If you or your child has hand foot mouth, it's important to prevent it from spreading to the rest of the family or to others. Hand foot mouth is a viral infection, so it can easily be passed to others. If your child has hand foot mouth, keep your child home from school or daycare until cleared by a physician. Other ways to prevent the spread include:

• Washing hands often throughout the day can help prevent the spread of this disease. Use soap and warm water and be sure to wash the backs of the hands and the fingertips thoroughly. Be sure everyone in the home washes their hands after using the bathroom and after using tissues.
• Wash had surfaces throughout your home with bleach or another type of sanitizer/cleaner, especially door handles, light switches, faucet handles, and toilet handles.
• Wash your child's toys in a bleach/water solution thoroughly. Also, clean your child's bedding and change your child's toothbrush.

Hand foot mouth can affect children and adults as well. If this disease affects anyone in your household, be sure to prevent the spread of the disease to others by using the prevention tips above. Get to a walk-in clinic if your child (or anyone in your home) is showing signs of this disease.

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30 April 2018