Medical Questions » Viruses Questions » Question No. 1024
| Question: | Could you please explain the symptoms, causes and treatment of an illness described as ' hand, foot and mouth disease' ? |
| Answer: | Hand, foot and mouth disease has nothing to do with the foot and mouth disease that occurs in some animals. It is a viral infection, caused by the Coxsackie virus, that affects virtually every child before the age of five years, but in most children the disease is so mild that its symptoms are overlooked.
In severe cases the virus causes a moderate fever and a day or two of being unwell, followed by the appearance of red patches and ulcers in the mouth, and tiny blisters on the soles of the feet and palms of the hand.
All these problems settle within a week, and the only treatment necessary is paracetamol for the fever and some soothing gel for the mouth ulcers.
The infection often occurs in epidemics, spreading rapidly through a family or kindergarten. The incubation period (time from contacting a child with the disease until the disease becomes apparent in another child) is three to seven days.
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