Hand - Foot - and - Mouth Disease

Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention

Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease is a mild, contagious viral infection common in young children. It may causes a blister-like rash on your child's hands and feet and painful ogres in their mouth.The disease most often affects babies and children younger than 5 years old. HFMD is typically mild and usually clears up on it's own within 7-10 days.

Symptoms:

Hand, foot and mouth disease symptoms typically appear in two stages. When the illness first starts, your child may have flu-like symptoms, such as

• Mild fever
• Sore throat
• Runny Nose
• Stomach Ache
• Loss of appetite

After a couple of days, these symptoms will go away and new symptoms will develop:

• An itchy rash on the palms of hands, soles of feet, elbows, knees, genitals or buttocks
• Painful mouth sores
• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck

Causes:

Viruses belonging to the coxsackievirus and enterovirus families. These viruses can be found in your child's digestive tract, including:

• Mouth
• Stomach
• Esophagus
• Small intestine
• Large instestine
• Rectum
• Anus

Is hand, foot and mouth disease contagious?

Yes, HFMD is contagious. Your child is most contagious during the first few days of the illness, often before the rash appears. Your child is less likely to spread it to others once the rash/blisters dry up. However, the virus can live in their stool (poop) for weeks after the rash goes away.

How is hand, foot, mouth disease spread?

• Airborne droplets when a person who is infected sneezes or coughs
• Contact with an infected person's saliva or stool and when touching your mouth, eyes or nose
• Direct contact with an infected person's blisters
• Kissing or hugging someone who has the virus
• Sharing eating utensils, cups, towels, or clothing
• Touching contaminated toys, surfaces, doorknobs or other item and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth

Complications:

• Dehydration
• Nail loss
• Viral meningitis and encephalitis: A very small number of people with HFMD develop meningitis and encephalitis. These are rare & dangerous conditions that cause swelling of the brain (encephalitis) and swelling of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis)

Diagnosis:

Your dermatologist or healthcare provider can diagnose HFMD by looking at your child's blisters. Occasionally, the will test for the virus by sending throat swab samples, or samples taken from blisters or stool (poop) to a lab

If you know your child has been exposed to the virus, alert their provider before scheduling an appointment to protect the health of others. You provider may suggest a virtual visit and make treatment suggestion over the phone.

Treatment:

There is no medication for HFMD. Antibiotics won't work because they don't treat viruses. Fortunately, symptoms are usually mild. Over the counter (OTC) pain relievers such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) for fever and pain. Do not give your child aspirin, w which may cause Reye's syndrome.

• Children who are old enough can try gargling with saltwater to reduce sore throat pain

• Adults can use a numbing spray or mouthwash to relieve pain

• Avoid eating spicy or acidic foods that can make your mouth sores more painful

• Drink cold liquids. Warm and hot bergs may make your mouth sores painful.

• Keep your child hydrated with cold liquids and or ice pops.

Prevention:

The viruses that cause Hand, foot and mouth disease are highly contagious. The infection often spreads before a person realizes they're sick. You can slow or stop the spread of the illness through these good hygiene habits.

• Cough and/or sneeze into your elbow
• Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth
• Disinfect high touch item, such as toys, countertops and doorknobs
• Don't share utensils, cups, towels, blankets or clothing
• Keep infected children away from healthy children
• Return to school/work when feeling better, no more fever & blisters have dried up
• Wash your child's clothing, bedding, and any other soiled items
• Wash your hands, often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, the (CDC) calls hand-washing a "do-it-yourself vaccine". After using the toilet, after changing diapers, before eating and before preparing food.

Shingles

SIGNS, SYMPTOMS DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT

Shingles causes a painful, blistering rash on your skin. If you get shingles, you may notice the following three stages:

Before the rash appears: For 1 to 2 days before the rash appears, you may have pain, burning, or tingling on an area of skin where the rash will develop. Some people have described an “electrical sensation” on their skin before getting the rash.

Rash appears: A painful, blistering rash appears. It usually appears on one side of your body, often on the torso; however, it can appear anywhere on your skin. Some people get more blisters after the rash appears, so it can seem that the rash is spreading.

Rash starts to clear: As the rash clears, the blisters may crack open, bleed, and scab over. For most people, the rash will clear within 2 to 4 weeks.

If you have a rash of blisters on your skin or a rash that looks like those shown below, schedule an appointment immediately for a diagnosis. If you have shingles, it’s important to get treatment, preferably within 1 to 3 days.

If you’ve had the rash for longer than 2 to 3 days, it’s still important to schedule an appointment!

Other signs and symptoms of shingles:

Along with a painful, blistering rash, some people can also have one or more of the following:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Stomach pain
• Vomiting

How do dermatologists treat shingles?

Rash: PLEASE call our office to schedule an appointment immediately or other health-care provider within 3 days of getting the rash. When treatment is started within 3 days, treatment can prevent possible complications, such as long-lasting nerve pain.

Receiving treatment after 3 days still has benefits, so you should still schedule an appoointment to see your doctor if you’ve had the rash for longer than 3 days.

Before taking any medication, it’s important to make sure that you have shingles.We will prescribe an antiviral medication. One of three antiviral medications is usually prescribed—acyclovir, famciclovir, or valacyclovi to:

• Reduce the amount of time that you have a shingles rash
• Decrease how severe the rash becomes
• Lower your risk of developing long-lasting nerve pain and other health problems

Pain: Over-the-counter medication(s) can help, such as:

• Acetaminophen
• Ibuprofen

If you have severe pain, we may prescribe a medication that reduces inflammation, such as a corticosteroid.

Prevention:

Talk with your doctor about getting the shingles vaccine, Shingrix. You can get shingles again. A shingles vaccine that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved in 2017 can greatly reduce your risk of developing shingles again. You can learn more about this vaccine at, Shingles Vaccine, CDC.

The CDC recommends that adults 50 years and older get two doses of the shingles vaccine called Shingrix (recombinant zoster vaccine) to prevent shingles and the complications from the disease. Adults 19 years and older who have weakened immune systems because of disease or therapy should also get two doses of Shingrix, as they have a higher risk of getting shingles and related complications.

Prevent others from getting sick:

Until the shingles rash clears, you are contagious.

Anyone who has not had chickenpox (or the vaccine for chickenpox) can catch the virus. This could cause chickenpox. To avoid infecting others, who could get chickenpox and later shingles, dermatologists recommend that you do the following until the rash clears:

• Cover the rash
• Avoid touching and scratching your rash
• Stay away from pregnant women, babies 12 months old or younger, anyone who is sick, and everyone who has not had chickenpox

Pictures of a shingles rash

Having a shingles rash on your face is a medical emergency.
Even if the rash isn’t on your eye, it could still affect your eyesight. Immediately seeing a doctor for treatment could save your eyesight.