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Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a viral infection that causes ulcers to develop in young children on the mucous membranes of the mouth and around the lips and a blister-like rash on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. Symptoms often resolve without treatment, but there is a risk of complications. The most common causes of hand, foot, and mouth disease are coxsackievirus and enterovirus.
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The most important risk factor is age. The disease can develop at any age, but it is most common in children under 5 years of age. Due to the viral nature of hand, foot, and mouth disease, it spreads easily among children in schools and daycare centers. The incidence of hand, foot, and mouth disease peaks in the summer and fall.
The disease can be transmitted to adults and older children. Strong immunity is not formed, so the disease can develop several times. A weakened immune system is an important risk factor.
Unlike children, hand, foot, and mouth disease in adults is sometimes completely asymptomatic, or sometimes leads to misdiagnostics. The disease is contagious in all age groups, so without proper hygiene, it is impossible to prevent its spread.
Symptoms of the disease appear in two stages. At first, the child experiences flu/cold-like symptoms: mild fever, sore throat, runny nose, abdominal pain, fatigue, and more.
Within a few days, in the second stage of the disease, these symptoms are replaced by a scaly rash on the palms and soles, on the elbows, knees, and sometimes even on the genitals. Painful ulcers also develop on the oral mucosa, tongue, and around the mouth, accompanied by enlarged lymph nodes in the neck. The rash begins as pink spots or nodules and then turns into blisters.
The duration of symptoms is 7-10 days. In children under 2 years of age, it may be longer.
Mouth ulcers are so painful that the child has difficulty swallowing. Restriction of food and water intake is often the only symptom that indicates hand, foot, and mouth disease.
Coxsackie viruses and enteroviruses are present in the secretions (excretory fluids) of the mucous membranes of infected people:
The pathogen is transmitted through fecal-oral, oral-oral, and airborne droplets – through coughing, sneezing, and contact with contaminated surfaces.
Diagnosis of the disease is based on anamnestic data and objective examination - detection of skin lesions. However, sometimes it is necessary to study mucous membrane smears, urine or feces - to clarify the causative agent. A complete blood count is also important to assess the general condition.
Since the disease is viral in nature, there is no specific treatment. Treatment is only symptomatic:
Complications of hand, foot, and mouth disease are quite rare, are more often associated with enterovirus infection (rather than Coxsackievirus), and are characterized by the following manifestations:
An infected person is contagious for the first 7 days after infection, but the virus remains in the body for longer.
The most effective way to prevent the disease is to follow hygiene standards: frequent hand washing, covering your mouth/nose with a tissue when coughing/sneezing, keeping surfaces clean, avoiding close contact with people with symptoms of the disease, frequently airing rooms, and isolating a child as soon as symptoms of the disease appear.
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Resources
https://www.webmd.com/children/hand-foot-mouth-disease
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