As a parent, you may worry about various illnesses that could affect your kids; hand-foot-and-mouth disease might be one of them. This is a highly contagious viral disease most commonly found in children under the age of five. Anyone can catch it and it presents itself with sores in the mouth, on the hands and feet, and in the diaper area. Here’s what you need to know about hand-foot-and-mouth disease — the cause, the symptoms and the treatment.
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease symptoms
Cause of hand-foot-and-mouth disease
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is caused by a virus known as coxsacklevirus. The virus spreads easily through contact with unwashed hands, feces, saliva, mucus from the nose, and fluid from the blisters. The disease can quickly spread in a classroom or nursery environment where kids are sharing community toys and don’t have the hygiene habits that they should.
Those with the disease are generally most contagious during the first week of being sick. However, it is possible to spread the virus for days or weeks after the symptoms go away. It’s important that parents know if their child has been exposed to hand-foot-and-mouth disease so that they can be aware if their child exhibits any symptoms.
You can catch the virus by exposure to respiratory droplets that are spread when someone coughs or sneezes. Coming in contact with an infected person or something they have touched will also lead to potential infection. While this disease is most commonly diagnosed in the summer and fall, it can occur any time of the year.
*cause of hand-foot-and-mouth disease
