Is hand, foot and mouth disease contagious in children?

Usually, most cases are in the warmer spring and summer months, but because it’s a contagious infection, it can happen at any time of year.

Is hand, foot and mouth disease contagious in children? (Illustration)

Is hand, foot and mouth disease contagious in children?

Hand, foot and mouth disease is spread by direct contact with these blisters, as well as by droplets released when a baby sneezes or coughs. The virus can also be transmitted through feces, so be sure to wash your hands immediately if you’re changing diapers, wearing pants, or having contact at home or working at daycare.

But it’s important to note that the disease can also be transmitted through shared utensils, towels and clothing, as well as by physical contact and by touching contaminated surfaces and toys.

Babies are most contagious during the first days of illness, often before the blisters appear. As these blisters dry, the child is less likely to transmit the virus.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a highly contagious disease. (Illustration)

Is hand, foot and mouth disease in children contagious to adults?

Hand, foot and mouth disease is very common and usually affects infants and children under 5 years of age. But because the disease is so contagious, it can spread between family members and also make older children, teenagers, and adults sick. Because you can be infected with many types of viruses that cause hand, foot and mouth disease, it is possible to get the virus again and again.

What are the symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease in children?

The first symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease include fever, loss of appetite, sore throat, and runny nose. A day or two later, a blistering rash appears on the hands, feet, or mouth.

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease begins with blisters that start out as small red dots, which then turn into sores. Blisters appear on the inside of the cheeks, gums, and sides of the tongue, as well as on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. In infants, blisters can sometimes be seen in the diaper area. These blisters usually last 7 to 10 days.

Occasionally, children may have a low-grade fever, sore throat, fatigue, bloody stools, and may not eat for a day or two.

Very rarely, enteroviruses can cause other diseases that affect the heart, brain, meninges and spinal cord (meningitis), lungs, or eyes.

The most obvious manifestation of hand-foot-and-mouth disease is a rash. (Illustration)

How to control the spread of hand, foot and mouth disease in children?

Teach your child to cover his or her mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing with a disposable tissue, if possible, or with a sleeve if a tissue is not available. Instruct your child to wash their hands immediately after using a tissue or coming into contact with slime. Change or cover contaminated clothing.

– Wash your hands after changing diapers. Parents can spread the virus to other surfaces through contact with feces, blister fluid, or saliva.

– Clean, rinse, and disinfect toys that may have come in contact with your baby’s saliva.

Prevent sharing of food, drinks, and personal items that may touch your baby’s mouth, such as eating utensils, toothbrushes, and towels.

– Protect other children in the house. Parents need to ensure that their children do not come into close contact with an infected child. Kissing, hugging, and sharing cups and utensils can spread disease quickly. If the children are in the same room, keep them separate while the sick child is contagious.

Regularly monitor children to detect hand, foot and mouth disease early. (Illustration)

Disinfect any surfaces your baby comes into contact with frequently, which can be helpful to prevent your siblings from contracting hand, foot, and mouth disease (and can be done if parents are careful about cleaning surfaces). contact).

– Collecting and treating children’s waste, using hygienic latrines, children’s feces and waste must be collected, treated and dumped into hygienic latrines.

Children must be regularly monitored for their health to promptly detect, isolate and treat infected cases, and avoid spreading the disease to other children.