Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD)
What Exactly Is Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease?
Infants and young children under the age of five are most commonly impacted by this widespread viral infection. However, adults, teenagers, and older kids can all get the disease that causes hand, foot, and mouth. The disease's name is explained by the painful sores that develop in the mouth, hands, and feet a few days after being exposed to the virus. Additionally, some people may get uncomfortable lesions on their legs, elbows, and buttocks.
An HFMD outbreak typically doesn't last very long. The symptoms usually disappear after a week or 10 days for those with a healthy immune system. It is unrelated to hoof and mouth disease, which affects livestock such as cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and deer, despite having a name that sounds similar. The two diseases are unrelated and are brought on by different viruses. Animals don't contract human diseases, and humans don't contract animal diseases.
Common Symptoms and Signs
People are frequently asymptomatic during the three to six days that make up the hand, foot, and mouth disease incubation phase. General malaise, decreased appetite, sore throat, and a mild fever are some of the initial symptoms that appear following virus contact. The painful sores begin to surface a few days later, frequently starting in the mouth.
Small red patches then start to emerge on the hands and feet’s soles, and this is where the rash may stop spreading. Or, the rash could expand to the genitalia, buttocks, elbows, and knees. The red areas will then start to turn into blisters, break open, and crust over. The virus is present in the fluid inside. Washing hands and any home items that may have come into touch with the fluid is therefore essential.
Risk Factors and the Causes
The solution to the frequently asked question of how to contract hand, foot, and mouth disease is bodily fluids. The most common way that this illness is spread is by nasal and throat secretions. But the virus can also be spread through feces and blister fluid. Since the virus is airborne, it can spread through close human contact. It can also survive for a long period on a range of items and surfaces. Additionally, swimming in non-chlorinated water carries the risk of contracting hand, foot, and mouth disease, however, this risk is regarded as low. The enterovirus family is made up of the viruses that cause HFMD. The Coxsackievirus A16 virus is the most frequent cause of outbreaks in the United States, however, Enterovirus 71 is also linked to outbreaks.
These are some of the disease's risk factors:
being a baby or small toddler who hasn't yet been exposed to the virus
environment: being near young children, such as in daycare facilities
Negligent hand washing habits, especially when around youngsters in a group
A special comment on HFMD prevention:
A study that appeared in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases suggests that nursing exclusively for the first six months of a baby's life may help shield them from some diseases. The study discovered that breastfeeding serves as a natural defense against several illnesses, including hand, foot, and mouth disease, and that the protection lasts for 28 months.
Precautions
While extremely unlikely, hand, foot, and mouth disease can have some serious side effects.
Dehydration. By giving out chilled liquids all day, you can prevent serious dehydration.
loss of toenails and fingernails. Children may lose their fingernails or toenails depending on the virus's stage; this is frequently transient, and the nails usually regrow over the course of the following month.
Meningitis virus. This uncommon but dangerous illness can happen. It affects the tissue that covers the brain and spinal cord and is the most prevalent type of meningitis. Encephalitis. It is fatal to have this highly rare condition. However, if any symptoms such as bulging in a baby's soft regions of the skull or signs of seizures, paralysis, loss of speech, bodily stiffness, or loss of consciousness appear, seek emergency medical assistance right away.
RESOURCES:
https://www.nature.com/nrneurol/
2022. NP. Malika Katrouche. All Rights Reserved.
