Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease

It’s summertime and your young child complains of an awful sore throat and her head feels warm. You hold her clammy hand and notice small red spots or bumps. She refuses to drink her milk or juice and when she cries you see sores in her mouth- in the back of her throat and on her tongue. You go to the pediatrician’s office where she is quickly diagnosed with hand-foot-mouth disease. The pediatrician checks her mouth and sees many sores and then quickly notes the red spots on your child’s hands. The doctor asks to see your child’s feet and sure enough, there are also a few red bumps there. You are asked if you child is urinating normally and when you answer yes, the doctor recommends children’s ibuprofen or acetaminophen and home remedies for sore throats and sends you home.

The name of this disease is scary and so are the oral sores and rash that come with it. This virus is extremely common in the summer and very contagious, especially to younger people. The virus is usually coxsackie virus, which is part of the enterovirus family. You may be exposed a few days before having symptoms so tracking the source can be difficult. The symptoms can last 1-2 weeks. The fever will usually go away in the first few days, but the sores in the mouth may last a week. The rash on the palms and soles generally doesn’t hurt or itch too much but can last the longest. Since this is caused by a virus, antibiotics do not help. It is important that the pain is treated in children who are refusing to drink or eat because they can easily become dehydrated. If your child is producing normal urine and tears, they are likely not dehydrated but your doctor will be able to tell when you go to the office. Other family members may get all or only some of the symptoms and generally adults will have symptoms for the shortest time period. Your child may have gotten this last year too and not being immune after one infection is common. There is no vaccine for this disease but the infection rarely causes any long-term problems.