Hand, foot and mouth disease (sometimes mistakenly known as Hoof and Mouth Disease, a disease of certain farm animals and not contagious to humans) is a common fever and blister-causing disease found mostly in infants and children. However, adults can also contract the virus even though diagnosed cases are rare. Adults often have no symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease.
Symptoms
Hand, foot and mouth disease is caused and transmitted by a virus. Symptoms usually appear three to six days after exposure and include mild fever, sore throat, loss of appetite and general malaise. Small blisters will develop within a few days of the initial symptoms. Blisters ranging from just a few to a few hundred appear in the mouth, the hands, upper arms, feet, upper legs and buttocks. They can be very small or as large as a pea.
Contracting the Virus
As with all viruses hand, foot and mouth disease is contracted by contact with the infectious virus. The saliva, blister fluid, stool and nose secretions of infected persons carry the virus. Most often, the infectious virus is spread by infected people with unwashed hands who come into contact with items or surfaces contaminating them. Infected people are most contagious the first week they are ill.
Complications
Complications from hand, foot and mouth disease are rare, but medical attention is necessary if you experience the following: headache, stiff neck or back pain. These can be a sign of viral meningitis. Also rare, encephalitis, or swelling of the brain, can be fatal if not treated.
Treatments
Normally hand, foot and mouth disease is mild enough, and often enough confused with chickenpox, that patients don't need to seek medical attention. Health care providers don't have a given treatment for hand, foot and mouth disease other than recommending over the counter pain reducers. Aspirin is fine for adults, but taking it increases the risk of bleeding, especially if you are taking prescription blood thinners. Acetaminophen should be avoided by those with liver or kidney disease.
Prevention
Adults are at low risk of contracting hand, foot and mouth disease and most are thought to have built an immunity to the disease in early childhood. However, frequent handwashing, avoiding exposure to infected persons and not sharing items is the best way to avoid contracting hand, foot and mouth disease and any viral infection. Pregnant women should consult their physician if there has been a possibility of exposure to to hand, foot and mouth disease or any other viral infection.
