Summer illnesses: Hand, foot, and mouth disease

Another rash that tends to be more common in the summer months is hand, foot, and mouth disease. This is a common rash that is caused by a virus, usually an enterovirus such as a coxsackie virus. Since different viruses can cause this rash, a child can get it more than once. It is not the same as foot and mouth or hoof and mouth disease in animals.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease usually starts with fever, sore throat, lack of appetite, and generally not feeling well. One or two days later, blisters begin to appear in the mouth. These are often painful. After that, a rash with raised or flat red spots appears on the hands, feet, and sometimes in the diaper area.

Hand, foot, and mouth is spread through contact with secretions (saliva, mucous, stool, and fluid from blisters) of an infected person. People are most infectious during the first week of infection, but can continue to spread the virus for several weeks after symptoms fade. Steps such as hand washing, good hygiene practices, and avoiding close contact (kissing, hugging, etc) with an infected person can help prevent the spread of hand, foot, and mouth disease.

There is no specific treatment for hand, foot, and mouth disease. Since it is caused by a virus, antibiotics will not help. Your child’s health care provider may recommend a pain reliever and fever reducer such as Tylenol or Motrin to help your child feel more comfortable.

Because of the fever and lack of appetite, as well as the sores in the mouth, children with hand, foot, and mouth are at risk of becoming dehydrated. Symptoms of dehydration include dry mouth and skin, no tears with crying, no or few wet diapers, dark urine, lethargy, irritability, dizziness, and fatigue. To prevent this, encourage your child to drink plenty of fluids such as water or a rehydration solution like Pedialyte. If your child has symptoms of dehydration, contact his or her health care provider. The health care provider may want to give your child fluids through an IV if your child is moderately or severely dehydrated. Fortunately, this is not usually necessary.

Although it can be painful and uncomfortable, hand, foot, and mouth is not usually a serious illness and children usually recover on their own.

Children with hand, foot, and mouth disease may attend school as long as they are feeling well enough to participate. As a reminder, our policy is that children with a fever over 101 F and additional symptoms of illness, such as not participating or rash, will be excluded until they have been fever free for 24 hours. Additionally, children with mouth sores and drooling will be excluded. If a child is diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth disease we will post an exposure notice for that area of the school so that other families know to watch for the symptoms of hand, foot, and mouth disease.