HFMD is an infectious disease caused by enterovirus. There are more than 20 types of enterovirus that cause HFMD, among which Coxsackievirus A16 (Cox A16) and enterovirus 71 (EV 71) are the most common. Most children under the age of 5 years old present with mouth pain, anorexia, low fever, small herpes or ulcers on the hands, feet and mouth. Individual children with severe disease develop rapidly, leading to death. There is a lack of effective treatment drugs and the main symptomatic treatment.
Hand, foot and mouth disease symptoms
Hand, foot and mouth disease mainly occurs in children under 5 years old, incubation period: mostly 2 to 10 days, an average of 3 to 5 days
1.Common case performance
Acute onset, fever, mouth pain, anorexia, scattered herpes or ulcers in the oral mucosa, located in the tongue, cheek mucosa and hard forehead, etc., can also spread to the soft palate, gums, tonsils and pharynx. The hands, feet, buttocks, arms, and legs appear as macules, which later turn into herpes, which may be surrounded by an inflammatory redness and less fluid in the blisters. The hands and feet are more frequent, and the back of the palms are present. The number of rashes can be as few as a few or as many as a few dozen. The rash does not leave traces after fading, and there is no hyperpigmentation. In some cases, the rash is only a rash or herpetic pharyngitis. Most cases heal within a week and have a good prognosis. In some cases, the rash is atypical, such as a single site or only a maculopapular rash.
2.Severe cases
In a few cases (especially those younger than 3 years old), the disease progresses rapidly, with meningitis, encephalitis (brainstem encephalitis is the most dangerous), encephalomyelitis, pulmonary edema and circulatory disorders appearing in about 1 to 5 days after the onset of the disease, and in very few cases, the disease is critical and can lead to death.
(1) neurological manifestations of concurrent central nervous system diseases: poor mental health, drowsiness, easily startled, headache, vomiting, delirium or even coma; limb tremors, myoclonus, nystagmus, ataxia, oculomotor disorders; weakness or acute flaccid paralysis; convulsions. On examination, meningeal irritation signs, diminished or absent tendon reflexes, and positive Bartholomew’s sign were seen. The combination of central nervous system symptoms is more common in children under 2 years of age.
(2) Respiratory manifestations of pulmonary edema: shallow breathing, dyspnea or rhythm changes, lip cyanosis, coughing, coughing white, pink or bloody foamy sputum; wet rales or sputum sounds can be heard in the lungs.
(3) Circulatory system manifestations complicating myocarditis manifestations: pale gray face, skin pattern, cold extremities, cyanosis of fingers (toes); cold sweating; prolonged capillary refill time. Heart rate increases or decreases, pulse is shallow and fast or weak or even disappears; blood pressure increases or decreases.
HFMD Prevention and Control Guidelines
There is no vaccine for HFMD, and there is no special medicine.
1. Wash your child’s hands with soap or hand sanitizer before meals, after defecation and after going out.
2, do not let children drink raw water, eat raw and cold food, and avoid contact with sick children.
3. Wash your hands before touching your child, when changing diapers, and after handling feces, and dispose of the dirt properly.
4.Bottles and pacifiers used by children should be washed well before and after use.
5.Don’t take your child to public places with poor air circulation during epidemics.
6.Maintain a hygienic home environment, ventilate the living room frequently, and dry clothes and blankets regularly.
7, when the child’s clothing to dry or disinfection.
Treatment and care after contracting HFMD
Once a child is found to be infected with HFMD, he or she should seek medical attention in a timely manner, and should also do the following care work.
Isolation and disinfection: Children should avoid contact with the outside world and generally need to be isolated for about 2 weeks. Items used by the child should be thoroughly disinfected, and can be soaked in a disinfectant solution containing chlorine; items that should not be soaked can be exposed to sunlight, and lactic acid fumigation can be used daily for air disinfection in families with conditions.
Pay attention to nutrition: children are generally reluctant to eat after the disease, it is appropriate to give light, warm, tasty, easy to digest, soft liquid or semi-liquid food, forbidden to eat cold, spicy, salty and other irritating food, but also do not let children eat fish, shrimp, crab and other aquatic products.
If a child gets sick in summer, it is easy to cause dehydration and electrolyte disorders, so he or she needs to be properly hydrated and nourished, and drink more warm water.
Care for the mouth: Because of the pain in the mouth, children will be very uncomfortable. You can gargle with saline before and after meals, and for children who cannot gargle, you can use a cotton swab dipped in saline to gently clean the mouth.
Care for the skin: Pay attention to keeping the child’s skin clean to prevent infection. The child’s clothes and bedding should be clean to prevent the child from scratching the rash. Children with rashes on the buttocks should pay attention to cleaning up urine and stool at all times to keep the buttocks clean and dry.
Pay attention to cooling: If your child has a fever, pay attention to heat dissipation and cooling. You can cool down by drinking more warm water or taking warm baths.