I. What is hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD)?
Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common acute infectious disease in children, mostly occurring in babies under 5 years of age, mostly in the spring and summer season, mainly caused by intestinal viruses.
Infected babies usually recover within 1-2 weeks, so parents do not need to worry too much. However, it does not exclude a very small number of babies from developing dangerous conditions, such as encephalitis, meningitis, myocarditis and other complications, which may even lead to death.
In addition, HFMD is not unique to children, people of any age can be invaded by the virus, but because adults are more resistant, and the vast majority of people have acquired the appropriate antibodies when they are invisibly infected, so few adults will show symptoms of overt infection. The opposite is true for small children, especially babies under three years old have a high incidence.
Second, what are the symptoms of HFMD?
The incubation period of HFMD is generally around 2-10 days, and the beginning stage of infection is often manifested as a respiratory infection, which is more similar to the common cold and fever, because most of them are caused by intestinal viral infections, and there will also be diarrhea and other manifestations, but some specific features will only be revealed as the disease continues to develop.
General case symptoms.
As the name suggests, the most obvious symptoms of HFMD appear in the hands, feet and mouth, where red herpes appear in these three areas, with a water-like blistering fluid visible in the center of the herpes, surrounded by a red halo, and the affected child may feel pain, and some children may also grow some in the buttocks or anus.
The child may also have a low fever (around 38°C) and a rash, but these are usually not serious and will resolve spontaneously within 1-2 weeks with few sequelae. A persistent low fever may make your little one feel loss of appetite, dizziness and headache, and cough and runny nose from time to time.
Symptoms in severe cases.
Very few children with HFMD will develop respiratory, neurological or circulatory complications, the more serious of which include meningitis, encephalomyelitis, myocarditis, pulmonary edema, circulatory collapse, etc.
Problems with the respiratory system are evident when the baby’s lungs become poorly functioning, breathing becomes rapid or difficult, and symptoms similar to asphyxia may occur, with severe cases of foaming at the mouth or bloody froth.
Babies with neurological problems may become disoriented, nausea and vomiting, drowsy, etc., and have uncontrollable physical reactions, such as twitching, jumping, weakness, etc., and may suffer from cerebral edema and brain herniation.
Although the abnormal manifestations of the circulatory system are less obvious, they should also be given enough attention. When you find that your baby starts to have cold limbs, white face and disturbed heartbeat, you should be sent to the hospital in time for treatment.
Although hand, foot and mouth disease is rarely a serious case, however, since there is such a possibility we have to prevent. If a baby is infected with the virus, mothers must not let down their guard and keep an eye on their children, and if there are any abnormalities, they should be sent to the hospital for treatment.
Third, how is hand, foot and mouth disease spread?
Similar to the vast majority of infectious diseases, the transmission of HFMD is mainly through the following channels.
1. Dietary transmission.
The cause of HFMD is a virus in the intestinal tract, so dietary transmission is one of the main ways of diffusion. Contaminated water, unhygienic or spoiled and expired food are likely to spread bacteria constantly and cause infection in babies.
2. Droplet transmission.
The droplets of the child may carry the virus and some secretions from the throat, and the virus may spread unknowingly when several small babies lean together to talk.
3, contact transmission.
The toys that the affected child has played with, used tableware, towels, quilts, underwear, etc. may be contaminated with bacteria, and healthy little babies may have access to these things, as well as places where babies are too dense virus spreads faster, such as kindergartens, training courses, etc. Teachers and parents should pay extra attention.
Epidemic mode.
The outbreak of HFMD has no spatial characteristics and does not exist geographically, while in time it is also possible in all seasons, although it is more frequent in the late spring, summer and autumn stages. However, the disease may be disseminated or outbreak, the spread is very fast, can cause a large area of infection in a short period of time.
Fourth, how to care for babies with hand, foot and mouth disease?
1, the child’s daily supplies should be disinfected, especially things related to eating. There are also some frequently touched places that should not be spared.
2, as long as the baby does not have a fever, outdoor activities are possible, sunny and fresh air is ideal for sick children to go for a walk, but try not to go to crowded or unventilated places to avoid cross infection or bring the virus to others.
3, always have saline, rinse your baby’s mouth before and after eating, if your baby is too young to rinse, use a medical cotton swab with saline to gently wipe the affected area. When preparing food for your child, you should also pay attention to avoid spicy, cold, hard to digest, hard to chew, and should be mild and tasty, so as not to stimulate the affected area.
4. If there is more than one child in the house, make sure to isolate the affected child from the healthy baby.
5, the air in the house should be kept circulating, do not invite people to the house during the child’s illness, and fathers also try not to smoke at home to prevent pollution of the air.
6, the baby’s clothes should not be wrapped too tightly, the intimate clothing must be soft and comfortable, change and wash regularly, and then exposed to the sun, the mattress bedding is also the same.
7.Baby’s stool should be disposed of in time, especially the residual poo on the buttocks should be cleaned up to keep the buttocks clean and hygienic.
8, if the child’s rash induced a new infection, you can smear a little 1% of the nail violet.
V. How to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease?
In kindergarten.
1.Supervise each little one to do good personal hygiene. The teachers should supervise each child to wash their hands before and after meals, and often help them to dry their blankets and remind parents to change the bed sheets and bedding in time.
2.Ensure the baby’s food safety. Every meal in the kindergarten should be clean and hygienic, so that the food is not exposed to unclean or contaminated food.
3, every morning to just come to kindergarten children to check to see if their hands and mouths have similar to rice grains of light red herpes, and then feel the little head has no fever (you can also use the electronic thermometer), and finally talk to the mother in the child in plus home there are no abnormal conditions.
4, often disinfect the toys, tableware, etc. in the kindergarten, as well as the door handles, the edge of the table and other places that the baby will often touch.
5.Regularly organize personnel to do indoor hygiene, spray disinfectant water, especially the toilet to focus on the work. Wear protective clothing when cleaning to avoid being infected by bacteria during the work.
6.Once the teacher finds a suspected case, immediately isolate the baby and quickly contact the parents and send it to the hospital to avoid an outbreak of infection that could spread to other healthy children.
At home.
1. Personal hygiene is equally important. Don’t feel that your home is much cleaner than the outside and ignore these details. In fact, there are many bacteria and viruses breeding in remote controls, garbage cans, door handles and other places.
2, the home should always maintain a good environment. Kitchen, bathroom, these home health disaster areas in the endogenous corners to clean up, bed sheets and bedding to be diligent sun and wash, usually open the windows more ventilation, breathe fresh air.
3, to ensure that the baby has enough sleep, do not let the baby is too tired, to develop healthy habits, this can improve the child’s physique, improve immunity, to resist the virus invasion has some help.
4, do not let your baby eat raw things or unboiled water.
5, on whether vitamin B can prevent hand, foot and mouth disease, the scientific community has no authoritative conclusion, but the appropriate amount of supplementation to prevent inflammation in the mouth or beneficial, how to take specific advice to consult a doctor before making a decision.
6, hand, foot and mouth disease epidemic period to go out to the baby with a mask. If you must go out, be careful not to let your baby touch anything, especially toys in the children’s toy town, which may be contaminated.