Since 2008, when there were more severe cases of HFMD in Fuyang, Anhui Province, many Chinese people began to panic about the disease. Since the majority of cases occur in children under 5 years of age, and most of the severe incidents and even deaths occur in infants around 1 year of age, parents of affected children are understandably anxious, irritable, and even panicked. The disease was recognized in 1957 and was not given its current name until 1959. In 2008, I attended a conference in Shanghai on the prevention and control of hand, foot and mouth disease in Fuyang, when the disease was causing a lot of anxiety. At the meeting, an old professor from Shanghai Fudan Pediatric Hospital made a remark that I still remember: “We see thousands of cases of this disease every month!” It is clear that the high incidence is not a “passing fad”, and influenza A is hardly comparable to it. Hand, foot and mouth disease is caused by viral infections, the causative virus is mainly adenovirus 71, coxsackievirus and echovirus can also cause disease. Children from birth to 10 years of age are susceptible to the disease, and it is concentrated in children under 5 years of age. My 5-year-old son was unfortunately hit 8 days ago (3 days before the 4th of July) and only recovered today. More attention needs to be paid to infants and toddlers from 6 months to 1.5 years of age, who are more likely to become seriously ill at this age. Adults are less likely to develop HFMD because the vast majority of adults have long since acquired immunity by having been infected with the virus. Seroepidemiological findings have found that exposure to HFMD-associated viruses is mostly recessive, in other words, one is infected by the virus but does not show any symptoms and also produces protective antibodies. According to statistics, the ratio of recessive infection to overt infection (those who develop the disease) is 30 to 100:1. It is evident that many people, including most children, are not lucky enough to get sick even if they are infected with the virus, which is a common feature of many acute infectious diseases and should be one of the reasons why there is no need to panic too much about HFMD! Since this is an acute viral infection, it is important to know two important pieces of information: First, HFMD is self-limiting. Meaning that it can heal itself without treatment, which again is a common feature of many acute infectious diseases. We often use a seemingly odd but factual phrase to describe this “self-limiting” phenomenon: “no treatment for a week, medication for seven days”; second, antibacterial drugs are ineffective. Antibacterial drugs are only effective against bacteria, mycoplasma, chlamydia and some fungal infections, and have no therapeutic effect on viral infections. However, some acute infections including hand, foot and mouth disease have fever, most parents will be eager to give their children with antibiotics, called “anti-inflammatory”, the doctor does not give use but also with the doctor anxious. The potential harm of the drug itself may be greater than the disease itself when antibiotics are given to young children around the age of 3. Which situation should you fear more? For this disease, you can make a diagnosis even if you are not a doctor. Usually, the sick child starts with a moderate fever (no more than 39°C), which may be accompanied by cough, loss of appetite and malaise, and two or three days later suddenly develops a rash on the skin around the hands, feet and mouth, and also around the buttocks and external genitalia. The rash has a distinctive shape, resembling small red translucent beans, and it is especially strange to see herpes appearing on the palms of the hands and feet. Interestingly, these rashes do not itch and are basically painless. The sick child also has a good number of rashes of varying sizes on the oral mucosa. What is the significance of this? A child with too many rashes in the mouth will refuse to nurse, not eat, or even cry because they are uncomfortable. My son made strange movements of grinning and wrinkling his nose for two days in a row the day after the rash when it was due to a mucous membrane rash, which really made us have a little panic. Just think, if this hyperactivity continues, is it not very ugly? In the future, will not be unable to marry a daughter-in-law? Now, the disease has cleared up and the strange movements have disappeared. Five to seven days after the rash appears, the rash darkens and gradually disappears. The healed rash does not leave scars or hyperpigmentation, which should be another reason not to panic, right? In mild cases of HFMD, there is no special treatment except drinking more water during the fever stage, using antipyretics appropriately, taking rest, taking vitamin supplements, and taking appropriate ways to supplement nutrition if you have difficulty eating, and antiviral treatment is not currently advocated. Although the itchiness of the rash is not obvious, it is important to avoid being scratched after the rash develops to reduce the possibility of local bacterial infection and to decrease the contagiousness. Undeniably, there are a few cases of serious conditions, including central nervous system damage and cardiopulmonary impairment, in young children with viral infections (especially adenovirus 71). A word of caution: If a child has a high fever that does not subside, it is important to seek prompt medical attention without delaying treatment and observation so that the incidence of serious illness can be reduced; once it evolves into a serious illness, the likelihood of life-threatening conditions is greatly reduced after aggressive symptomatic management measures are taken in the hospital under close monitoring by the physician. There is currently no marketed vaccine available to prevent HFMD, and a vaccine for adenovirus 71 is under development. It is important to understand that HFMD is also transmitted through the “mouth,” as the child’s clothes, toys, excrement and broken rashes are all contagious; at the same time, it is difficult for parents to control the “unhygienic” behavior of young children, so children in kindergarten are vulnerable to infection or transmission. It is easy for children in kindergarten to be infected or to infect others. In view of this, the government health administration requires that once a case of HFMD is found in a kindergarten institution, the entire class should be suspended for at least one week, which is the right measure and parents should cooperate; if a child is exposed to a child with HFMD, parents should pay extra attention to the child’s temperature and rash, etc. within 7 days, because the incubation period of HFMD is 3 to 7 days. Finally, a special reminder: If your child has HFMD, it is virtuous to take the initiative to isolate your child at home and not to take him or her to public places so as not to infect other children. Parents are always worried when their children are sick, but with HFMD, you can not panic.