Hand-Foot-And-Mouth Disease

Photo: deveev

It looks like chicken pox and sounds a bit like hoof and mouth disease, but it’s neither!  Hand-Foot-Mouth-Disease is caused by a couple of viruses. Coxsackievirus A16 is the most common cause and Enterovirus 71 is the second-most common. It is highly contagious like the chicken pox caused by the varicella-zoster virus and is not the same virus as found in animals with hoof and mouth disease.

It doesn’t have a cure or vaccination. The main way to stop the virus is hand washing and avoidance. There isn’t much one can do to treat the illness either. Once again like chicken pox hand-foot-and-mouth disease is more severe and can cause other serious complications in adults or infants. The following can be done to make a patient more comfortable while the disease is running its course.

• Suck on ice pops or ice chips.
• Eat ice cream or sherbet.
• Drink cold beverages, such as milk or ice water.
• Avoid acidic foods and beverages, such as citrus fruits, fruit drinks and soda.
• Avoid salty or spicy foods.
• Eat soft foods that don’t require much chewing.
• Rinse your mouth with warm water after meals.

For further information and its spread see the post from Little Things linked below.

Update: the featured article is from a previous year and provides good info on the disease.

Hand-Foot-And-Mouth Disease On The Rise: Experts Beg Parents To Know The Signs

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