Tips to Fight Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease from Loyola Expert Nadia Qureshi, MD
August 22, 2018Categories: Primary Care, Pediatrics
Tags: Pediatrics
MAYWOOD, IL – With an uptick in cases of hand, foot and mouth disease in the area, Loyola Medicine pediatric infectious disease specialist Nadia Qureshi, MD, offers tips to keep kids healthy as they go back to school.
"The most important prevention is good hand hygiene," Dr. Qureshi said.
Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is caused by a virus and it is commonly contracted by children, especially under the age of five. Like the name suggests, it appears as a rash or blisters in the mouth, on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.
The symptoms of HFMD are:
- Fever
- Rashes, mainly to the mouth, hands, feet and buttocks, which can blister
- Blisters to the inside of the mouth or tongue
- Sore throat
- Reduced appetite
Dr. Qureshi says she is seeing three to five children with HFMD every day at Loyola Medicine and that many parents confuse the symptoms with chickenpox.
Like HFMD, chickenpox can appear as a rash. However, the rash with chickenpox typically starts on the trunk of the body and moves outward.
Also, the chickenpox vaccine has a greater than 98% immunity with two doses, but there is not a vaccine for HFMD so prevention is key.
The virus is spread through saliva and by touching things. It can survive on environmental surfaces for a long period of time, making the disease especially prone to outbreaks in daycare and schools.
"Babies who have no control over their secretions and are often putting things in their mouth and touching other objects, are at the highest risk of transmission," Dr. Qureshi said.
The best way to prevent the spread of HFMD is good hand hygiene in children and adults. Babies diagnosed with HFMD should be kept at home and schools should be notified so they can thoroughly clean the area.
There is no treatment for HFMD. The illness can last for three to six days. It is important to keep children hydrated, especially since the mouth sores can make it difficult for babies to eat and drink. Children may return to daycare or school when their fever has broken and the sores have healed.
About Loyola Medicine
Loyola Medicine, a member of Trinity Health, is a nationally ranked academic, quaternary care system based in Chicago's western suburbs. The three-hospital system includes Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, MacNeal Hospital, as well as convenient locations offering primary care, specialty care and immediate care services from nearly 2,000 physicians throughout Cook, Will and DuPage counties. LUMC is a 547-licensed-bed hospital in Maywood that includes the William G. and Mary A. Ryan Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, the John L. Keeley, MD, Emergency Department, a Level 1 trauma center, Illinois's largest burn center, the Nancy W. Knowles Orthopaedic Institute, a certified comprehensive stroke center, transplant center and a children’s hospital. Having delivered compassionate care for over 50 years, Loyola also trains the next generation of caregivers through its academic affiliation with Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.
For more information, visit loyolamedicine.org. You can also follow Loyola Medicine on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter).
About Trinity Health
Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 127,000 colleagues and more than 38,300 physicians and clinicians caring for diverse communities across 26 states. Nationally recognized for care and experience, the Trinity Health system includes 93 hospitals, 107 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 142 urgent care locations and many other health and well-being services. In fiscal year 2024, the Livonia, Michigan-based health system invested $1.3 billion in its communities in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. For more information, visit us at www.trinity-health.org, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).