Hand, foot, and mouth disease

Your child may have some or all of the following symptoms:

• Sore throat, fever, headache, or loss of appetite
• Cough, runny nose, diarrhea, or vomiting
• A rash in the mouth with painful blister-like sores. These sores may make your child’s throat hurt.
• Small blisters on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and buttocks. Normally, blisters appear on different parts of the body at the same time.

• Is vomiting frequently
• Is breathing rapidly
• Has a sore throat that hurts so badly that it prevents them from eating and drinking
• Has a severe headache and stiff neck
• Seems disoriented or unusually drowsy
• Is having seizures
• Shows signs of dehydration

Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a viral infection. It mainly affects young children, though adults can catch it as well. This illness is usually mild.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease causes small blisters or sores in the mouth and on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and buttocks. It’s more common in the summer and early fall, but children can catch it year-round.

This disease is highly contagious. It is easily transmitted through contact with hands, food, or objects contaminated by blister fluid, saliva, mucus, or feces.

The virus can remain in the stool for several weeks, or even months, after symptoms begin. Washing your hands thoroughly after changing diapers helps to prevent the virus from spreading via feces.

Can a child catch the disease more than once?

Children who have already had hand, foot, and mouth disease are immune to the specific virus that caused their infection. However, several viruses can cause this disease, so a child could catch it again if it they are exposed to another virus.

Possible complications

The most common complication from hand, foot, and mouth disease is dehydration. This can occur when a child refuses to eat or drink because of pain in their mouth. So, make sure your little one stays well hydrated.

Other possible complications are very rare and are usually associated with infections caused by enterovirus 71, the least common source of infection. Of these rare complications, the most common are viral meningitis or encephalitis. Most deaths related to the disease are due to edema or pulmonary hemorrhage.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease normally clears up on its own without medical intervention. There is no specific treatment, antibiotic, or vaccine for it. Do not attempt to pop the blisters.

You can, however, treat your child’s symptoms:

• Give them acetaminophen (Tylenol^®, Tempra^®, etc.) to lower their fever and relieve discomfort.
• For older children, have them rinse their mouth with salt water to soothe their sore throat. Use a solution of ½ tsp. salt in 1 cup warm water.
• Make sure they drink plenty of fluids (preferably water or milk, as acidic juices can make the pain worse). If your child has diarrhea or is vomiting, give them an electrolyte solution to drink (e.g., Pedialyte^®, Gastrolyte^®).
• If your child is hungry, let them eat as usual. If they have a sore throat and difficulty swallowing, try soft foods like applesauce, yogurt, or ice cream However, if your child has diarrhea, avoid ice cream.

• Make sure your child washes their hands frequently and carefully with soap and water, especially after going to the bathroom and before eating. If they’re too young to do it themself, do it for them.
• Make sure that everyone who comes into contact with your child also washes their hands. Wash your own hands with soap and water after taking your child to the bathroom, changing their diaper, or wiping their nose, and before feeding them, giving them medicine, etc.
• Clean and disinfect any surfaces, objects, or areas that have come into contact with your child’s vomit or stool, including the toilet. Wash any toys they’ve played with since their blisters appeared. To disinfect toys, spray them with a commercial disinfectant (many dish soaps are also disinfecting) or a homemade solution of 5 ml of bleach in 500 ml of water.
• You don’t need to isolate your child from the rest of the family. To prevent the illness from spreading, just follow the hygiene steps above.

Scientific review: Dr. Anne-Claude Bernard-Bonnin, pediatrician Research and copywriting:The Naître et grandir team Updated: July 2022

Photos: GettyImages/monzenmachi and Joel Carillet