Hand Foot Mouth Disease

Hand Foot Mouth Disease

Motherhood is the most beautiful job of all times, if someone could say that, but from the moment you become a parent, you become an emotional part of your child; you fell that everything your child feels should actually be taken upon yourself, all his worries and pains should be passed over yourself. So, even it is the best job in the world, it is obviously the most difficult one, too, especially when our children are ill, and we make the worst of it. 
There are so many moments of childhood when illness takes away the hapiness of our children, and we just want them to get well sooner. But what if sometimes we don't get how that our children are getting worse, when the fever is persistent, the child is lethargic, and, more, his hands, feet and mouth are full of eruptions?

minerals makeupWell, this is a less common disease, which is known lately as Hand-Footh-Mouth Disease. Maybe it was known before, too, but, as the information is available today in all the environments, online and media, than it became familiar to more and more people. 
As many other mothers, I experienced myself the hard way, when my second baby girl encountered the symptoms which led to Hand-Footh-Mouth Disease. It's been a mild Hand-Footh-Mouth Disease. She had some eruptions in her mouth, which could hardly be seen (it was confirmed later by the pediatrician), and a persistent fever. First, I thought it was just a flu (she had also a runny nose), but her age was 6 months and I was worries that all her symptoms were persistent. Anyway, her older sister, who was at  kindergarden at that time, could have had the virus without any other manifestations.

Medical information
There is some medical information below, which could be helpful to other moms who experience this kind of disease with their children. Remember, this is helpful information only in first instance before getting to the doctor. You should know the manifestations to inform the doctor and get the right medical advice from your pediatrician.

Hand-Footh-Mouth Disease is a viral disease, very contagious, which could be met in children between 1-6 years old, but in adults, too. You should pay attention to the eruptions wich may occur in hands, feet and mouth.    
It is determined by the Coxsackie Virus A 16 and A 71, and it may occur in the warm season. It could be easily passed over from child to child, by mouth, through the nasal-farynx way, cough, sneeze or the direct contact with the infected objects (toys, plates, spoons, towels, etc). The disease is commonly met in kindergardens,  nurseries and family environments.

Signs and symptoms:
- high temperature between 39-40 Celsius degrees
-sore throat because of the water blisters in the mouth (this leads to dehydration, as the child refuses drinking liquids)
- hands, feet and mouth eruptions
- irritability, lethargy
-inappetence
-dehydration

The incubation (the period between infection and the first symptoms) runs between 3-7 days. The children develop immunity to the disease, but they might get infected to other Coxsackie stems in the future.

First, the child has fever, than he has sore throat because of the eruptions, and then his commonwealth is changed.

If you encounter this manifestations, go and get some medical advice.

Here are the preventive actions you should take in order to avoid the infection of your child:

-toilet training, food hygiene, personal hygiene
-learning children from early ages about hygiene (washing hands, cleaning and cleansing hands and toys with special gel, etc).