Although adults can and do get this infection, you probably don’t have it – unless you happen to be a childcare worker, an infant, or a child. HFMD, better known as Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, is a common infection in babies and children under ten.
So what is this strange sounding infection, and how do you get it? You might think of it as something that occurs in farm animals, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it’s not related to the “foot-and-mouth” disease you hear about in cattle, sheep, and pigs.
The infection in humans is caused by coxsackievirus A16, the most common of the enteroviruses, and can be passed from person to person through direct contact with saliva, feces, or nasal discharge. In other words, through toys children chew on, diaper changes, and runny noses - and a few of the most perfect environments are nurseries and daycare centers.
Symptoms usually include fever, a rash on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, and mouth sores – hence the name, hand, foot, and mouth. The first signs usually begin with a mild fever, poor appetite, feeling sick, and a sore throat. One or two days after the fever appears, red, painful, blister-like sores on the tongue, cheeks, or gums develop. The skin rash looks like blisters or flat red bumps, but usually don’t itch, and it is usually located on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. It can also appear on the buttocks, or just in the mouth.
Other than over-the-counter medications to ease the fever, aches, or pain from the mouth ulcers, no particular treatment is available for this or other enterovirus infections. It has to run its course.
However, practicing good hygiene can reduce the spread of the virus. Frequent hand-washing (especially after diaper changes), and cleaning contaminated surfaces and soiled items first with soap and water, and then with a diluted solution of bleach and water (one-quarter cup of bleach to one gallon of water) will help to keep the germs at a minimum. (Keep some handy in a spray bottle.)
HFMD outbreaks in child-care facilities occur most often in the summer and fall months. Infected children stay home during the first few days of the illness, especially during the fever stage, as that will reduce the spread of the infection, but will not completely stop it, since it can be passed on long after the symptoms have disappeared. Also, some infected persons, including adults, might have no symptoms at all.