Don't be careless if your child's palms are all red

If red spots appear on the palms of children's hands, experts tell us that we should not be careless at this time, because the red spots are likely caused by hand, foot and mouth disease. We know that hand, foot and mouth disease is a disease that children are more likely to get. This is a highly contagious disease. It is mainly caused by the intestinal Coxsackie virus. Children under five years old are very likely to develop the disease. The more typical symptom is red spots on the hands and feet.

Don't be careless if your child's palms are all red

Hand, foot and mouth disease is caused by enteric Coxsackievirus. The patient's nasal and pharyngeal secretions, ruptured herpes, and feces are contagious. It is more common in preschool children under 5 years old, more common in summer and autumn, especially from June to August, when the peak incidence period is. The disease has the characteristics of rapid transmission speed, wide transmission range, complex transmission routes and easy epidemic. It is mainly transmitted through the patient's feces, contaminated food and water sources, causing the consumer to be infected, or through droplets sprayed into the air when the patient sneezes, or through items touched by the patient. Most of the sick young children were infected in collective places such as kindergartens.

Typical symptoms: red spots on the mouth, hands and feet

Once you get hand, foot and mouth disease, the incubation period is generally 2-7 days. There are no obvious precursor symptoms, and most patients have an acute onset. About half of the patients have a fever of around 38°C 1-2 days before the onset of the disease or at the same time as the onset of the disease. The main symptoms of the disease are mouth pain, sore throat, anorexia, and drooling. The mouth, hands, feet, and buttocks are the main sites invaded by the virus. Several to a dozen symptoms appear first as "red dots" and then turn into "small bubbles." There is a red halo around the papule and blisters appear on the top, which are generally painless and itchy. It is mostly concentrated on the palms of the hands and feet, and ulcer symptoms may sometimes be seen in the mouth. Some patients initially have mild upper respiratory tract infection symptoms, such as cough, runny nose, nausea, and vomiting.

According to experts, the course of hand, foot and mouth disease is relatively short and can usually be cured within a week. Although hand, foot and mouth disease mostly manifests itself on the skin, the virus can also invade important organs such as the heart, brain, and kidneys. If high fever, heart rate and heart rhythm disorders occur and no other infection foci are found, you should be alert to the occurrence of myocarditis; if symptoms such as fever, headache, stiff neck, vomiting, irritability, and restless sleep occur, there is a possibility of aseptic meningitis or encephalitis, which may even be life-threatening. In addition, hand, foot and mouth disease in children can easily be confused with common diseases such as upper respiratory tract infection and chickenpox, so parents and teachers must not take it lightly.

The key to prevention and treatment is to pay attention to hygiene

Hand, foot and mouth disease is most contagious within the first week of onset, and the feces remain contagious for several weeks. The virus in the patient's throat secretions and saliva can be transmitted through airborne droplets; hands, towels, handkerchiefs, cups, toys, eating utensils, milk utensils, bedding, underwear, etc. contaminated with saliva, herpes fluid, and feces can be transmitted through daily contact; droplets can be transmitted through the respiratory tract or through contaminated toys and unclean hands through the mouth. Therefore, kindergartens are particularly prone to collective infections.

Prevention of hand, foot and mouth disease is crucial, and the focus of prevention is hygiene, including good environmental hygiene, food hygiene and personal hygiene. Wash hands before meals and after defecation to prevent diseases from entering the body through the mouth. Children's tableware, toys and other items should be disinfected in time. The feces and other excretions of the sick children should also be soaked and disinfected, and clothes should be exposed to the sun. Windows should be opened frequently in kindergartens and homes for ventilation to keep the rooms clean and tidy. At the same time, Director Xu reminded parents to try their best to reduce the chances of their children being infected, avoid crowded public places, pay attention to their children's nutrition and rest, and improve their body resistance.

At present, there is no specific medicine for the treatment of hand, foot and mouth disease. Experts say that once parents or teachers find that their children have symptoms, they should go to the hospital for treatment in time. The treatment is mainly antiviral and symptomatic. During the illness, we must strengthen the care of the child, make sure the child gets more rest, strengthen skin care, and pay attention to oral hygiene.