Summer is the season when hand, foot, and mouth disease is most common. The high temperatures during summer not only favor the reproduction of the virus that causes hand, foot, and mouth disease, but also promote the growth of the bacteria that cause the disease. Therefore, it is important to take preventive measures against hand, foot, and mouth disease during summer. Here are fifty pieces of knowledge about hand, foot, and mouth disease in children for you to learn about!
1. What is hand, foot, and mouth disease?
Answer: Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a common infectious disease caused by various enteroviruses, which primarily affects infants and young children. Most patients experience mild symptoms, with fever and skin rashes or blisters on the hands, feet, and mouth being the main features. In some cases, patients may develop aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, acute flaccid paralysis, respiratory infections, and myocarditis. In severe cases, the disease can progress rapidly and lead to death.
2. Is hand, foot, and mouth disease serious?
Answer: Usually, it is not serious. The majority of patients recover without treatment within 7-10 days. Complications are rare. However, some patients may develop symptoms such as aseptic or viral meningitis, encephalitis, acute flaccid paralysis, respiratory infections, and myocarditis.
3. What are the common clinical manifestations of hand, foot, and mouth disease?
Answer: The disease usually starts suddenly with fever. Rashes and blisters appear on the palms or soles of the feet, as well as on the buttocks or knees. The rashes are surrounded by inflammatory redness and contain minimal fluid. Blisters also appear on the oral mucosa and are often painful. Some children may experience symptoms such as cough, runny nose, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and headache. Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a common infectious disease caused by enteroviruses, characterized by fever and rashes or blisters on the hands, feet, and mouth.
4. What should parents do if their child shows symptoms of hand, foot, and mouth disease?
Answer: (1) Seek medical attention at a regular hospital as soon as possible. Based on the doctor's advice, decide whether hospitalization or observation is necessary. (2) The child should temporarily stop attending kindergarten or school to avoid spreading the disease to others and prevent reinfection with other diseases. (3) The child's family should use soap and disinfectants to disinfect daily supplies, toys, and diapers. Feeding utensils and tableware should be boiled for disinfection. Feces and other excreta can be disinfected with bleach or other disinfectants, and bedding should be exposed to sunlight. (4) Maintain ventilation indoors.
5. How is hand, foot, and mouth disease mainly transmitted?
Answer: Hand, foot, and mouth disease can be transmitted through various routes, mainly through close contact with the patient's feces, blister fluid, and respiratory secretions (such as droplets from sneezing), as well as contaminated hands, towels, handkerchiefs, cups, toys, tableware, bottles, bedding, etc.
6. How can families prevent hand, foot, and mouth disease?
Answer: Families should pay attention to environmental hygiene, food hygiene, and personal hygiene. Do not drink untreated water or eat raw and cold food. Wash hands before and after meals. Keep indoor air circulation. Try to avoid taking infants and young children to crowded places. Breastfeeding mothers should take frequent showers, change clothes frequently, and clean their nipples before breastfeeding.
7. Who is more likely to get hand, foot, and mouth disease?
Answer: Infants and young children are more susceptible to the disease, with children under 3 years old being more prone to infection. Adults usually do not develop the disease or show any symptoms. However, they can still transmit the virus to others, so adults also need to take preventive measures to avoid infecting children.
8. Are there any specific drugs for treating hand, foot, and mouth disease?
Answer: No, there are not.
9. Are there any vaccines or medications for preventing hand, foot, and mouth disease?
Answer: Currently, there are no specific vaccines or medications for preventing hand, foot, and mouth disease.
10. Is hand, foot, and mouth disease a newly discovered infectious disease?
Answer: No, it is not. The disease was first reported in New Zealand in 1957, the Coxsackievirus was isolated in 1958, and the name hand, foot, and mouth disease was proposed in 1959. The disease has been reported to be prevalent in most parts of the world.
11. Has hand, foot, and mouth disease been reported in China in history?
Answer: The disease was first reported in Shanghai in 1981, and since then, it has been reported in more than ten provinces and regions, including Beijing, Hebei, Tianjin, Fujian, Jilin, Shandong, Hubei, Qinghai, and Guangdong.
12. Is hand, foot, and mouth disease a legally notifiable infectious disease?
Answer: Since May 2, 2008, hand, foot, and mouth disease has been classified as a class C communicable disease under the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases" by the Ministry of Health.
13. What pathogens can cause hand, foot, and mouth disease?
Answer: Several enteroviruses can cause hand, foot, and mouth disease, with Coxsackievirus A and enterovirus 71 (EV71) being the most common. EV71 infection accounts for a large proportion of severe cases.
14. What is EV71?
Answer: EV71 is the abbreviation for enterovirus 71, which is a type of human enterovirus and one of the main pathogens causing hand, foot, and mouth disease in children.
15. Will all people infected with the above enteroviruses develop symptoms?
Answer: Adults and teenagers who are infected generally do not show any clinical symptoms. Infected individuals without obvious clinical manifestations are referred to as asymptomatic carriers.
16. How does the survival of enteroviruses vary under different temperature conditions?
Answer: Enteroviruses are not heat-resistant and are not easily viable under high temperature conditions. They can quickly lose their activity at 50°C, but can survive for up to 1 year at 4°C and for a long time at -2°C.
17. What disinfectants can inactivate enteroviruses?
Answer: Various oxidants (such as potassium permanganate), chlorine-containing disinfectants (such as bleach), formaldehyde, and iodine can all inactivate enteroviruses.
