For children under the age of five, getting sick is common, especially in the summer. Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a common illness in many young children. This disease is highly contagious and can be difficult to treat. So, how should we handle this disease in our daily lives?
1. Eat light meals
It is best to have a light diet, choosing low-temperature foods and avoiding drinking raw water or eating raw and cold foods.
2. Trim nails
Trim your child's nails in a timely manner and cover their hands to prevent them from scratching the blisters and causing further infection.
3. Physically cool down
If the child is listless, sensitive to cold, shivering, has cold limbs, rapid breathing, or a red face, measure their temperature immediately. For high fever, use warm water to wipe the body and reduce the amount of clothing and blankets. The room temperature should be maintained at around 20℃. During the outbreak, check your child's skin (especially the palms, soles, and oral cavity) every morning for any abnormalities and monitor their body temperature.
4. Maintain environmental hygiene
The key to preventing hand, foot, and mouth disease is to pay attention to household and surrounding environment hygiene and personal hygiene. Wash hands with soap or hand sanitizer before and after meals and going out. Ventilate the living area frequently and sun-dry clothes and blankets. During the outbreak, avoid taking children to crowded places with poor air circulation and avoid contact with sick children.
5. Disinfect utensils
Keep the clothes, toys, utensils, pillows, and bedding of the sick child clean and disinfect their daily items. If a child who attends a kindergarten gets sick, inform the teacher early and do not rush to send the child back to the kindergarten. Wait until all symptoms have disappeared for a week to prevent infecting other children. Mild cases usually do not require hospitalization and can be treated at home with rest to reduce cross-infection.
The treatment time for hand, foot, and mouth disease is generally around one week. Therefore, during this week, parents must take good care of their children and not take this illness lightly. Ignoring it will only delay the child's optimal treatment time.
