Introduction
Hand-Mouth-Foot Disease is a common infectious disease caused by viral pathogens. Sometimes it is also called hand-foot-and-mouth exanthema or “false foot-and-mouth disease”. It is not to be confused with the real foot-and-mouth disease, which is also a highly contagious disease, but mainly occurs in cattle and pigs.
Symptoms
In hand-mouth-foot disease, there are both specific symptoms by which the disease can be recognized and a number of rather unspecific and rather general symptoms. After the incubation period of three to ten days, the first symptoms appear, which are mainly expressed by fever, low appetite to complete loss of appetite, sore throat, aching limbs and newly occurring headaches. In most cases, about one to two days after the onset of fever, the skin changes that are very specific to hand-mouth-foot disease develop.
Painful exanthema (skin rashes) develop especially in the area of the oral mucosa. These appear in the form of small red spots that usually develop into blisters and finally become aphtae. Aphtae are open spots in the area of the mucous membrane that are caused by damage and are very painful.
The tongue and gums can also be affected before the formation of aphthae. This can be very painful, especially when eating and drinking. In addition to the mucous membrane changes in the mouth area, the very typical skin changes occur in the area of the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet See also skin rash on the foot Here, non-itching, reddish coloured small nodules form, which can be either flat or raised (higher than the surrounding skin level).
In addition, blisters can develop there, which are surrounded by a red border. The hand-mouth-foot disease usually begins as a classical flu-like infection and includes fever in almost all sick persons. Fever is a natural defensive reaction of the body and shows that the immune system is working.
A slight fever does not necessarily have to be lowered. However, at higher temperatures approaching the 40 degree mark, antipyretic agents should be taken. Furthermore, the increased fluid requirement should be taken into account in the case of fever.
A guideline is that for each additional degree, one liter more should be drunk. During hand-mouth-foot disease, a rash with small blisters forms in many parts of the body. In most cases, this rash is located on the hands, the soles of the feet and in the mouth.
In atypical cases, however, the buttocks can also be affected. The rash is usually not itchy but in exceptional cases it can be very itchy. If the rash is itchy, a soothing ointment on the bottom can help.
The first signs that it is a hand-mouth-foot disease and not a flu-like infection are the rashes in the mouth. Red spots and blisters form on the tongue, which can be very painful. Some blisters develop into small ulcers, so-called ulcers.
This rash affects not only the tongue but also the mucous membrane of the mouth and the gums. The disease usually heals completely without medical help within a few days and the rash on the tongue recedes. In the majority of adults, infections are completely symptom-free.
However, they are still contagious for other people, especially for children. When the disease breaks out in adults, it is very similar to the symptoms that occur in children. The disease usually begins with fever, sore throat and loss of appetite and is therefore easily confused with a classic cold.
After two days, those affected develop a rash in the mouth area. Red spots and blisters form on the tongue, gums and oral mucosa, which can also become ulcers. This rash is very painful.
After a few days a non-itching rash forms on the hands and soles of the feet, which gives the disease its name. This rash can also occur atypically in other parts of the body and can be very itchy. Severe courses with meningitis or paralysis are very rare in both adults and children.
Meningitis can manifest itself through a painfully stiff neck and those affected also appear dull and cloudy. Also in rare cases, the loss of finger and toe nails can occur after four weeks.However, this is a rather atypical course. The incubation period is defined as the time from contact with the virus until the first signs of disease appear.
Accordingly, no symptoms occur during the incubation period. It is possible, however, that another disease exists, which shows itself in this time. This has nothing to do with the virus of the hand-mouth-foot disease. The incubation period is usually three to ten days. However, cases with one to 30 days have been observed.
