Prognosis | Hand-Mouth-Foot Disease

Prognosis

The prognosis for hand-mouth-foot disease is in most cases very positive, as the disease is very mild. Often the infected person does not even know that he or she is infected with the pathogen, as the disease can even progress completely without symptoms, also called asymptomatic, in adulthood.

Duration

Hand-Mouth-Foot Disease is a typical viral disease, which occurs especially in childhood. After contact with the viruses it takes about three to ten days until the disease starts. From the onset of the disease with fever, the disease usually lasts one week and heals without medical help.

Within this week, those affected are highly contagious. Even weeks after the actual illness, those affected can still be contagious, as the virus is still excreted. Long and severe courses are very rare and occur especially in a virus strain that is widespread in Asia.

Complication

In very rare cases, complications may occur. This can lead to meningitis (inflammation of the meninges) and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain tissue). Polio-like paralysis of the arms and legs may occur.

Also, after some time, there may be a loss of finger and toe nails. In very rare cases, complications and atypical progressions of the hand-mouth-foot disease may occur.A complication can be the loss of finger and toe nails. These peel off after about four weeks. However, the nails grow back without any problems and no special therapy is required.

How long is there a risk of infection?

In the first week of the disease, the infected persons or children are highly contagious. Even after the symptoms have subsided, those affected can remain infectious for several more weeks, as the virus is excreted in the stool. For infants there are two ways in which infection with the hand-mouth-foot disease can occur.

Women who show signs of hand-mouth-foot disease shortly before birth can transmit the virus to the newborn child during birth. However, unlike some other infectious diseases, this does not mean a more severe course of the disease than later infection. However, the main risk of infant infection is posed by older siblings.

Infants often do not have closer contact with other children except their own siblings, who may bring the virus from kindergarten or school. The highest risk of infection is during the first week and thus in the main phase of the disease. Children who have the hand-mouth-foot disease should therefore not be in direct contact with the infant.

Since infection via contaminated surfaces is also possible, absolute protection in the home environment is almost impossible. In addition to the obviously ill children, which are a focus of infection, there are many infected persons without symptoms. This means that the parents can also be carriers and show no signs of the disease themselves.

Good hand hygiene can at least reduce the risk. In most cases, babies also show a harmless course. Systemic complications are very rare and minimally more likely in the first two weeks of life.