Health and Wellness. You pick your child up from daycare, and you notice she is developing a fever. A few days later, you see her scratching her palms. Once you notice the small sores that have formed around her mouth, it clicks. Hand, foot, and mouth disease HFMD has taken hold. HFMD cases can range from mild to severe.
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic
This infection gives kids tiny, telltale blisters on the mouth, hands and feet. You felt under the weather with a mild fever and sore throat , but soldiered on with over-the-counter pain medicine. Where did they come from? The answer: From the same virus that caused your other symptoms. In hand, foot and mouth disease , coxsackievirus 16 is the usual suspect; less often, other enteroviruses are to blame. Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission.
Hand, foot, and mouth disease HFMD is a common and contagious childhood illness, caused by a virus. The disease is easy to spot because of its classic symptoms — sores or blisters inside and outside the mouth, as well as a rash red spots or sores on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. Infants and children younger than age 5 are most likely to get the virus. But older children, teens, and adults can get it, too. A mild outbreak of the disease commonly occurs during summer and early fall.
Clinicians frequently see patients with common communicable illnesses. Adult patients with exposure to children may be particularly vulnerable to acquiring childhood ailments. Therefore, it is important that providers who care for adults also be familiar with common childhood illnesses and understand how they manifest in adults.