Question
There are two children with hand, foot, and mouth disease in my child’s kindergarten. My child has been sick with a cold for a week and only went to kindergarten today. I just found out about this news. Today, those two children didn’t go to school, but will they transmit the disease to other children? Especially since my child is also sick, isn’t the risk higher? Could they catch hand, foot, and mouth disease? How can we prevent it at home? What measures should we take?
Answer
If there is no direct contact, it is usually unnecessary. Currently, you should pay attention to care, give your child plenty of water, and cultivate the habit of frequent hand washing. It’s still best not to send your child to kindergarten this week. The disease has a higher level of contagiousness and requires proper care. Hand, foot, and mouth disease is mainly caused by enteroviruses, which can be transmitted indirectly through saliva, blisters, feces, and other means of contact. If hands, towels, tooth cups, utensils, milk, and other items are contaminated, infection may occur.