Question

A neighbor’s child was recently diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth disease, showing symptoms of coughing, fever, small blisters on the skin that are itchy. How should this situation be handled?

Answer

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease is an infection caused by a virus, and there is currently no specific effective treatment method. However, the following treatment measures can be taken:

  1. Take antiviral medications such as ribavirin.
  2. Keep the affected areas clean to prevent secondary bacterial infections.
  3. If there are ulcers in the mouth causing difficulty in eating, provide easily digestible liquid or semi-liquid foods and rinse the mouth after meals.
  4. Regionally, use gold mold cod liver oil to reduce pain and promote the healing of ulcerated areas.
  5. If there is fever, use herbal medicine for clearing heat and detoxification. Generally, the condition can heal spontaneously within 1 to 2 weeks. In addition, patients should be isolated from healthy individuals, and toys should be disinfected; healthy individuals can consider taking Platycodon grandiflorus infusion to prevent infection. For severe cases, hospitalization for treatment is recommended.