What Are the Early Symptoms of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease?

Question

The other day, I unknowingly played with a child who had hand, foot, and mouth disease. Since then, my baby has been running a fever for 2 days with a temperature around 38 degrees Celsius. There is a blister inside his lips, but no others on his body. The doctor said it’s uncertain whether this is an early symptom of hand, foot, and mouth disease. What are the symptoms of hand, foot, and mouth disease?

Answer

The early symptoms of hand, foot, and mouth disease include an acute onset and fever; scattered vesicles on the oral mucosa, which are as small as rice grains and are very painful; vesicles of the same size may also appear on the palms or soles of the feet, and occasionally on the buttocks or knees. The vesicles have inflammatory erythema around them, but the fluid inside is less. Some children may also have symptoms such as coughing, runny nose, decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, and headache. Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a self-limiting disease with a good prognosis for most patients; it does not leave any sequelae. In very rare cases, some children may experience severe complications such as meningitis, encephalitis, myocarditis, flaccid paralysis, and pulmonary edema. (It cannot be determined from the provided information whether there are severe complications)