Question
Recently, my 5-year-old child has developed two small red dots on their hands, not as big as rice grains. Is this hand, foot, and mouth disease?
Answer
If the child is not experiencing difficulty eating or has no other symptoms like fever, it can be ruled out as hand, foot, and mouth disease. If it’s not mosquito bites, it could be caused by a viral infection. Such small red dots are often related to the child’s own immunity and usually disappear on their own within a week. The incubation period for hand, foot, and mouth disease is 2-5 days, with initial symptoms being relatively mild, possibly including low fever, fatigue, headache, coughing, runny nose, and loss of appetite. I suggest you observe your child’s symptoms first. If they persist or worsen, then you should go to the hospital for examination and treatment.