Is Repeated Fever in Young Children Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease?

Question

My child is 6 years old and is in the kindergarten’s senior class. Lately, the weather has been quite cold and there are more viruses around. My child accidentally caught a cold and had a fever. The fever was severe and kept recurring, going down and then coming back up again. Could repeated fever in young children be hand, foot, and mouth disease?

Answer

Repeated fever in children does not necessarily indicate hand, foot, and mouth disease; therefore, there is no need to worry excessively. If a child experiences recurrent fever again, it is mostly considered to be caused by an internal infection. In such cases, it is recommended to have the child undergo a routine blood test to identify the cause of the repeated fever, so that appropriate symptomatic treatment can be administered to prevent the child from experiencing recurrent fevers.