Question
A 7-year-old child developed a blister-like thing at the tip of the right index finger two days ago. The family did not pay much attention at first, but today another blister-like thing appeared on the right index finger again, and the big toe on the foot also showed the same symptoms. The child is very painful and cannot sleep at night due to crying. What is this disease?
Answer
These symptoms may be indicative of hand, foot, and mouth disease, also known as eruptive stomatitis, an acute infectious disease caused by enteroviruses. It is usually transmitted through contact with hand, foot, and mouth disease patients or consumption of contaminated water. After onset, patients can recover spontaneously within 1 to 2 weeks without leaving any sequelae. In rare cases, complications such as encephalitis and aseptic meningitis may occur. The characteristic symptoms of hand, foot, and mouth disease are blisters on the hands, feet, and mouth with a red halo around them. The fluid in the blisters is clear, and the long axis of the blisters aligns with the skin texture. The blisters in the mouth quickly break to form grayish-white spots or membranes with a red halo around them; underneath, there may be ulcerated surfaces. Initially, symptoms may include fever, coughing, runny nose, drooling, and other upper respiratory tract infections, as well as nausea and vomiting. As for treatment, there is currently no specific medication available. However, measures can be taken to alleviate symptoms: taking antiviral drugs, maintaining local hygiene, preventing bacterial infections, using gold-thymol cod liver oil to reduce pain, taking oral B vitamins, etc. Additionally, maintaining good personal hygiene habits, avoiding taking children to public places, regularly disinfecting toys and utensils, early detection and treatment are also important preventive measures.