Question
What are the early symptoms of hand, foot, and mouth disease?
Answer
The early symptoms of hand, foot, and mouth disease include acute onset, fever, with multiple painful blisters appearing in the mouth. Similar blisters may also appear on the palms or soles. Some patients may experience symptoms such as coughing, runny nose, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and headache. The disease is self-limiting and most patients have a good prognosis, recovering within about a week without leaving any sequelae. In rare cases, it may lead to serious complications such as meningitis, encephalitis, myocarditis, respiratory failure, and pulmonary edema. There is currently no specific treatment drug available; symptomatic treatment is usually adopted.