Hand-foot-mouth disease is frequently located in children. It is unusual to see him as an adult, but there are people who can suffer from it creating isolated cases. The mouth-hand feet in adults has the same characteristics as a child, a viral infection that we detail below.
Its symptoms are associated with various manifestations with mouth sores and rashes. It is a disease that does not require treatment, but if you have to follow a series of indications to that it becomes much milder and not very contagious.
What is hand-foot-and-mouth disease?
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is a clinical syndrome caused by a viral infection. It is caused by the Enterovirus group, which includes the Coxsackievirus A16 and Enterovirus 71. A person who is infected can also infect:
- Through secretions from the nose and mouth, coming from the throat and through saliva and nasal mucus.
- For the feces.
- Through wounds, where the blisters that are produced or the scabs can be contagious.
How it spreads
This sickness it is highly contagious, being very common in children under five years of age and more sporadically and uncommon in adults. your transmission has a peak during the first week, but sometimes it can continue to spread even in the following weeks that the symptoms have disappeared.
Adults can observe how this disease manifests itself with great discomfort that leads to fever. This incubation period can last three to six days, where there will be lack of appetite and sore throat. Several days later the annoying sores will appear in the mouth and throat.
Symptoms of hand-foot-and-mouth disease
Begins with a general malaise where a child can take days to manifest them by not describing what is happening to him, unless it starts with a fever and possible injuries. An adult show their discomfort much earlier where you will associate it with the following signs:
- Fever.
- Throat pain.
- Loss of appetite.
- A vesicular eruption with painful lesions and redness similar to blisters, where they manifest inside the mouth: on the tongue, gums and on the inside of the cheeks.
- Skin rash with redness that does not itch, on the part of the hands, soles of the feet and sometimes on the buttocks. These erythematous papules develop into vesicles that later ulcerate.
When should you consult the doctor?
This disease does not offer very serious discomfort since your symptoms are usually not severe. However, you have to go to the doctor to do an examination and where offer the care to be adopted. In some cases the sores and sore throat are usually too bothersome and the doctor can help alleviate these discomforts.
Care for its propagation
Adults caring for minor children and where this type of disease might exist, they have to create a series of care so that they do not get transmitted.
- You have to be careful with the approaches. and not having close contact, such as hugging, kissing or sharing any type of cutlery, glass or cup.
- Be careful when the person who is infected go cough or sneeze.
- Do not touch objects and surfaces that they have continued to be touched by the infected person, however, all of this will have to be washed.
- Extreme care when changing diapers, since most of this infection is found in the feces. Very carefully you have to wash your hands and do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth.
The most characteristic preventions must be related to hygiene. Must wash your hands very often and carefully, some alcohol-containing wipes or gels can also be used. Clean all surfaces well, using soap and water and if possible, the use of bleach and water. Must create these hygiene habits so that the people around them do not become infected.