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View pictures of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in the gallery below. This common, often mild and short-lasting viral infection is most frequently caused by a Coxsackie virus.
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Hand-foot-and-mouth disease may cause all of the following symptoms or only some of them. They include:
•Fever.
•Sore throat.
•Feeling sick.
•Painful, blister-like lesions on the tongue, gums and inside of the cheeks.
•A rash on the palms, soles and sometimes the buttocks. The rash is not itchy, but sometimes it has blisters. Depending on skin tone, the rash may appear red, white, gray, or only show as tiny bumps.
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is usually a minor illness. It typically only causes fever and mild symptoms for a few days. Call your health care provider if your child is younger than six months, has a weakened immune system, or has mouth sores or a sore throat that makes it painful to drink fluids. Call your provider, too, if your child's symptoms don't improve after 10 days.
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The most common cause of hand-foot-and-mouth disease is infection from coxsackievirus 16. This coxsackievirus belongs to a group of viruses called nonpolio enteroviruses. Other types of enteroviruses also may cause hand-foot-and-mouth disease.
Most people get the coxsackievirus infection — and hand-foot-and-mouth disease — through the mouth. The illness spreads by person-to-person contact with an infected person's:
•Nose secretions or throat discharge
•Saliva
•Fluid from blisters
•Stool
Age is the main risk factor for hand-foot-and-mouth disease. The disease mostly affects children younger than ages 5 to 7 years. Children in child care settings are especially vulnerable because the infection spreads by person-to-person contact.
Hand-foot-mouth-disease typically affects young children, but anyone can get it.
The most common complication of hand-foot-and-mouth disease is dehydration. The illness can cause sores in the mouth and throat, making it painful to swallow.
Encourage your child to drink fluids during the illness. If children become too dehydrated, they may need intravenous (IV) fluids in the hospital.
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is usually a minor illness. It usually only causes fever and mild symptoms for a few days. Sometimes the enterovirus that causes hand-foot-and-mouth disease enters the brain and causes serious complications:
•Viral meningitis. This is a rare infection and inflammation of the membranes (meninges) and cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
You can lower your child's risk of hand-foot-and-mouth disease in many ways:
•Wash hands often. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds. Be sure to wash your hands after using the toilet or changing a diaper. Also, wash your hands before preparing or eating food and after blowing your nose, sneezing or coughing. When soap and water aren't available, use hand sanitizer.
•Teach good hygiene. Show your children how to wash their hands and help them do it often. Show them how to practice overall good hygiene. Explain to them why it's best not to put their fingers, hands or any other objects in their mouths.
•Disinfect common areas. Clean high-traffic areas and surfaces first with soap and water. Next, clean with a diluted solution of chlorine bleach and water. If you're in a child care setting, follow a strict schedule of cleaning and disinfecting. The virus can live for days on surfaces in common areas, including on door knobs, and on shared items such as toys.
•Avoid close contact. Because hand-foot-and-mouth disease is highly contagious, people with the illness should limit their exposure to others while they have symptoms. Keep children with hand-foot-and-mouth disease out of their child care setting or school until fever is gone and mouth sores have healed. If you have the illness, stay home from work.
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•Mayo Clinic Q and A: Hand, foot and mouth disease
•Mayo Clinic Minute: Hand, foot and mouth disease in kids
Learn about the symptoms, causes, prevention and complications of hand-foot-and-mouth disease, a mild, contagious viral infection common in young children. See pictures of the rash and sores on the hands, feet and mouth.
Feb 13, 2023 · Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a viral infection that’s common in children. Learn about the symptoms, causes, treatment, and prevention.
- Marissa Selner
May 7, 2024 · Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is common in children under 5 years old, but anyone can get it. The illness is usually not serious, but it is very contagious. To prevent spreading HFMD, wash your hands often, clean and disinfect surfaces, and avoid close contact with others.
Jan 30, 2024 · Hand, foot, and mouth disease, or HFMD, is a common childhood illness that can also happen in adults. The hallmark symptoms of hand, foot, and mouth disease are sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet.
- hhp_info@health.harvard.edu
What does hand, food and mouth disease look like? The rash manifests as tiny red bumps or blisters on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, fingers and toes. In the mouth, the rash appears as painful sores or ulcers mainly clustered in the back of the throat.
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May 7, 2024 · Symptoms of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) include fever, mouth sores, and a skin rash on the hands and feet. HFMD is common in infants and children younger than 5 years old. Most children have mild symptoms for 7 to 10 days.
