AHN notes increase in hand, foot, and mouth cases
As thousands of children in Butler County are returning to school, Allegheny Health Network is alerting the public to an uptick in hand, foot and mouth disease.
The disease is a highly contagious viral infection common in children. Hand, foot and mouth is distinguishable by patches of small, red blisters which are typically caused by a spread of the coxsackie virus.
As the name of the condition implies, the patches typically appear on the child’s hand, foot and/or mouth.
“You don't need to have a rash in all three places to have hand, foot, and mouth disease,” said Dr. Michael Petrosky, pediatrician at Allegheny Health Network. “Those are the places you usually see them, but the rash can pop up other places too.”
Petrosky said he and his colleagues at AHN have noticed higher numbers of hand, foot and mouth disease cases coming into the system than in other recent years. While Petrosky doesn’t have any hard numbers pointing to an increase in cases locally, he said what he’s seen personally and what his fellow doctors are telling him suggest that something is off.
“We do usually see it more in the summer, but it seems a little bit more now than we’ve had in other years,” Petrosky said.
Aside from the rashes, other symptoms of the disease can include fever, fatigue and dehydration.
“The big thing we worry about, that doesn't happen all the time, is dehydration. Because it’s hand, foot and mouth, you can get blisters around the mouth or even in the mouth, and if they’re in the mouth, they can be painful,” Petrosky said. “Kids may not want to eat or drink as much, so we want to make sure they're more hydrated than anything else.”
Like other viruses, hand, foot and mouth disease is primarily transmitted by physical contact.
“It's somewhat contagious. When you sneeze or cough, there are some viruses that can live in your mouth and they can land on surfaces and stay there for a while,” Petrosky said. “And there are some virus particles actually in the blisters themselves.”
Although it may look unpleasant, Petrosky said the disease is usually harmless and resolves itself quickly.
“It's a pretty benign disease,” Petrosky said. “It’s caused by a virus that the body fights on its own, so symptoms resolve on their own.”
To prevent children from coming down with or spreading hand, foot and mouth disease, Petrosky recommends that parents urge their children to wash their hands properly and to cover their mouths whenever sneezing or coughing.
Petrosky noted that, while the two illnesses are similar, hand, foot and mouth disease is different from chickenpox, another illness common to young children.
“The chickenpox usually makes you more sick, and the rash is more widespread,” Petrosky said. “(With chickenpox) you get like those blisters, but you get more of a yellowish fluid type stuff with the chickenpox, where this is more clear.”
Also unlike chickenpox, there is no vaccine available for hand, foot and mouth disease.
For children who have already come down with the disease and show a fever, Petrosky recommends they receive the proper amount of rest.
“The rash itself usually gets better after seven to 10 days, but you don't have to be out of school or daycare that whole time.” Petrosky said.“ We recommend people be fever free for at least 24 hours without any use of Tylenol or Motrin.”
