Hand, Foot, and Mouth

What is hand, foot, and mouth disease?

Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a common childhood virus that is caused by different viruses. It typically affects infants and children under age 5, but older kids and adults can catch it as well.

What are the signs and symptoms?

From the time of exposure, it can take 3 to 6 days for the first symptoms to show up. It usually starts with a fever, sore throat, and runny nose—much like the common cold—but then a rash with tiny blisters may start to show up on the following body sites:

In the mouth
Fingers
Palms of hands
Soles of feet
Buttocks

Note: One, few, or all of these body sites may have blisters. Not all kids get a rash, but the rash can be especially widespread in kids with eczema.
Symptoms are the worst in the first few days but are usually completely gone within a week. Peeling of the fingers, toes, and nails after 1 to 2 weeks can happen, but it is harmless.

How is hand, foot, and mouth disease diagnosed?

Your pediatrician can tell if your child has hand, foot, and mouth disease based on the symptoms you describe and by looking at your child’s mouth sores and rash.

If your child is diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth disease, make sure to inform your child’s child care provider or school. They may need to inform other parents and staff members about watching for symptoms.

What is the treatment?

There isn’t any medicine to treat or cure hand, foot, and mouth disease. The only thing parents can do is ease the fever and pain with acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Call your pediatrician if your child’s fever lasts more than 3 days or if he or she is not drinking fluids and hasn’t peed in over 8 hours.

How long is it contagious?

You are generally most contagious during the first week of illness. But, children with hand, foot, and mouth disease may shed the virus from the respiratory tract (nose, mouth and lungs) for 1-3 weeks and in the stool for weeks to months after the infection starts.

How is hand, foot, and mouth disease spread?

The virus causing hand, foot, and mouth disease is usually spread through person-to-person contact when a child talks, coughs, or sneezes and the droplets travel through the air (no more than 3 feet) or with contact from body fluids from objects contaminated by children who carry these viruses.

How can I help prevent and control the spread of hand, foot, and mouth disease?

Teach your children to cover their mouths and noses when sneezing or coughing with a disposable tissue, if possible, or with an arm sleeve if no tissue is available. Teach everyone to wash their hands right after using tissues or having contact with mucus. Change or cover contaminated clothing.
Wash your hands after changing diapers. Parents can spread the virus to other surfaces by coming in contact with any feces, blister fluid or saliva.
Clean, rinse, and sanitize toys that may have come in contact with your child’s saliva
Prevent sharing of food, drinks, and personal items that may touch your child’s mouth, such as eating utensils, toothbrushes, and towels.
Protect other children in the house. Make sure they do not come in close contact with the child who is infected. Kissing, hugging, and sharing cups and utensils can spread the infection quickly. If your children share a room, separate them while the sick child is contagious.
Disinfect any surfaces your child touches frequently—this may be helpful to prevent a sibling from getting hand, foot, and mouth disease (and it is doable if you’re are careful about cleaning surfaces).

Can my child go to school or child care with hand, foot, and mouth disease?

Only if your child is:

Feeling well enough to participate in class.
Has been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
Not dealing with many open blisters. It usually takes about 7 days for the blisters to dry up.

Note: Exclusion from child care or school will not reduce the spread of hand, foot, and mouth disease because children can spread the virus even if they have no symptoms and the virus may be present in the stool for weeks after the symptoms are gone