Patient's question:
Daughter is 4 years old. Two days ago, she had severe canker sores, suspected of hand, foot, and mouth disease. Yesterday after napping, she had a fever of 38.5°C, and her temperature returned to normal after intravenous infusion. Today in the morning after intravenous infusion, she slept from 4 PM to 6 PM, woke up and had a fever of 38.5°C again, accompanied by a headache. Please ask the doctor if these symptoms could be encephalitis or meningitis?Doctor's answer:
Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) oral mucosal rashes are scattered herpetic or ulcerative lesions, most of which are located in the pharyngeal wall, tongue, and labial mucosa, and can cause oral pain. At the same time, HFMD primarily manifests as maculopapular and herpetic lesions on the hands, feet, and oral mucosa. In contrast, canker sores only occur in the oral cavity, presenting as single or clustered small herpetic lesions on the gums, buccal mucosa, tongue, and hard palate. When these herpetic lesions rupture, they can form small ulcers, which may merge to form larger ulcers. Canker sores do not appear on areas outside the mouth, such as the hands or feet.