Patient's question:
My neighbor's child got hand, foot, and mouth disease two days ago. They have been coughing and also have a fever. They also have small bumps on their body that itch. My son often plays with them, and now he's a bit coughing too. I'm very worried, so I took him to the hospital for a check-up. The doctor said it's caused by hand, foot, and mouth disease.Doctor's answer:
When hand, foot, and mouth disease occurs, children often start with fever, with varying temperatures, and some may not have fever, but low-grade fever is more common, accounting for about half. It is often accompanied by symptoms such as drooling, runny nose, mouth pain, sore throat, and poor appetite. Clinically, it is characterized by oral and hand-foot vesicles. Oral vesicles appear on the tongue, buccal mucosa, hard palate, lips, throat, and tonsils, measuring about 3 mm in size and quickly rupturing to form ulcers. The rash is most common on the distal parts of the hands and feet, between the fingers, on the edges of the heels, and around the nails. It is also frequently seen on the palms and soles. On the lower limbs and buttocks, it may present as densely distributed papular rashes, initially appearing as maculopapules and later transforming into vesicles. These vesicles are relatively hard with a red halo around them. The general course of the disease is mild and short, with most cases healing within about a week.