Patient's question:
Recently it's the flu season, and some classmates in my baby's class have contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease. I'm worried that my baby might have been infected. I started giving him tutoring yesterday, but this afternoon he developed a fever again, and it seems like he has spots on his face similar to chickenpox. How can I tell if it's hand, foot, and mouth disease?Doctor's answer:
Hand, foot, and mouth disease generally also manifests as oral and bone-muscle heart symptoms, in addition to the recurrence of herpes on other parts of the body such as the buttocks skin. It may also involve symptoms like drooling from the corners of the mouth and fever. It is best to have a blood test to check for bacterial infection, and also to test for enterovirus 71 infection. If either is present, symptomatic treatment with antiviral and antibacterial medications should be administered.