Patient's question:
My child is 5 years old. A few days ago, I noticed small red spots on his body. There are two or three on his mouth corners, one on the back of his hand, and some red spots on his chest, upper back, and neck, but none on his feet. Now, the hand, foot, and mouth disease has formed scabs. Can the scabs of hand, foot, and mouth disease still be infectious? Will sending him to kindergarten tomorrow infect other children?Doctor's answer:
Hand, foot, and mouth disease scabs no longer pose an infectious risk. Taking the child to kindergarten will not infect other children, but since the child has just begun to recover from hand, foot, and mouth disease, the body's resistance is still relatively low. It is temporarily not recommended to take the child to kindergarten. It is advised to let the child rest at home for a while until the body fully recovers before returning to kindergarten.When the scabs from hand, foot, and mouth disease are just forming, the child should absolutely not be allowed to pick at them. It is very easy to get reinfected. Leaving scars will also delay the healing process.