OTHER NAMES

Standing syndrome - hand - mouth.

DEFINITION

The foot-and-mouth disease is a light viral ailment, which symptoms are a pain in the mouth and presence of small blisters or ulcers. Two types of viruses that cause it are the Coxsackie virus and the Enterovirus.

This illness is not related to the foot-and-mouth disease that affects the cattle.

EPIDEMIOLOGY

It is known that it attacks especially the children who begin walking, although it can appear at any age if it has not been had or one has been exposed to her in advance. This happens particularly when it is hot, normally in the summer or at the beginning of the autumn, and produces small "epidemics" in the nursery schools. It is not strange that any more than half of the pupils of a school or of a nursery school endures it.

The pregnant women must avoid to be exhibited to the foot-and-mouth disease, since this one can cause a more serious viral infection in the child who has not been born yet and, with her, possible birth defects. Nevertheless the risk is small, since he believes that most of the women have been immunized against this illness in the first stages of the infancy.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

The symptoms of the foot-and-mouth disease start from three until six days after being exposed to her and, initially, they are:

• Fever goes down (from 37,5 to 39 ºC).
• Loss of appetite.
• Pain in the mouth.
• Feeling of "that has fallen ill of something".

Spent a pair of days, small blisters begin appearing but of normal aspect. These can change of size, from 2 to 4 mm. The above mentioned blisters are surrounded with a small area of reddish coloration. Two or three blisters can be had, or more than thirty. They appear generally:

• In the mouth, forming some slightly deep and painful ulcerations.
• In the palms of the hands and in the plants of the feet, in most of the children in preschool age and in ten per cent of the adults.
• With less frequency, in the buttocks, in the top part of the arms and of the legs or in the genitals.

The blisters placed in the exterior part of the mouth usually neither nor hurt sting.

TREATMENT

A treatment does not exist for the foot-and-mouth disease. Normally it is very light and it lasts from a few days until one week. Most of the blisters disappear without ulcerating, be opening, and do not break to form crusts or to leave scars.

The only recommended medicine is the Paracetamol.

The children and the adolescents must not take aspirins since his use has collaborated with a serious one although rare cerebral disorder and hepatic called syndrome of Reye.

If you have ulcers in the mouth, avoid to eat or to drink citric, salty or piquant food.

The pregnant women must consult with his doctor before taking any medicine without medical recipe. It is advisable that the parents and the persons with medical problems read attentively the brochures of the products and consult with the pharmacist if they have some doubt about his use.

WHEN TO CALL HIS DOCTOR

The normal course of this illness is normally light and it presents so few complications that it is not necessary to come to the doctor.

WHAT DOCTOR CAN TREAT ME?

• DERMATOLOGISTS
• PEDIATRICIANS
• Consult the Specialist

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