It is a viral disease. It can mostly be observed in children under 5 years of age, and rarely in adults. It manifests itself with fever and a rash on the hands and feet.
Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease is a disease caused by the enterovirus family. The most common virus that causes it is Coxsackie virus A16, but other enteroviruses also cause the disease. The disease often begins with fever, loss of appetite, malaria-like symptoms, and sore throat.
2-3 days after the fever begins, Painful, water-filled rashes called herpangina occur in the mouth. The lesions begin as small red spots and become ulcerated. Skin rash develops after 1-2 days. It starts as flat red spots on the soles of the feet and palms, and then blisters form. Especially in babies, there may be difficulty in swallowing and therefore dehydration due to sores in the mouth.
Not all rashes may occur in all patients with Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease; they may only remain on the hands or in a limited area in the mouth. Very rarely, the disease may cause complications such as aseptic meningitis or encephalitis.
Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease is a viral disease that is transmitted from person to person by direct contact. Viruses that cause the disease settle in the nose and throat area and are also found in the stool and fluids in the rash. For this reason, they can be transmitted from person to person through the fecal-oral route and direct contact with lesions. Patients are highly contagious in the first week of the disease.
They remain carriers for a while after the symptoms of the disease improve. For this reason, the disease is very contagious and it is beneficial for patients to be isolated until the disease is completely resolved. It should not be forgotten that many adults can carry the disease without any symptoms.
Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease can be confused with many diseases that cause painful sores in the mouth. In order for the treatment to be carried out correctly, these diseases must be differentiated correctly. In addition to correctly answering the questions "How old is the patient, what are the symptoms, what is the rash like?", this will be very helpful in the differential diagnosis in the laboratory.
In the diagnosis, the PCR method is used in samples taken from areas where the virus is likely to be found (nose-throat swab, stool, rash fluids..). Isolate the virus with or antibodies (immune system response) against viruses that cause disease (coxackie, enterovirus, etc.) can be detected in the blood. T It is necessary to avoid contact with the patient and to protect from the disease by paying attention to some basic cleaning rules. ·
Pay attention to hand hygiene, especially after using the toilet or changing diapers. To properly clean and disinfect the surfaces of all materials used by children, including toys. (first clean with soap and then clean with 4 glasses of water prepared with a teaspoon of bleach) · Avoiding close contact with patients (kissing, hugging, etc.) and using common plates and glasses.
In the disease that does not have a specific treatment. Some measures can be taken to relieve symptoms
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