If your child has blisters on their hands and feet, please keep them clean and uncovered. Wash them with lukewarm water and soap and pat dry.
The only time you’ll consider covering them is when they pop. Before bandaging, you can apply an antibiotic ointment to reduce the risk of infection.
5. Make sure they are well-hydrated
To support your child’s recovery from hand foot and mouth disease, give them plenty of fluids. Children older than 1 year old can have water, milk, and the cold treats we mentioned above.
Children younger than a year old should have breast milk, formula milk, or fluids that can replenish their electrolytes.
Things You Must Not Do While Your Child Has Hand Foot And Mouth Disease
The first thing you must not do when your child has HFMD is allow them to go to school until they are fever-free and the blisters have healed.
Hand foot and mouth disease can spread from the fluids in the blisters and respiratory droplets and fluids, including mucus from the throat and saliva. Hence, it’s crucial to guide them into washing their hands frequently and covering their mouth and nose with disposable tissue when they sneeze and cough. As for the blisters, they are contagious until they have crusted and no longer have fluids.
Another thing you must not do is give your child antibiotics. Hand foot and mouth disease is not a bacterial infection, so antibiotic therapy wouldn’t work on it. Giving your child antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription is dangerous and it increases the risk of antibiotic resistance.
Key Takeaways
Hand foot and mouth disease is a common viral infection that causes blisters in the throat, mouth, hands, feet, and diaper area. It usually affects children, but can also occur in adults. In most cases, HFMD does not need treatment as it is self-limiting and will resolve within a week.
Parents must remember that this disease is infectious. Hence, they must not allow their child to interact with other people until they have recovered.
Learn more about Infectious Diseases in Children here.
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