Does my child have hand, foot and mouth disease?

Due to children’s weaker immune systems, they’re vulnerable to some illnesses that don’t generally impact adolescents and adults.

One of these ailments is hand, foot and mouth disease, a common illness caused by a virus. It generally affects children up to 10 years old, but children age 5 and younger are the most susceptible.

What are the symptoms?

Hand, foot and mouth disease is sometimes mistaken for other illnesses, such as chickenpox, insect bites or herpes. The telltale symptoms are:

• Painless, red rash on the palms of hands, soles of feet and, occasionally, the diaper area; appears flat or as small bumps or blisters
• Tiny mouth sores on the tongue and inside of the cheeks; can also appear on the gums and back of the throat

Other symptoms generally include:

• Drooling
• Fever
• Loss of appetite
• Pain when swallowing
• Rash over the rest of the body
• Sore throat

How does it spread?

The virus usually spreads a couple of ways:

• Contact with stool from an infected person, which happens when someone doesn’t wash their hands sufficiently after using the bathroom or changing a diaper
• Contact with oral and respiratory droplets when someone coughs, sneezes, drools or talks

But at what point should a parent take their child to see a doctor?