Children's Health / 16 November, 2022 / Dr. Lucy Ansell

Does Your Child Have Hand, Foot And Mouth? Find Out Here

Please raise your hand if you were surprised when you were told your child had hand, foot and mouth. Keep your hand up if you thought this was a disease that only cows got. Well, you certainly aren’t alone. In fact, hand, foot and mouth cannot spread between animals and humans.

I am hoping to clarify some myths about hand, foot and mouth and offer some basic advice on how to recognise the signs and symptoms and what to do to when you suspect your child has it. Having experienced it with my own children and having seen it plenty of times as a GP, I hope to help you get through what can be a painful 7-10 days, and maybe even avoid a trip to the doctor’s office.

What are the symptoms?

The first symptom of hand, foot and mouth is often just a temperature. This is normally between 38-39?C.

The next thing you will notice will be your child refusing food. This is often because the second sign, blisters in the mouth, have taken hold. You will be forgiven for not noticing this! I certainly put my child’s temperature and food refusal down to the old classic ‘brewing a cold’.

It wasn’t until the third symptom of blisters on the hands and feet appeared that the penny finally dropped for me. This can sometimes be followed by a rather aggressive blistering rash in the nappy area.

The timing from the onset of the temperature to developing the rash is around 3-5 days. About 25% of children only get the temperature and blisters in the mouth so you may never realise they even had it. It is most common in the summer and autumn months and outbreaks often occur amongst groups of children, for example at nursery or school.

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The treatment is based around controlling the symptoms until your little one’s immune system fights it off.

Give paracetamol and ibuprofen for the temperature.

Make sure you offer plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration but avoid acidic drinks such as fruit juice as they will aggravate the blisters. Offer soft cool food rather than hot or spicy food.

You can buy some over the counter sprays and gels which can help numb the mouth like the ones used for teething such as Bonjela. Any friendly local pharmacist can help advise on these. Be sure to follow the dosing instructions.

When should you contact your GP?

Most children will not need a GP when they have hand, foot and mouth disease.

A call to your GP is advised if

• The symptoms persist for more than 7-10 days.
• Your child has a very high temperature that won’t come down with paracetamol and ibuprofen
• You are unable to get your child to drink and they are not weeing or having wet nappies as they normally would
• You are pregnant and get hand, foot and mouth disease. A

A GP would rather you call to discuss the problem with them as it is contagious, so it is best to avoid the doctor’s waiting room if possible.

When is it okay to send them back to school?

Once your little one is feeling normal, they can resume normal activities. The official government advice on school and nursery avoidance is that if your child has hand, foot and mouth but feels well then it is fine to send them, You don’t need to wait until the rash has gone.

I’m pregnant. Will hand, foot and mouth affect my unborn baby?

Although there is normally no risk to the pregnancy or baby, it is best to avoid close contact with anyone who has hand, foot and mouth disease. We know that a temperature due to any cause in the first trimester can increase the risk of miscarriage. There is also a small chance that your baby can be born with a very mild version if you get hand foot and mouth in the very late stages of pregnancy. Although this is unlikely to be cause for concern it is best to let your midwife know.

What’s the bottom line?

So, it is just a waiting game I’m afraid. These little people are a lot stronger than they look and can eat very little for an alarmingly long time. For me it involved a lot of tears (baby and me), a lot of lovingly cooked but uneaten food, hundreds of hugs and more Peppa Pig than I would ever admit to. 

Article by Dr Lucy Ansell, BMedSci BMBS DRCOG DFSRH MRCGP Director, Linbury Doctors

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