Hand-foot-and-mouth disease

Diagnosis

Your child’s doctor will probably determine whether your child has hand-foot-and-mouth disease or other viral infections by assessing:

• The age of your child
• The symptoms exhibited by your child
• The appearance of your child’s rash or sores

Your child’s doctor might conduct a throat swab or collect a stool specimen. The obtained sample will be sent to the laboratory for analysis to identify the specific virus responsible for the illness.

Treatment

There is no targeted treatment for hand-foot-and-mouth disease. Typically, symptoms of hand-foot-and-mouth disease resolve within a span of 7 to 10 days. To alleviate the pain associated with mouth sores, the use of a topical oral anesthetic may be beneficial. Over-the-counter pain medications, excluding aspirin, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, can be employed to alleviate general discomfort.