Saturday, May 12, 2012 Hand-Foot-and-Mouth (HFM) Disease Posted
by: Sharmila RajahWe're hearing so many cases of the above
around us. So let's update ourselves about this disease. What is
it? HFM is a viral illness. It produces blisters in the mouth
and a rash primarily on hands, feet or buttocks in most
children. Children are cranky with a sore throat, decreased
appetite and/or fever. The illness typically clears in a week.
It is caused by several different viruses. The vast majority of
cases are caused by the coxsackievirus A16. What if your child
has gotten it before- is he or she immune to it? A child will
form antibodies to a virus that causes the infection. If your
child is re-exposed to the same virus, he will probably not be
re-infected though he may still be susceptible to the virus in
varying degrees. The good news- most children have had one case
of hand-foot-and-mouth syndrome caused by the coxsackievirus
A16. Therefore, they probably will not catch it again but there
are no guarantees, especially