[ad_1]
As the start of the 2024/25 school year approaches, parents are encouraged to protect their children from Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.
The urging came from Westmoreland Health Promotion and Education Officer Gerald Miller, who said data from the Department of Health and Wellness showed increases in cases tend to occur between March to June and September to December.
However, he noted that a spike could occur at any time, so parents must remain vigilant.
Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common childhood illness caused by different enteroviruses, such as coxsackievirus, and is most common in young children, infants and toddlers.
It is characterized by fever, a vesicular rash on the palms and soles of the feet, and blisters inside the mouth.
Children usually contract the virus through close contact with younger children who are infected with the virus, etc. It usually occurs in small outbreaks in nurseries or kindergartens.
“This infectious disease must be prevented through good personal hygiene, so hygiene is important. So we encourage parents to pay attention to hand washing… it is very important,” Mr Miller told JIS News.
He further stressed that daycare facilities must also ensure that their facilities as well as toys that children come into contact with are properly disinfected with bleach.
“So if you notice anything unusual on your child’s skin, such as blisters, we want you to remove your child from school immediately and have him or her checked by a clinician,” the health promotion officer said.
Other symptoms of the disease include fever and general malaise (loss of appetite, aches and pains, etc.) that last one to two days.
After a fever develops, small red spots usually appear on the hands, feet, and inside the mouth, which often develop into blisters.
Blisters may appear on the gums, inside of the cheeks, and on the tongue, and patients may complain of mouth pain and sore throat.
Young children tend to drool, be reluctant to swallow, and may refuse to drink or eat because they are uncomfortable. Very young infants may even become dehydrated from reduced fluid intake.
Infected children usually have mild illness and recover within a week of developing symptoms.
All cases of HFMD in institutions such as daycare centers and schools should be reported to the medical officer of the parish health department.
[ad_2]
Source link
