How to recognize early the severity of hand, foot and mouth disease in children?

Below are the answers of Associate Professor, Doctor, Doctor Phung Nguyen The Nguyen, Head of the Department of Infectious Resuscitation - Children's Hospital 1 (HCMC), Head of the Department of Pediatrics, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, HCMC, about questions related to hand, foot and mouth disease.

Làm sao sớm nhận biết trẻ mắc tay chân miệng độ nặng? - Ảnh 1.

Erythematous rash in children with hand, foot and mouth disease. Photo: Hai Yen

According to Associate Professor Nguyen, children with severe hand, foot and mouth disease have encephalitis, meningitis, spinal cord inflammation, myocarditis, pericarditis, and arrhythmia. To know early that children have these serious injuries, parents can monitor the following symptoms.

Specifically: If the encephalitis or meningitis occurs early, the child will show signs of lethargy; irritability, crying; poor feeding; vomiting; startle; staggering; and limb tremors. Just one of the above signs is an early neurological manifestation.

When the damage is more severe, the above symptoms will be more frequent or last longer. Next are weakness in the limbs, tremors, staggering, and drowsiness.

More severe are convulsions, sweating, cold limbs, rapid pulse, increased blood pressure, faster breathing or irregular breathing; disturbed perception, the child is lethargic and no longer alert.

The above 3 developments are called severe hand, foot and mouth disease level 2, 3. If not treated promptly, it will progress to level 4 (respiratory failure, shock, coma), the risk of death will be high.

In addition, children under 5 years old will be at serious risk (before 3 years old, after the COVID-19 epidemic, children have little contact, do not have protective antibodies, called immune debt). Children have a high fever above 38 degrees for more than 2 days. If you know how to take the pulse or have a heart rate monitor, it will be over 140 beats/minute.

When children have hand, foot and mouth disease, there are principles to know including: Drink plenty of water, milk (cold milk can be drunk because it helps reduce pain when there are lesions in the mouth); eat enough nutrients; take paracetamol to reduce fever when children have fever, reduce pain when there are lesions in the mouth. Along with that, monitor for signs of worsening when early neurological symptoms begin to appear to take the child to a medical facility.

Associate Professor Nguyen said that China and Taiwan (China) have had inactivated virus vaccines to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease for children in 2015 and 2022 respectively. However, our country currently does not have a vaccine to prevent this disease.

To prevent hand, foot and mouth disease in children, Associate Professor Nguyen recommends that when children are sick, they need to be isolated until the blisters and mouth pain are gone (about 7 days). In addition, hand washing is an important measure; wearing a mask; cleaning surfaces and children's toys.

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