How many days does it take for the fever of hand, foot and mouth disease to subside? How many days does it take for the fever of hand, foot and mouth disease to subside?

In fact, when it comes to hand, foot and mouth disease, many people may not know much about it. They just often hear hospitals and TV promoting the prevention of hand, foot and mouth disease. Hand, foot and mouth disease is actually a contagious disease, which is generally spread among infants and young children. Many parents do not pay attention to taking good care of their children and are prone to illness. So how many days will it take for the fever of hand, foot and mouth disease to subside? How many days does the fever of hand, foot and mouth disease last?

1. What is hand, foot and mouth disease?

Hand, foot and mouth disease is an infectious disease caused by enterovirus, which is more common in children under 5 years old. Most patients have no obvious prodromal symptoms and the onset of the disease is sudden.

The typical characteristics of hand, foot and mouth disease are herpes on the hands, feet and mouth. Most symptoms are mild and the mental state is good. Sometimes it is accompanied by fever, cough, runny nose, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms. The main reason is that the virus enters the human body through the respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract and causes the disease.

2. How many days does it take for the fever of hand, foot and mouth disease to subside?

Most patients with hand, foot and mouth disease will have a fever, with the body temperature below 39 degrees Celsius. The fever will usually subside in about 3 days, which is normal.

However, parents should not take it lightly. If the high fever persists, the condition may worsen and they should seek medical attention immediately to avoid serious complications.

3. Why does hand, foot and mouth disease cause fever?

The human brain has a thermoregulatory center that is responsible for body temperature positioning, which is usually set at around 37°C. The pyrogens produced by hand, foot and mouth disease cause the body temperature positioning point to move upward, causing the set "normal body temperature" to actually be higher than normal.

4. How to reduce the fever caused by hand, foot and mouth disease

1. Maintain good air circulation in your home:

If you have air conditioning at home, keep the room temperature between 25-27℃. You can put the child in an air-conditioned room or use a fan to blow around the child to slowly lower the body temperature, which will make the child feel more comfortable. However, if the child's limbs are cold and shivering, it means that the child needs to be warmed up, so cover him with a blanket.

2. Take off excess clothing:

If your baby's limbs, hands and feet are warm and he is sweating all over, it means he needs to dissipate heat and he can wear less clothes.

3. Warm water bath:

Undress your baby and rub his whole body with a warm water (37°C) towel. This will dilate the blood vessels in the baby's skin and release body heat. In addition, when water vapor evaporates from the body surface, it will also absorb body heat.

4. Sleeping with an ice pillow:

It helps to dissipate heat, but it is not recommended for younger children because it is difficult for them to turn their bodies, and ice pillows can easily cause local overcooling or hypothermia. You can also use a cooling patch, which can take away heat when the water in the gelatinous substance evaporates, so there will be no overcooling.

5. Drink plenty of water:

To help sweating and prevent dehydration. Water has the function of regulating temperature, which can lower the body temperature and replenish the water lost in the baby's body.

6. Use antipyretics:

When the core temperature (rectal temperature or ear temperature) of an infant or young child exceeds 38.5℃, antipyretic solutions or suppositories can be used appropriately.

5. Health Tips

It is not uncommon for children with hand, foot and mouth disease to have a fever that does not go down after taking antipyretics, or to have a fever again after going down. This does not mean that the antipyretics are ineffective, but rather a sign of a serious illness.

For infants under 6 months old, antipyretics should be used with caution because their liver detoxification function is not perfect and toxic side effects are prone to occur. Physical cooling such as loosening the wrapping and wiping the body with warm water is the main treatment.

Hand, foot and mouth disease can be mild or severe. Persistent high fever or fever for more than 3 days is one of the diagnostic criteria for severe illness. At this time, the patient should be hospitalized or kept under observation and receive specialist treatment.

6. What to do if you have a fever due to hand, foot and mouth disease

(1) Fever below 38.5 degrees

Babies with hand, foot and mouth disease whose body temperature is between 37.5℃ and 38.5℃ do not need to take special antipyretic drugs. While correctly treating hand, foot and mouth disease, physical antipyretic methods can be used as an auxiliary. Because appropriate fever is beneficial for babies to resist the invasion of viruses. During this period, pay attention to giving babies more water and eating more fresh vegetables and fruits.

(2) Fever above 38.5 degrees

If the baby's body temperature rises above 38.5 degrees, or the baby shows signs of mental dysfunction, persistent high fever, muscle tremors, rapid breathing, vomiting, etc., it indicates that the condition is serious and requires medical treatment as soon as possible. Under the doctor's guidance, use antipyretic drugs correctly to help the baby reduce the fever. Do not delay.