Does hand, foot and mouth disease require long-term medication?

Does hand, foot and mouth disease require long-term medication? Hand, foot and mouth disease is a highly contagious disease that is prevalent in crowded places such as kindergartens. Therefore, as parents, we should pay more attention to hand, foot and mouth disease. In this way, once the child is sick, effective measures can be taken in time. So, does hand, foot and mouth disease require long-term medication?

The incubation period of hand, foot and mouth disease is usually 2-10 days, with an average of 3-5 days. If there are no complications, the prognosis is generally good and most patients recover within a week. The treatment is mainly symptomatic. Therefore, long-term medication is not required for hand, foot and mouth disease.

1. General treatment

1) First, isolate the sick child, and those in contact should be disinfected and isolated to avoid cross infection.

2) Provide symptomatic treatment and maintain good oral care.

3) Clothes and bedding should be clean, comfortable, soft, and changed frequently.

4) Cut your baby’s nails short and wrap his hands if necessary to prevent him from scratching the rash.

5) For babies with rashes on their buttocks, their urine and feces should be cleaned up at all times and their buttocks should be kept clean and dry.

6) You can take antiviral drugs and Chinese herbal medicines for clearing heat and detoxifying, and supplement vitamins B and C, etc.

2. Combined treatment

1) Closely monitor changes in the patient's condition, especially the functions of important organs such as the brain, lungs, and heart; for critically ill patients, pay special attention to monitoring blood pressure, blood gas analysis, blood sugar, and chest X-rays.

2) Pay attention to maintaining water, electrolyte, acid-base balance and protecting important organs.

3) Patients with increased intracranial pressure should be given appropriate treatment.

4) Patients with signs of respiratory failure such as hypoxemia and dyspnea should receive mechanical ventilation treatment as soon as possible.

5) Maintain stable blood pressure.

Treatment of other severe conditions: If DIC, pulmonary edema, heart failure, etc. occur, appropriate treatment should be given.

3. Antiviral drugs

Because antiviral drugs are generally best used 24 to 48 hours before the onset of the disease. However, when we diagnose hand, foot and mouth disease, the most effective treatment stage has passed, and the use of antiviral drugs is not recommended now.