How to treat hand, foot and mouth disease in children?

Children with hand, foot and mouth disease need to be treated promptly. In most cases, the disease is mild and can be relieved through symptomatic treatment and care. However, if a high fever persists and consciousness is abnormal, medical attention should be sought immediately. Common treatments include medication, physical cooling and home care.

1. Drug treatment

Hand, foot and mouth disease is usually caused by enterovirus infection. There is currently no specific antiviral drug, but some symptomatic drugs can be used to relieve discomfort.

Antipyretics: If the child's fever exceeds 38.5℃, you can use children's formulations of ibuprofen or acetaminophen to reduce the fever. Use it strictly according to the doctor's advice.

Oral anti-inflammatory drugs: For herpes and ulcers in the mouth, you can use Kaihoujian spray or apply vitamin B complex liquid to help relieve pain and speed up healing.

Soothing topical compresses: If the itching of herpes on the hands or feet is severe, you can apply calamine lotion topically under the guidance of a doctor.

2 Physical cooling

If the child's fever is not high, physical cooling can be used. Common methods include:

Warm water sponge bath: Use warm water to gently wipe your child's body, especially the armpits, neck, and limbs, to help cool down.

Cold compress on forehead: Applying a cold towel to the forehead for a short time can help reduce the temperature.

3. Home Care

During home care, you should pay attention to the following:

Maintain a light diet: Children may have difficulty eating when they have oral pain. It is recommended to give them warm and cool liquid or semi-liquid diets, such as rice porridge, soft noodles, etc. Avoid overly hot or spicy foods.

Strengthen oral hygiene: Let your child rinse his mouth with warm water after meals to prevent food residues from irritating ulcers.

Replenish fluids: Children may eat less due to fever or herpes pain, so they need to drink more warm water or light salt water to avoid dehydration.

It should be emphasized that if a child shows the following serious symptoms, such as high fever for more than 3 days, mental depression, limb weakness, difficulty breathing and other symptoms, he should go to the hospital immediately to avoid serious complications such as meningitis or myocarditis.

In most cases, there is no need to panic when children have hand, foot and mouth disease. They can recover quickly with the right treatment and home care. However, parents should pay close attention to changes in symptoms and seek medical attention in a timely manner if the condition worsens. Parents can also do preventive work in their daily lives, such as keeping their hands clean and avoiding taking their children to crowded places, to reduce the risk of infection.