There's A Rise In Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease

By Editorial Staff in Health and Fitness On 18th November 2016

Over 300,000 Americans contracted Foot-Mouth disease last Winter when it is most prevalent. Experts are predicting that this year will be worse, with many school-aged and college students already diagnosed with the illness. This is such an unlikely disease for people to ever fear but unless it happens to them or their children nobody knows how hard the disease is to handle, and it's highly contagious.

#1 Hand, Foot, & Mouth Disease On The Rise

There is an increase of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease cases in the United States. Though many cases go unreported, The Center For Disease Control data shows since the start of 2015 thousands of patients have gone to emergency departments with HFMD symptoms; twice as many as just three years ago.

#2 Highly Contagious

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease is a highly contagious virus that is typically contracted among children 8 years old and younger, and it is common to see an uptick in reported cases in the early Fall and start of Winter. However, people of all ages have been diagnosed with the disease in the last two years, something not seen before.

#3 It Spreads Through Many Ways

The virus spreads quickly through mucus, saliva or contact with the blisters' fluid, even in the stool, with the virus capable of living in feces for up to 11 weeks. This is why hand washing and sanitizing is very important.

#4 You can Get It From Bodily Fluids Including Sweaty Palms

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease, or HFMD for short, is an incredibly common ailment that affects hundreds of thousands of people every single year. In other words, you can't get it from simply being in the same room as someone with the infection, but you can get it from a sneeze, a kiss, or a handshake.

#5 It Starts Like The Flu

Of course, even a perfectly healthy adult in the prime of life can get this disease; it all depends on what germs you're exposed to. Fortunately, the symptoms are unpleasant but 'usually mild' and not life-threatening. There have been several deaths associated with HFMD in the last three years.

They include flu-like symptoms, like fever and sore throat, but HFMD is most characterized by the itchy red spots that appear on, you guessed it, your hands, feet, and mouth.

#6 People Think They Have Chicken Pox

Sores may sometimes also appear on the legs and genitals. This is more commonly seen in patients over the age of 18. "We feel it's like the new Chicken Pox," said CDC specialists, Linda Quackenbush. She pointed out that the red bumpy rash turns into small blisters. First, the virus usually starts with a fever, then the red bumps, then blisters on the palms of hands, soles of feet and inside the mouth, which can be painful and cause a sore throat.

#7 Georgia Is Getting Hit Hard

"I don't recommend isolating your kids beyond the time that they have the fever or the blisters," said Brian Hartl, epidemiology supervisor with the Kent County Health Department of Georgia, a place where the disease has tripled in breakouts in just 14 months. "But with that, it's most highly transmitted in that first week of illness. So once those symptoms stop, you know your kids can go out and play again."

#8 CDC Recommends Staying Away From Other People For Several Weeks

Hartl also stresses for anyone infected to drink plenty of water, despite the sore throat, to avoid dehydration. If you suspect you or another member of your family has the disease, go to the doctor straight away. However, the CDC recommends that because it's so contagious, this illness usually requires you to stay home until the virus is fully out of your system, to keep it from spreading to other folks in your community. Especially with this unusual strain on the rise throughout North America.

#9 The Disease Can Leave Patients With Long Lasting Side Effects

Though the symptoms of the virus are usually mild, there can be serious side effects, especially in people with weakened immune systems from another illness or from age. In some rare cases, HFMD can lead to serious brain infections like meningitis and encephalitis.

More commonly, kids who don't shake the symptoms for a few weeks may lose most of their fingernails or toenails and have permanent scars on their face or painful spots on their tongues.

#10 Originally Started Through Unsanitary Conditions

The disease saw an increase in Vietnam and the South Pacific over the last 4 years, but the hit to the US is uncommon. The outbreak in other countries was attributed to unsanitary conditions according to the World Health Organization. The Center For Disease Control is studying the disease and its recent rise in outbreaks but warns that US states from Florida and Georgia are the hardest hit, with the most recent cases being discovered in Colorado and Maine, meaning it is on the move. Not all is known about the after effects of this disease, but they warn children and adults to wash their hands liberally.