How to prevent hand foot and mouth disease

The article was professionally consulted with Specialist II Cao Thi Thanh - Pediatrician - Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.

Measures to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease for children are to follow proper and complete hygiene in disease prevention to limit the source of infection. There is currently no vaccine to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease.

All people who have never had hand, foot and mouth disease are at risk, but not everyone who is infected will show symptoms.
The age of hand, foot and mouth disease is mainly in children under 10 years old, but it is most common in children under 5 years old, especially children under 3 years old. Note, the younger the child, the more severe the complication is.
Subjects with hand, foot and mouth disease are often children because their bodies have fewer antibodies than adults and their immunity is also weaker when exposed to the virus. Most adults are immune, but there are still cases of infection in adolescents and adults.

Wash hands thoroughly with soap before cooking and eating, before feeding, after using the toilet and after changing diapers, paying special attention to hygiene after contact with blisters; Clean the environment and easily contaminated items (including toys, furniture, doorknobs, etc.) with water (and soap if possible), then disinfect with common detergents normal and wash again; Avoiding close contact behaviors (such as hugging, kissing, sharing utensils) with other pediatric patients is also a way to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease; When sick, temporarily do not let children go to kindergartens, kindergartens, schools or crowded places until the symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease in children have completely subsided; Closely monitor the child's condition and take the child to the hospital for prompt medical care if symptoms of high fever, lethargy, loss of consciousness are detected; Pay attention to cover your mouth and nose when sneezing and coughing, then wash your hands with soap and water; Dispose of used tissues and diapers by properly disposing of garbage, avoiding indiscriminate discharge into the general environment; Regularly clean the house, garden, children's play place. Can hand, foot and mouth vaccine be given to prevent disease? Up to now, scientists have not developed a vaccine against hand, foot and mouth disease. Therefore, disease prevention is mainly to practice good personal hygiene and limit the spread of infection through direct contact with nasopharyngeal secretions, feces, secretions from the blisters of the patient.
Measures to clean toys for children? For shared toys (at kindergartens, schools), disinfection should be carried out daily or every session. Wash toys with soap and water, disinfect with detergents, rinse with water and wipe with disinfectant wipes.
With toys that can be washed in water:
Soak (with warm water) with soap, rinse with clean water, dry; Or soak in diluted bleach solution at a ratio of 1:50, rinse with water and dry; Or wipe the surface with alcohol swab. With toys that cannot be washed with water, you can wipe them with alcohol swabs, paying attention to corners, edges, and cracks.

Notes for caregivers in preventing hand, foot and mouth disease To prevent hand, foot and mouth disease, personal hygiene and environmental hygiene are extremely important; It is necessary to perform personal hygiene for children daily and properly clean, especially before and after contact with children; For sick children: It is necessary to wash the children's clothes, diapers and face towels, then soak them with boiling water or chloramine solution B. It is necessary to separate, not wash the clothes of the sick child with other children; Households, kindergartens, and kindergartens need to regularly clean surfaces and objects that children come into contact with every day, such as floors, walls, toys, learning tools, tables, chairs, handles. doors, stair handrails with soap or common detergents. Children need to practice washing their hands regularly and properly with soap before eating and after going to the toilet; Absolutely do not bring rice, food for children, do not use hands to pick up food directly for children. Teach children not to eat, not to suck, not to bring toys to their mouths to suck. Limiting children's sharing of napkins, handkerchiefs, eating utensils such as cups, bowls, plates, spoons, toys that have not been cleaned and disinfected; Children should be allowed to defecate in the potty, the pot is available with disinfectants such as chloraminB. The faeces of hand, foot and mouth patients should be handled well, avoiding direct discharge into the surrounding environment; The toilets of families with people with hand, foot and mouth disease need to be regularly cleaned, cleaned with soap and antiseptic. When detecting symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease in children, it is necessary to isolate the child to avoid spreading, and at the same time notify the teachers and the school so that the child can be suspended from school for a few days until the illness is cured.
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