Child Diagnosed With Strep Throat. Has Itchy Feet And Blisters In Hands. Told To Use Ibuprofen And Benadryl. Courageous?
Hand foot and mouth disease is contagious but is mainly seen in children, though it can rarely affect adults.
It is caused by a viral infection and presents as you described with blister like lesions which can involve the hands, feet or mouth.
It is transmitted by contact with nasal or oral secretions ( saliva) , contact with the fluid in the blisters or through contact with feces.
Normally improvement is seen after 7 to 10 days. Treatment involves the use of pain medication for any discomfort and for any fever that is present. If there are lesions in the mouth sprays or gargles can also be used to reduce discomfort.
In terms of the possibility of spread to you, a person is most contagious during the first week or while the blisters are incompletely healed. Since he Is past his first week the chance of transmission is reduced especially if his lesions have started to heal.
To further reduce the chance of transmission you would have to be very conscious about hand washing during his stay.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Am hoping for care of him on Monday.
It would be best to allow the blisters to heal on their own. They may either dry up or burst then dry up. It can vary.
Once they are drying then there is less chance of transmission.
If you come into contact with the blisters then careful handwashing after contact would prevent you from developing the condition.
There should be no problem with caring for him on Monday once you employ careful and meticulous hand washing techniques.
The incubation period is 4 to 7 days, this means that if a person is going to develop the illness, it would occur 4 to 7 days after contact with an infected person.
Please feel free to ask any additional questions