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Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease
How Much Do You Know About This Viral Infection?
By Teri Brown
"The only one that might be confused is herpangina, where ulcerative lesions are on the back of the soft palate, are much more painful and usually accompanied by a good bit of fever," Dr. Ector says.
Another similar virus is herpetic stomatitis, which is a miserable, painful mouth infection representing the first encounter with the herpes simplex virus. Here there is significant gingivitis, with low fever that may last up to 10 days.
In hand, foot and mouth, there may be small lesions on the buttocks and around the ankles in some infants. There may be low-grade fever, but this is usually minimal. The lesions last only a few days and fade spontaneously.
Dr. Ector says it is likely that every person eventually is exposed to this virus and develops their own immunity. The illness may by somewhat more symptomatic in older persons.
"This disease is probably not contagious until the lesions show up, and contagion lasts until the last vesicle/ulcer has healed," Dr. Ector says. "School teachers get very upset about rashes, so most people advise keeping the child home for the few days the rash is present."
