Upon hearing the unsettling news of my kids’s condition (my four-year-old was
also developing the rash and complaining of “owies” in her mouth), I dutifully rang my friend M, whose kids were scheduled to come to my place that afternoon for playgroup.
Funnily enough, she was really cool about the entire “Hand Foot Mouth” thing, and said her kids probably had it too by now so another day wouldnt make a difference anyway, so would it be ok if they came over as planned? Oh, ok then.
But for Moms who are probably more OC about hygene like I am ( and I can name a couple), it pays to know how to prevent this kind of thing from happening.
Here’s what I found, also useful for any other infectious disease our kids are exposed to in this big wide world of ours, courtesy of the National Center For Infectious Diseases:
“Specific prevention for HFMD or other non-polio enterovirus infections is not available, but the risk of infection can be lowered by good hygienic practices. Preventive measures include frequent handwashing, especially after diaper changes (see “Handwashing” in: An Ounce of Prevention: Keeps the Germs Away), cleaning of contaminated surfaces and soiled items first with soap and water, and then disinfecting them by diluted solution of chlorine-containing bleach (made by mixing approximately � cup of bleach with 1 gallon of water. Avoidance of close contact (kissing, hugging, sharing utensils, etc.) with children with HFMD may also help to reduce of the risk of infection to caregivers.”
[tags]Hand foot mouth disease,infectious diseases children, kids health, coxackie[/tags]
Originally posted on October 21, 2006 @ 10:48 pm
