Hand, foot, and mouth disease is a common virus that usually affects children and can cause sore spots and blisters in the mouth, throat, and hands and feet.
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A virus called hand, foot and mouth disease is making its way around Kamloops.
It’s a common viral illness that mainly affects babies and children, but can sometimes occur in adults, and is caused by a group of viruses called enteroviruses, according to the Canadian government.
The virus is considered mild and not a reportable disease to domestic health authorities, but it is highly contagious and in severe cases can cause painful symptoms, including blisters on the hands, mouth, throat and feet.
Some parents are worried about taking their kids to crowded places like parks and water parks this summer because of this.
Kamloops mother Jordan Bri-Ann O’Beirne said her two-year-old contracted the virus at a water park in the Westside community on June 30. She later found out she wasn’t the only parent who visited the park recently and ended up with a sick child a few days later.
“Other mothers in the area are together on a Facebook page and that’s how we linked the virus to the water park,” O’Beirne said. “The same day we were at the park, someone posted that her baby got the virus from there. Then it happened to us along with a few others.
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Beirne said a few days after visiting the water park, her daughter developed a high fever that did not go away for 24 hours. The next day, the toddler had an itchy red rash all over his body and blisters on his tongue.
“She was absolutely miserable, her skin was sore and itchy,” she said. “It took her a whole week to feel better.”
As soon as her daughter started to feel better, Beirne’s friend became infected.
“He didn’t get a rash, but he got blisters in his throat and mouth and sores on his hands,” she said. “Sometimes it spreads to parents and is more painful for adults. He was taking Tylenol and the pharmacist suggested he take oral Benadryl and apply a steroid cream.
Beirne said the family stayed home until they got better to avoid spreading the virus and washed their hands often, but she said the virus continued to spread around town.
“I run into other moms all the time who are going through this, pretty much everywhere is Kamloops,” she said.
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Hand, foot and mouth disease is most common in the summer and early fall, according to HealthLink BC
Symptoms begin three to five days after contact with an infected person, usually with a mild fever, after which small painful blisters may appear on the inside of the mouth, tongue or gums.
Small red spots can appear on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet and sometimes on the buttocks and can turn into blisters.
Once infected, a person is contagious for 7 to 10 days, and it is possible for the infection to go without symptoms.
The virus is spread through saliva, through airborne droplets spread by sneezing and coughing, and by touching objects contaminated with infected airborne droplets.
You can also become infected by touching surfaces contaminated with blister fluid or fecal matter. The virus can stay for up to several weeks in an infected person’s gut and can spread during that time, BC Health said.
Hand, foot and mouth disease can easily spread in childcare facilities and other places where children are in close proximity to each other if proper hygiene practices are not used. Good hygiene during and after infection is very important to prevent the spread of hand, foot and mouth disease.
Hand, foot and mouth disease is not a reportable disease, so Interior Health is not informed of the number of current cases of the virus, according to an email to iNFOnews from Interior Health.
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