Cases of this viral infection rising in Kolkata; here's everything you need to know about it

There has been a surge in cases of hand, mouth, and foot disease, in Kolkata. According to some media reports these cases have been mainly on the rise after the onset of monsoon. It is a highly contagious viral infection, mainly affecting children under the age of 5. However, adults are also advised to take precautions, as it can even spread to them.

It is a viral infection that leads to the development of rashes on palms, soles, and other body parts. Painful mouth sores and swollen lymph nodes also form as a result. The milder infections usually clear themselves within 10 days, but the more serious cases can take longer. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the disease is caused by viruses belonging to the coxsackievirus and enterovirus families. These viruses are typically present in the digestive tracts of children, including in their mouths and anus.

The initial signs of the disease are a sore throat, fever, and loss of appetite. As the infection progresses, the symptoms also include rashes on the hands and feet and painful mouth ulcers. Complications caused by the disease can also lead to dehydration, loss of fingernails or toenails, and sometimes even encephalitis and meningitis.

The infection affects children when they go to school or daycare, and this triggers the spread of the disease. As per health journals, even when the blisters dry up, the virus can spread to others from the stools of infected children as they continue to live there. Other ways it can spread include by sneezing in public, on physical contact with an infected person, kissing, hugging, sharing food or clothes with an infected person, touching contaminated doorknobs, and other such surfaces.

Asymptomatic patients can spread the disease unknowingly, thus it is prescribed to take precautions from the beginning itself to stop its further transmission. Some common measures you can take include, maintaining proper hand hygiene by washing your hands and that of your children, covering hands while sneezing or wearing a mask in public places, throwing tissues immediately in the trash after you have used them, washing linens and clothes with hot water. To stop the spread of infection abstain from sending children to schools if they are unwell.

If you or your children are infected with this disease, don’t panic, milder variants can be simply treated with easy at-home care. Cleaveland Clinic suggests using over-the-counter pain relief medicines and gargling with salt water to relieve throat pain, on the other hand, adults can use numbing sprays or mouthwashes for the same. Apart from that, take general precautions like avoiding spicy food, and ice cream and drinking plenty of fluids. If the symptoms persist for a long time, then go see your doctor.