Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease:
A parent's guide for infants and babies

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is a common illness of infants and children. In infants, it starts with fever, fussiness, and poor appetite. Within 2–3 days, painful sores develop in the mouth. A skin rash can also develop shortly after appearance of the mouth sores, usually restricted to the hands and soles of the feet. This disease appears suddenly (acute) and will go away by itself without any treatment (self-limited), usually lasting for a total of 7–10 days. Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is caused by viruses of the enterovirus group, particularly coxsackievirus A16. This virus is highly contagious and is spread from person to person by direct contact with secretions from the nose or mouth or from stool. Outbreaks of hand-foot-and-mouth disease occur more frequently in summer and early fall. Infants in day care often spread it to one another.

While complications associated with hand-foot-and-mouth disease are rare, they can occur. These include infection of the brain, in which case the infant would need to be hospitalized.