Number of hand, foot and mouth disease cases increases
Statistics at Children's Hospital 1, currently, the number of hand, foot and mouth disease cases has increased, higher than the same period in 2024 and higher than the 5-year average. In the first 3 months of 2025, there were 142 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease hospitalized.
At Thu Duc City Hospital, in just the first 3 months of 2025, the unit recorded 132 examinations and 7 hospitalizations for hand, foot and mouth disease. This shows that the disease's progression is worrying.
Doctor Pham Hoang Anh Khoa - Department of Pediatrics, Thu Duc City Hospital - said that the virus that causes hand, foot and mouth disease can be transmitted through many paths such as direct contact with feces, nasal discharge, rupture, or indirectly through toys, viral items and the digestive tract.
Dangerous complications can include encephalitis, myocarditis, acute pulmonary edema and can lead to death if not detected and treated promptly.
Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent hand, foot and mouth disease. Therefore, preventive measures play an important role.
Some points to note include washing your hands regularly with soap, environmental sanitation and clean items, eating cooked food and drinking boiled water. Avoid letting children put their hands or toys in their mouths and increase their resistance.
Close coordination between family and school is an important factor in controlling the spread of the disease in the community. When detecting children with the disease, parents need to immediately notify the school for appropriate precautions.
Do not arbitrarily treat at home with folk remedies
According to Dr. Anh Khoa, hand, foot and mouth disease is an acute infectious disease, commonly found in children under 5 years old, especially children under 3 years old.
When detecting symptoms in children, parents need to take their children to a medical facility immediately for examination and treatment. Absolutely do not arbitrarily treat at home with folk remedies. Children need to be off school and quarantined for 7-10 days to avoid spreading.
Regarding nutrition, children need to be guaranteed adequate groups of nutrients, especially protein from fish, eggs, milk and vitamins from red-yellow vegetables, dark green vegetables.
Divide your meals, choose soft, swallowing foods and supplement enough water and electrolytes. Avoid hot, salty or hard foods.
After recovering from hand, foot and mouth disease, children need special care for at least 2 weeks. You need to supplement more nutrients, especially vitamins A, C and zinc to increase resistance.
