Call for Albury-Wodonga parents to watch for hand, foot and mouth disease

Several recent cases in Albury-Wodonga have highlighted parents may not be aware of the condition, which can quickly spread among youngsters.

Albury-Wodonga Health clinical nurse educator Lauren Kendrick said the virus usually involved a high temperature, sore throat and blisters that could appear inside the child’s mouth, hands, nappy area and soles of the feet.

“It's quite a common thing that happens in the toddler to preschool age, but unless you come across it, it's not general knowledge,” she said.

"Any condition in children can be distressing to parents, but just be reassured that it is a virus that happens quite commonly and it rarely causes further complications."

Unrelated to the foot and mouth disease that affects livestock, the virus occurs mainly in children under 10 years old.

"Because it's a virus, antibiotics don't work to treat it,” Mrs Kendrick said.

Managing the symptoms would include pain relief for the mouth blisters, keeping up a child’s fluids and leaving the blisters to dry naturally.

Good personal hygiene is an important part of containing the virus and avoiding recontamination.

Cases can vary in severity and normally last three to seven days, although some can run for 10 days, with a patient being contagious while there is fluid in the blisters.

The mother of a Thurgoona toddler recovering from the virus said she didn’t spot the condition’s early signs.

"I didn't know much about it, so I didn't know that that's what was happening," she said.

"She was quite distressed and I didn't know what it was. It started off as a rash and then of course the sores bubbled and then popped and blistered."

The mother said parents’ lack of awareness could contribute to an outbreak.

“One child gets it and then it just spreads," she said.

"It's not life-threatening but it's very uncomfortable for the child.”