HealthTree Blog

Coxsackie, also known as hand, foot and mouth disease is caused by a virus. Generally affecting children aged 10 and under, it is characterized by fever, a general feeling of not being well, loss of appetite, and a sore throat. These symptoms are shortly followed by the eruption of painful sores in the mouth, and a rash that appears on the hands and feet.
Symptoms may not be the same for all children. Some children may get the sores in their mouths, but not on their hands and feet, while others will not have any outbreak at all. Others may actually have the illness, but display no symptoms whatsoever.
Coxsackie usually appears during the warmer months of the year, and as of yet there is no vaccine for it. However, it is contagious, so parents whose children have the disease should take care not to expose them to other children until the disease has run its course.
Coxsackie is not the same as another childhood disease known as the “thrush”, although some of the symptoms may be similar. Thrush is actually caused by the overproduction of yeast in a child’s body. In addition, thrush is not contagious.
There is no set treatment for Coxsackie; rather, palliative treatment of the symptoms is all that can be done. Warm salt-water rinses can help sores in the mouth, while acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or naproxen sodium, but never aspirin-because of the possibility of contracting Reye’s syndrome-can be given for the fever and overall feeling of malaise.
The condition usually lasts for only seven to ten days; however, complications can sometimes occur. The most severe can be viral meningitis or a polio-like paralysis. Further, encephalitis, a dangerous swelling of the brain, can also occur. For this reason, contraction of Coxsackie should be brought to the immediate attention of a health care professional.