Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common virus that usually affects children and can cause painful spots and blisters on the mouth, neck and hands and feet. Image Credit: Contributed
A virus called hand, foot and mouth disease is making its way around Kamloops. It’s a common viral illness that mostly affects infants and children, but can sometimes occur in adults, and is caused by a group of viruses called enteroviruses, according to the Canadian government. The virus is considered mild and is not a disease listed by the Home Health Authority, but it is highly contagious and in severe cases can cause painful symptoms such as blisters on the hands, mouth, throat and feet. Some parents are worried about taking their kids to crowded places like parks and water parks this summer because of this. Kamloops Jordan’s mother Bri-anne O’Beirne said her two-year-old contracted the virus at a water park in the community of Westsyde on June 30. She found out later that she wasn’t the only parent who visited the park recently and ended up with a sick child a few days later. “Other mums in the area are together on a Facebook page and that’s how we linked the virus to the water park,” O’Beirne said. “The same day we were at the park, someone made a post about her baby getting the virus from there. Then it happened to us along with several others.” READ MORE: Penticton vigilante team patrols streets to fight property crime Beirne said a few days after visiting the water park, her daughter developed a high fever that did not break for 24 hours. The next day the toddler had a red itchy rash all over her body and blisters on her tongue. “She was absolutely miserable, her skin was sore and itchy,” he said. “It took her a solid week to feel better.”
Once her daughter started feeling better, Beirne’s boyfriend stuck it out. “He didn’t develop the rash, but he had blisters on his neck and mouth and sores on his hands,” she said. “Sometimes it’s passed on to the parents and it’s more painful for adults. He was taking Tylenol and the pharmacist suggested he take Benadryl by mouth and apply steroid cream.” Beirne said the family stayed home until they could avoid spreading the virus and washed their hands a lot, but she said the virus continues to spread throughout the city. “I keep meeting other moms going through this, it’s pretty much all over Kamloops,” she said. READ MORE: Cohabitation, multi-generational homes on the rise amid rising costs, immigration: census Hand, foot and mouth disease is more common in the summer and early fall, according to HealthLink BC Symptoms begin three to five days after contact with an infected person, usually with a mild fever, and then small painful blisters may develop inside the mouth, tongue or gums. Small red spots may appear on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet and sometimes on the buttocks and may turn into blisters. Once infected a person is contagious for 7 to 10 days and is likely to have the infection without symptoms. The virus is spread through saliva, through airborne droplets transmitted by sneezing and coughing, and through contact with objects contaminated with contaminated airborne droplets. You can also become infected by touching surfaces contaminated with fluid from the blisters or feces. The virus can stay for up to several weeks in the intestines of an infected person and can spread during that time, BC Health said. Hand, foot, and mouth disease can spread easily in child care settings and other places where children are in close proximity to each other if proper hygiene practices are not used. Good hygiene during and after infection is very important to prevent the spread of hand, foot and mouth disease. Hand, foot and mouth disease is not a reportable disease, so Interior Health has not been told the number of current cases of the virus, according to an email to iNFOnews from Interior Health. To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly drawing. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories, but play nice. We will not censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary profanity, false facts, spam, or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in the comments, email the editor at the link above.
