The early symptoms are a fever and sore throat, followed by sores in the mouth and on the hands and feet. The incubation period (time between catching the disease and showing symptoms) is 3-6 days - during which time the virus can be passed on. There is no specific treatment other than relieving symptoms.
There is normally no risk to your baby if you catch HFMD during pregnancy. However, if you catch the virus shortly before having your baby, the virus can pass to the baby and they may need hospital treatment to avoid developing further problems. But it is worth remembering that the HMFD virus is rare in healthy adults. In reality, the risk of infection is low, and any complications you may suffer in pregnancy as a result of catching the infection are most likely to be caused by the high temperature you may develop, and not the infection itself.
To avoid the risk of catching the disease, always wash your hands thoroughly after going to the toilet or handling nappies and make sure the toilet is clean. Avoiding children with the virus may reduce the risk, but they would have been infectious before they showed any symptoms.
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