Health Department Warns of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

By: Laura Berry Email

Updated: Sat 10:47 PM, Jun 30, 2012

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department is warning local daycare businesses to be on the look out for cases of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease.

Tim Timmons of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department says he's received reports of the highly contagious virus which tends to spread quickly among young children.

Timmons says Hand, Foot and Mouth usually presents itself in the form of sores on the hands, feet and mouth but it can be asymptomatic. He says the virus looks and sounds worse than it actually is, likening it to the common cold and stating that it usually goes away by its own within a week.

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease is spread through saliva, said Timmons, making schools and daycares places where it is commonly reported. But, he cautions, the virus can be found many other places as well. He says Hand, Foot and Mouth disease is usually reported during the summer and fall months.

The manager of Aspen Child Development, Jenny Schmitz, says she's encouraging parents to be on the lookout for symptoms and to keep their children home if they have blisters or a fever. Meantime she says she's double-sanitizing toys used by the children and encouraging the kids at her daycare to wash their hands often.

Timmons says the best way to minimize the spread of the virus is to run children's toys through the dishwasher or to use a sanitizing solution to clean them, while being vigilant about hand washing.

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