What Is Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease? Cause, Treatment and Prevention
Mets ace Noah Syndergaard was placed on the 10-day disabled list with hand, foot and mouth disease at the end of July.
And it's not just the Mets suffering from what sounds like a laughable problem. Nope it's spread across the boroughs, and now, new Yankees pitcher J.A. Happ has been diagnosed with the disease.
So just what is hand, foot and mouth disease? It's also known as the Coxsackie viral infection.
According to the New York Department of Health, it's a viral infection that causes a blister-like rash that, as the name implies, involves the hands, feet and mouth. While the infection usually occurs in children under 10 years old, it can occur in adults. It's spread by contact with nose and throat discharge, blisters and feces of infected people.
Symptoms include fever, poor appetite, runny nose and sore throat. A rash will develop one to two days after the first symptoms. People are contagious from when symptoms appear to when the blister lesions disappear. There is no specific treatment, rather than treating fever and staying hydrated.
Good hygiene and washing hands are crucial to prevent the spread of the disease, the CDC says.
