Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Toddlers & How to Ease the Pain

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a viral infection that is common in young children. Typically it is characterized by sores in the mouth and a rash on the hands and feet. Other symptoms include fever, sore throat, and irritability (in infants and toddlers). There is no treatment for hand foot and mouth disease, and it usually disappears within seven to 10 days, but there are a few ways to help relieve the pain your child experiences with this disease.

Things You'll Need

• Oral anesthetic or liquid antacid
• Pain medication
• Soft Food
• Water
• Popsicles
• Mouth rinse
• Cup, spoon or syringe

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Instructions

• 1

  Give your child an oral anesthetic to relieve the pain of mouth sores. You can find oral anesthetics, usually in the form of mouthwash, at your pharmacy or they can be prescribed by your doctor. If this doesn't work, pediatric formulations of pain relievers like Tylenol or Motrin may help to relieve discomfort as well. Do not give aspirin to your child.

• 2

  Solid foods will be painful to eat, but ice cream can soothe pain and provide needed calories.

  Give your child popsicles, freezies or ice chips to suck on and feed cold soft foods such as ice cream. These foods don't require a lot of chewing and will cool and help to relieve the pain of sores in the mouth.

• 3

  Avoid giving your child fruit juices because the acidity may irritate sores in their mouths.

  Give your child cold beverages to drink like milk or water, but avoid acidic beverages like fruit drinks or sodas. These will irritate the sores and cause more pain. For infants, try to feed liquids using a cup, a spoon, or a syringe instead of a bottle, as sucking may be painful and will irritate mouth sores.

• 4

  Rinse your child's mouth with warm water after meals. If your child is old enough to rinse liquid around their mouth without swallowing it, use salt water (1/2 teaspoon salt to 1 cup warm water) to rinse several times each day. The salt water may help with pain and reduce inflammation of sores in the mouth and throat. Seattle Children's Hospital recommends using 1 tsp. of liquid antacid as a mouthwash after meals to help with painful sores in the mouth for children over 4 years of age. For younger children and toddlers, put a half tsp of antacid in the front of the mouth after each meal.