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Dr. Andrew Rynne
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Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How Long A Child Can Be Contagious After Getting Hand-foot-and-mouth Disease?

I was just wondering how long a child is contagious after getting hand foot mouth. We have a family member who got it last Friday and they are having a birthday party on Sunday and i have a 3 year old and wanted to know if it was safe to take her around them?
posted on Tue, 6 Sep 2016
Twitter Fri, 30 Sep 2016 Answered on
Twitter Fri, 30 Sep 2016 Last reviewed on
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Dentist,  's  Response
Hello,

I can understand your concern. When a patient is suffering from hand foot and mouth disease, he/she is contagious for first week of acquiring the infection. Sometimes some patients are contagious after the first week but if the symptoms are resolved, the chances of spread of infection decrease.

However, close contact of any child with patient suffering from hand foot and mouth disease should be avoided specially where body fluids can come in contact like sharing food or water. The disease spreads through these fluids only.

I hope this information helps in making a decision of whether your child should attend the party or not. Thank you for choosing HealthcareMagic. Take care.

Best,
Dr. Viraj Shah
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How Long A Child Can Be Contagious After Getting Hand-foot-and-mouth Disease?

Hello, I can understand your concern. When a patient is suffering from hand foot and mouth disease, he/she is contagious for first week of acquiring the infection. Sometimes some patients are contagious after the first week but if the symptoms are resolved, the chances of spread of infection decrease. However, close contact of any child with patient suffering from hand foot and mouth disease should be avoided specially where body fluids can come in contact like sharing food or water. The disease spreads through these fluids only. I hope this information helps in making a decision of whether your child should attend the party or not. Thank you for choosing HealthcareMagic. Take care. Best, Dr. Viraj Shah