Advice on hand, foot and mouth disease issued
Patients usually recover from the condition between seven and 10 days
- Published
Parents on the Isle of Man have been urged to to look for symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease following confirmation of the cases of the condition.
The illness causes a rash and painful blisters, and patients can also suffer from high fever, joint pain, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
The Manx Public Health Directorate confirmed the "common childhood infection" was "circulating" on the island and urged parent to follow advice including keeping sick children away from others.
Health protection nurse Theresa Thornton said: "If your child becomes unwell, they should stay home away from school or nursery until they鈥檙e feeling better."
Hand, foot and mouth disease is most common in children under the age of 10 but can also affect adults, Ms Thornton said.
"The first symptoms you might notice are a high temperature and sore throat, followed a few days later by spots on the hands and feet, sometimes in the groin, and mouth ulcers appearing," she said.
She said the condition "usually gets better on its own within seven to 10 days" and "cool soothing drinks and soft foods may help the symptoms".
NHS information on the disease states it can be easily passed on to other people and is spread through coughs, sneezes, faeces and fluid from the blisters.
The infection can be spread before symptoms appeared, but people were "most likely to spread it to others in the first five days after symptoms start".
Advice for containing the spread of the infection includes regular handwashing, binning tissues after a cough or sneeze, not sharing towels or household items such as cups or cutlery, and washing soiled bedding and clothing on a hot wash.
Why not follow 大象传媒 Isle of Man on聽听补苍诲听? You can also send story ideas to IsleofMan@bbc.co.uk