SARIKEI: Prevention is the only option since there is no specific medication for treating Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).
Divisional Health Officer Dr Teh Jo Hun said his office was therefore emphasizing preventive methods of controlling the disease.
“The main objectives of the ‘Tagang’ (prevent/control) HFMD programme that we are carrying out today (yesterday) is to educate the public and raise their awareness on HFMD,” he explained.
In that respect, it was vital for everyone to understand that HFMD was a fast spreading disease and equally important was to be able to identify its symptoms and how it spreads, Teh pointed out.
“For instance, the public needs to know the common symptoms of the disease such as fever, rashes or small blisters on palms of hands, soles of feet and buttock and ulcer inside the mouth, sides of tongue and throat,” he added.
Should they notice the symptoms, they should immediately send the patient to the clinic for treatment, he said.
As prevention was the ‘best cure’ for HFMD, it was all about personal hygiene and the public must be educated in that aspect, he stressed.
Preventive measures are not difficult as it only requires us to practise good personal hygiene such as washing our hands
and keeping the house clean, he said.
“It is very simple and cheap as we only need soap and for keeping our floor and toilet clean, we only need about 250ml of cholorox (chlorine) to be mixed with five litres of water per day,” he said.
As such, he strongly believed HFMD could be effectively controlled if everyone observed all the simple preventive measures, he reiterated.