Dr. Lynn Cates
Specializing in pediatric infectious diseases and childhood immunizations.
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 Ask Dr. Cates
Coxsackievirus in the Summertime | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Cates,
Every year, I break out the kids' inflatable swimming pool, clean it up (daily), and fill it. Every year around this time, my children come down with what the doctor calls a "coxsackievirus." The children's feet and hands have white blemishes on them and they are miserable. Is there any relation to the illness and the pool? If so, how can I prevent it?— Kenny in Salisbury, MD | | | ANSWER |
June 22, 2001 | | | Dear Kenny,
You have made a great observation! Coxsackievirus tends to come in the summertime--right when the kids are most likely to be putting in a lot of pool time. It can cause many kinds of symptoms--usually including fever. When there is a rash like the one you are describing, it is commonly known as Hand, Food, and Mouth Disease. This virus is spread by what is graphically known as the "fecal-oral" route, and can survive on surfaces for long periods of time. This means that it is spread from not washing up well after using the toilet or changing a child's diaper or any other time hands come into contact with surfaces that may be contaminated with stool.
Common sense dictates that children whose bottoms are covered only with diapers or underwear (or swimsuits) can spread the virus if they are perched on places that other peoples' hands touch. A good example is that last week I saw a mother prop her child--dressed only in a diaper--on the counter at the Post Office with his little feet dangling over the prominently displayed sign telling her not to do that for hygienic reasons!
I think you get the idea that "togetherness" in the summertime--for whatever activity--lends itself well to spread of the coxsackie virus. I wouldn't put too much blame on the pool--the grocery store shopping cart could just as likely be the culprit.
That said, you should continue to clean the children's pool just as you have been doing because many kinds of germs can proliferate in warm moist settings. Also, be sure to follow careful water safety precautions--and have a terrific summer!— by Lynn Cates, M.D., F.A.A.P. |
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