CAMIGUIN (PIA)--Due to the widespread nature of viral infections and infectious illnesses, Camiguin Municipal Health Officer Dr. Lyndon G. Aclan and DepEd Medical Officer III, Dr. Jackielyn O. Din, advised parents to take preventive actions against the spread of hand, foot, and mouth Disease (HMFD) among children during the Alerto radio program, March 14.

"The only alarming thing lang gyud aning hand, foot, and mouth Disease kay through the reports sa mga teachers, sa mga parents, ug sa mga nagpacheck-up sa ato kay ang suspects nanaghan gyud siya. Kini man gud nga sakit, preventable ra gyud ni siya, so nag-learn man gyud ta atong COVID-19 na time nga naa ta’y handwashing and social distancing, dili nato na kalimantan kay importante gyud na siya," Municipal Health Officer Dr. Lyndon G. Aclan said.

(The only alarming thing about this Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, based on the reports of the teachers, parents, and other patients who went for a check-up, is that there are already many suspects. This disease is entirely preventable, which we learned back then from COVID-19, handwashing and social distancing, which we shouldn’t forget because it’s very important).

DepEd Schools Division Superintendent Edgardo Abanil sent out a memo saying that all classrooms in the division should be disinfected to deal with the alarming number of children who have HFMD.

"Naa na sa 7–10 days, makaingon ta if ang bata dili na infectious once ni-dry na ang tanan [lesions] and wala na siya gi-fever. So bantayan jud na kung nag-fever pa ang bata or naa pa siya’y sores sa baba, kamot, ug til before sila maka-return to school," DepEd Medical Officer, Dr. Jackielyn O. Din said.

(So for 7–10 days, we can say that the child is not infectious once the [lesion] has dried out and the fever has already gone down. So we need to observe if the child still has a fever and blisters in the mouth, hands, and feet before they can return to school)

As of March 7, Din says that there are about nine reported cases of HFMD in Barangay Baylao, Agoho (1), Panghiawan (4), and Sagay (1).

She advises infected suspects to take paracetamol, since it has antipyretic and analgesic properties that will help with pain and fever.

For mouth sores, home remedies such as gargling warm water with salt or letting children wash their mouths with ice cubes will alleviate the discomfort.

The municipal health office also helped with swabbing infected patients and made sure that all schools were cleaned immediately on the weekends.

The department also told parents, teachers, and partner organizations that they could help stop the spread of infections by learning about HFMD, how to wash their hands properly, and by following the rules set out in Department of Health advisories. (GKND/PIA-10/Camiguin)