Coxsackie has recently plagued Bethpage High School, starting with the boys Varsity Football Team and since spreading. The minute someone in school heard that someone around had Coxsackie they were immediately grossed out and wanted to stay as far away as possible.

A good friend of mine, a junior at BHS, Bridget Pfeifer says, “I don’t want to be near it. I don’t want to be associated with it”.  She is definitely not the only one who is grossed out by it.

So, what is Coxsackie?  Coxsackievirus is an RNA virus that can cause hand, mouth, foot, heart, muscle and lung disease.  Coxsackie can be spread through sneezing, coughing and unwashed hands. Many students at BHS caught flight of this contagious infection.

You maybe wondering how you can treat Coxsackie. Well, Mayo Clinic states, “Antibiotics aren’t effective in treating coxsackievirus or any other viral infection”. So, you can only take over the counter medication to get rid of this infection in your system.  After about one week the majority of the symptoms will go away.  But, it can take up to eight weeks to leave your system completely.

Many students here at BHS currently live in fear of this terrible illness.

BHS junior Alyssa Dacosta said, “It’s gross and seems painful. I don’t want sores inside my mouth and on my hands and feet. They’re the least practical spots to have sores.”  Clearly, she is very disgusted by this and doesn’t want to be affected by this infection. No one wants to be exposed to this. So, that it is why it is important to take the proper precautions to avoid getting it.

So, you are probably reading this article saying to yourself “How do I not get infected by this?”  Other then staying away from infected people, you just need to make sure you always wash your hands.  It may sound like a joke but hand washing truly is the only method to avoid the spreading of germs.

Overall, Coxsackie has now basically become a joke throughout the school because so many students have gotten it.  I personally have not been affected by Coxsackie and I hope to stay that way.