Hand, foot and mouth disease is a childhood illness found worldwide that spreads through contact with saliva, feces, fluid secreted from blisters or mucus from the nose and throat. Symptoms typically include fever, skin rashes and sores inside the mouth and on fingers and toes.

There is no vaccine or specific treatment, but most children affected by the disease typically recover quickly without problems.

However, EV-71 can result in a more serious form of the illness that can lead to paralysis, brain swelling or death. Many of the severe cases in China did not exhibit typical symptoms, and the children eventually died from respiratory problems, which kept Chinese experts puzzled about the cause of the outbreak, said Hans Troedsson, WHO country representative.

So dear parents, please watch out for the symptoms as our neighbouring country, Singapore too has witnessed an increase in HFMD.

Infections also continue to rise in Singapore, which has reported more than 9,000 cases this year, with EV-71 found in 25 percent of the samples tested. No deaths have been reported in the wealthy city-state, but the government has ordered 11 preschools and child-care centers closed, according to the Health Ministry’s Web site.

WHO issued a warning last week predicting that the outbreak will likely continue in China for the next few months because the virus tends to thrive in hot weather. It advised disinfection and frequent hand washing to prevent its spread, along with closing schools and daycare centers in hard-hit areas.

Full news on AP

I have more information on HFMD over here with resources from CDC and also include a hand food mouth alert.

1. Boil 4 tablespoon of oats till mushy (blend the oats till fine before cooking will save time)
2. Add a piece of fish. (Make sure the fish is fresh)
3. Two tablespoon of green peas.
4. Blend or mash, depending on the texture your baby likes.

1kg beef (Australian beef for soup)
1 chicken liver
2 carrots, halved
2 potatoes, halved
1 stalk celery, halved
1 small ginger, crushed slightly
1 bombay onion
2 bay leaves
Water approx 1.5L

1. Boil all the above in slow cooker for 5 hours.
2. Discard ginger and bay leaves. Blend the rest with the soup to make a smooth consistency. Don’t blend all the beef or else it will be too ‘heavy’ for the bb. Just use a quarter or less of the beef. The rest of the soup can be enjoyed by the family or your elder kids.

There is the injection method: IM depo provera. Others: Implanon, progestogen (pills only). Normal OCP generally will reduce supply and therefore not recommended. – A lady ob-gyn in KL

However, things move and soon, it become a whole project to be undertaken by the company. We find an empty room, instal a sink, buy a fridge, get some nice sofa and place some beautiful paintings.

Then, we consulted the world breastfeeding advocate and they gave us the green light that it is now an official lactating room. We will be inviting a few doctors to give a talk and we are good to launch our first ever breastfeeding room.

Now all mothers can come to our office and express their milk. Now I am looking for some vinyl banners to promote the lactating room. I have looked around and hope to settle on a design soon.

It is quite funny that now mothers are coming to our office not to do business but to express milk. The moms actually can do their networking while they are expressing milk.

Dust mites feed mainly on skin scales (derived from humans or mammalian pets), fungi, hair/fur and body fragments of dead insects. The life span of the adult mite is about 2 to 3 months and during this period it will lay about 50 eggs per month. These eggs hatch and mature in about twenty-five days in the tropics. The major allergen of the house dust mite is derived from the fecal pellets (each dust mite defecates about 50 pellets daily) and dead dust mite parts. The fecal pellets are about 20 microns in size and can reach the upper airways of people breathing them. Fecal allergens contain enzymes that allow the allergen to penetrate mucosal surfaces rapidly and cause immune allergic sensitization.

Exposure to high levels of house dust mite allergens during infancy increases the risk of allergic sensitization and the development of asthma in later life. In Malaysia about 90% of children with asthma or allergic rhinitis are positive for house dust mites. In adults with asthma the prevalence rate of mite sensitization is close to 70%. Many adults with non-specific chronic cough are often positive to house dust mite allergens. Many patients with eczema also react to house dust mites. All patients with asthma or allergic rhinitis should undergo allergy tests for house dust mites to identify the causal factors for long term management of their clinical symptoms. Many studies have emphatically demonstrated that reduction of exposure to the mites in the home environment significantly lead to the improvement of allergic symptoms. One company in Malaysia has experience in home management of house dust mites. They also supply allergy products (mattress/pillow allergicovers, anti-dust mite sprays and air-filters.)

They have done a lot of research on the combined MMR vacines so , it is safe-lah! After all, isn’t it better? The kids don’t have to suffer 3X!

Yes, when we were young , measles, mumps etc is the common childhood disease but today, we have the option of immunisation in the form of vacines and these disease may cause serious problems . Sure, even after vacines, kids may still get it, but if they do, at least it won’t be serious. In our goverment effort to get rid of this disease, goverment hospitals is now giving free MMR jab these days. Yeah! I think we should follows every shot recommended by the hospital

Luckily, chicken pox is a once in a life-time thing. Otherwise, I don’t think I can go through another one again ever! I got the virus 4 months after I delivered J Y. (Two months before that, I got an appendicitis operation)….It was terrible…I got fever for two days before dh discover some red ‘benjol’ spots on my body. I have to leave JY at my mom’s place for 2 weeks plus….it’s like the saddest days of my life. I cried for a few days because I missed my baby so much and also because of the persistent headaches that occured. I also looked the ugliest at that time….My face hit the worst…Every one day is like forever…sometimes, I so tak sabar-sabar towards the end , I start to ‘kopek’ the dried crust. So, I really don’t want my children to go through such a terrible ordeal…. definetely not at my age lar. I heard younger children will go through easier period with this virus, that’s why dh also thinks no need to go for the chicken pox jab yet. But I think I will still send JY for the immunisation.
I’m a Kiasu mom, but I think I will have no qualms in having my son vaccinated when he is due for the MMR jab.

As there is no scientific evidence, which supports the correlation between MMR vaccine and autism. The MMR vaccine, just like any other immunization shots is administered to prevent children from being exposed to potentially deadly and serious diseases.

If we choose not to give our child the MMR jab, that would make him more susceptible to measles. Measles outbreak have recently been found occurring in the UK and Germany following an increase in the number of parents who chose not to give their children the MMR vaccine. Discontinuing a vaccine program based on unproven theories would not be in anyone’s best interest I believe. Splitting the vaccine into three doses would mean more discomfort for the children too.

Just imagine if the rubella vaccine was to be delayed, approximately 4 million children would be vulnerable to rubella for an additional 6 to 12 months. This would potentially allow congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) to occur through transmission of rubella from infected children to pregnant women. Ironically, infection of pregnant woman with “wild” rubella virus is one of the few known causes of autism. Thus, by preventing rubella infection of pregnant women, MMR vaccine also prevents autism.

Vaccination

This topic is popular in our forum at MyMomsBest under Childcare. Questions asked includes:

*
What is the recommended vaccination schedule?

The below is a guideline from a private hospital. There may be slight variations depending on each hospital’s policy.

At birth BCG, Polio, Hepatitis B
1 month 2nd Hep B
2-3 mths 1st DTa P*, Polio & Hib
3-4 mths 2nd DTa P, Polio & Hib
5-6 mths 3rd DTa P, Polio & Hib
6 mths 3rd Hepatitis B
> 12 mths Chicken pox
12-15 mths MMR
18 mths DTa P, Polio & Hib – 1st booster
5 years MMR Booster
4-6 years DTa P, Polio – 2nd Booster

*
Is my baby going to be sick or in pain after the jab?

Not every vaccination is going to cause fever and pain. However, there are certain jabs that may make a baby feverish. Usually, the doctor will prescribed some paracetamol for your child after taking jabs like DaTP/Polio/Hib, chicken pox, MMR .

* = DTa P (Diptheria, Tetanus & Pertussis combination vaccine) a stands for acellular is a new improved version of vaccine which has been shown to cause less side effects, such as fever, painful swelling, fits, etc. But DTaP is more expensive compare to the older version. Only the private hospitals are using it.

*
I heard that there are two options to polio vaccine. What are those?

Polio drops are commonly given by dropping the vaccine in liquid form into the baby’s mouth. The other alternative is the injectable killed polio vaccine. Compared to the widely used oral live attenuated polio vaccine, the new generation injectable polio vaccine has less vaccine-associated complications.

*
What is BCG for? Why does it produce a scar?

BCG is to prevent TB, especially TB meningitis and a severe form of TB in the lungs (called miliary TB) in young children. It is just the nature of the vaccine which produce a very intense immune reaction on the injection site, hence resulting in a scar. Some may even have keloid formation. The scar is a clinical evidence to prove that the person has been given the BCG jab. Some countries health ministry gives BCG at the buttocks purely for cosmetic reasons.

*
I heard that if I bring my child for the Hib vaccination at an older age, he will get less jabs. Is this true?

Since May 2003, government clinics have started giving HiB vaccines to newborn babies. It is incorporated with the DTP/Polio vaccine according to the Malaysian immunisation schedule at 2,3 & 5 months. For those who has not received this vaccine, the schedule is as follow:….
Between 1-6 months, a baby will be given 3 jabs
If a baby is above 6mth and below 12 months, need 2 jabs
Once a child is above 1yr or up to 4 yrs old, need 1 jab

It is advisable to get a baby vaccinated against Hib (an infection affecting the brain) from an early age because of the severity of the illness. Otherwise, it can be too late for treatment when diagnosis is delayed. The jab given to a smaller baby is in a smaller dosage and thus, more repeats are required.

* Within half hour of birth, in the Labour Ward
* First feed lasts for 10-20 minutes. First day baby feeds 5-6 times a day

Feed Frequently

* Room in with baby while in Hospital
* From 2nd day, baby feeds about 1.5 to 2 hourly
* Baby feeds about 10-12 times per 24 hours
* Each feed lasts for 20 to 40 minutes or more
* No limit to duration or frequency of feeds to satisfy suckling needs
* No need to time the baby and feed whenever baby is hungry
* At night feed 2 hourly before 12 midnight, then at 2-3 am and again at 5-6am. Good to co-sleep in the same bed with baby.

Feed Properly

* Hold baby at breast level, lying on his side, chest to chest
* Stimulate the rooting reflex with nipple touching baby’s lips
* Quickly bring baby to breast when his mouth opens wide
* Baby latches on properly and prevents sore nipples, when the nipple and much of the areola are in the baby’s mouth
* Allowing suckling till baby sleeps and lets go of the nipple himself
* Do not pull the baby off the nipple when he is still latched on
* When off the nipple, and baby cries, put him back on the same breast
* Allow him to complete one feed on one breast
* Feed on the other breast at the next feed, 1-2 hours later
* Colostrum is more than enough for baby till Mature Milk comes in
* No need to give water, glucose or formula milk
* Avoid bottles and pacifiers and other artificial nipples as these cause nipple confusion, and breast rejection

During the course, the instructor and nurses related some of their personal medical experiences on things that a young child can choke on. It is chilling to know that choking on common foods such as sausages, fish balls, grapes, rambutan seeds, peanuts and sweets had caused some children to die. I did a quick check on the Internet and found that babies had even choked to death on baby teething biscuits!

I thank God that my three boys who had gagged on apples, sweets and stringy fruits like the jackfruit at one time or other, managed to cough out the objects.

The instructor explained that there are two passageways in our throat, comprising the trachea (windpipe) which is for breathing and the esophagus (foodpipe) which is where our food goes down.

The opening of the passageways is controlled by a valve or stopper called the epiglottis which will open and close according to our actions. Choking occurs when the food intended for the esophagus ends up in the trachea.

Visible signs of choking include sudden onset of respiratory distress associated with coughing, gagging and wheezing.