Hand foot and mouth disease
Jul 27th, 2005 by Lilian
A relative of mine told me that there are several children who contracted hand, foot and mouth disease here in Penang. Usually, we do not get to read them on the paper until the outbreak is very serious. I was told that one kindergarten is closed at the moment.
If you have children who go to daycare, it is good if you can pop by and hang around the place, snooping. I used to do that. My eldest son was asthmatic and fall sick easily. Therefore, I was often seen hanging around the daycare to sniff out those kids who have strings of green goo hanging out of the nose.
I would remind my children to stay away from kids like that because of my own children low immunity. While on this subject, if your child is big enough to understand, also them him/her to run far away if a friend vomit too. (as gastroenteritis is also highly infectious) Or avoid being near one who has sores. Though this may seem like a cruel reaction to teach a child, sometimes, we have to explain to them to do so politely and tactfully for our own children protection.
Back to HFM disease, you may want to check out CDC’s website on some facts about HFM.
HFM disease is of particular concern to us parents because mostly children get them. Here’s an excerpt from CDC:
Who is at risk for HFMD?
HFMD occurs mainly in children under 10 years old, but may also occur in adults too. Everyone is at risk of infection, but not everyone who is infected becomes ill. Infants, children, and adolescents are more likely to be susceptible to infection and illness from these viruses, because they are less likely than adults to have antibodies and be immune from previous exposures to them.
Source
If you want more info, just Google for “hand foot and mouth disease malaysia” and you may find some further reads.
It is also a good idea to keep the children away from play area at fastfood restaurants and playground when you hear of cases happening around your local area.
Updated :
Remember, this is just for information sake. Do not be unduly worried or paranoid. You may want to read about the latest virus EV 71 which is the HFMD in China.