All About HFMD

[kwcllf]

Hi tamarind,


Any parents will fully understand what you said. Unfortunately, for most of the children, both parents are working…so no choice but to put their kids in a childcare centre.

As to building up a child’s immunity, a child falls sick quite often during the initial stage of attending a childcare centre as he/she will be exposed to all sorts of viruses that other children carry. It is not uncommon for a chld to fall sick twice a month, which is what happened to my children, and this could stretch for more than half-a-year.

This can be very stressful but gradually, you will see the child falling sick less often as his/her body builds up the immunity against the different sort of viruses.

So don’t be too disheartened…I am sure your child will eventually grow more resistant to the various viruses.

[tamarind]

kwcllf,

My boy started attending nursery one and a half years ago, just before he turned three years old. He did not fall sick less often. He continued to be sick at least once a month, so long as he went to school.

I asked the other parents in his class, their kids are OK. So I guess it is not the problem of the school. My boy simply has weaker immunity. BTW, he also has bad eczema.

I actually have a choice of keeping him at home. My mother stays with me, and I have a maid to help out. I regretted sending him to school before the age of 3. I should have waited until next year when he is 5 years old. Anyway I have single handedly taught him to read hundreds of words at home, while his N2 class was only teaching the alphabet and 2 letter words. I have also taught him simple addition and subtraction at home. I really should have kept him at home. Especially after we went through the terrible experience of him being infected by HFMD. He could not eat or drink anything for 4 days because of the big ulcers in his throat. He was hospitalized for 3 days. He screamed and cried in pain whenever he was awake. It is all my fault.

[kwcllf]

Hi tamarind,


You are too hard on yourself. Its not your fault as many parents are like yourself, trying to provide the best for their children.

It great to hear that you kid is doing well "academically" having been home-tutored by you personally. I wish I had that option…but alas, we got to work. We also not have any maid after having so many problems with them.

Cheer up…I am sure your kid will grow out of the "falling sick frequently" phase.

[tamarind]

insider,

My boy is not born pre-mature. In fact, he is born 4 days after his due date. He is a perfectly normal baby. My 5 year old girl fell sick only once a year, since she was 4 years old when she attended N2. In fact, when my boy was infected with HFMD, I was very sure that she would have it too. But she only had one tiny ulcer in her mouth, no fever, no pain, no other symptoms at all. She did not even feel any discomfort. I think her immunity is stronger, and most importantly, she knows very well not to put her hands in her mouth, and always wash hands before she eats. My girl is actually born 3 weeks before her due date. She was not a perfectly normal baby, she had terrible reflux and vomitted large amounts of milk each time she was fed until she was one year old.

I have brought him to see a few PDs about his ezcema. I already know everything there is to know about ezcema. It cannot be cured. It can only be prevented by moisturizing the skin at all times of the day. I do not believe that any CC teacher can make the ezcema better.


My colleague's son also got worst in the CC. He got bronchitis once a month, and later once every 2 weeks. His mommy had to buy a nebulizer for him. Later she pulled him out of CC. Then he is completely fine. Her boy is also a perfectly normal boy and not born prematured.

My ex-colleague's son, also not prematured, in fact, he was a 4 kg baby at birth. Breast fed until more than 1 year old, so he should have strong immunity right ? He also falls sick every month when in the CC.

I send my boy to school, only for him to socialize with other kids. But I should not have sacrificed his health for this reason. Taking medication frequently makes his health worst.

When I was young, every child started going to kindergarten only at 5 years old. Some of my P1 classmates never even went to kindergarten. Are we any less \"socially developed\" than kids nowadays ? In fact, I see much more emotional and psychology problems with teenagers nowadays compared to my generation.

kwcllf:

I wish I had that option..........but alas, we got to work. We also not have any maid after having so many problems with them.

It is very dangerous to leave young children alone with the maid at home without any adult supervision, who knows what the maid will do to the child? Attending CC is still a better option if there is no one at home to supervise the maid.

[en107rn.01056yahoo.01056com.01056sg]

insider wrote [quote]When my two elder kids got their chicken pox in cc about 10 years old, I actually ‘hoorayed’ coz that that will rid myself from worries and them from this virus for the rest of their life. [/quote]
That's totally not true. A person can be infected with chicken pox more than once in their life. As long as your immunity is low & you are in contact with a person with chicken pox, chances are you will get it again.

[tamarind]

insider,

Thanks for clarifying. I just did not want other parents to be mistaken that my boy is premature or is born with health problems. There is nothing wrong with him, but he simply has weaker immunity compared to other children. My point is that for children like him, going to CC is not going to help to improve their immunity, it will only make them worst.

You are very lucky to have kids with strong immunity. I believe that they are born with it, going to CC has nothing to do with it.

[zachziv]

My child had HFMD on his 2nd birthday. I believed he got it either at the clinic or IMM when he had two rides there. His fever will subside after pananold but will be back again to high fever after medicine effect was over. He vomited few times, no appetite.


Luckily he recovered within three days, as we noticed the ulcers at first stage. We brought him to a GP who gave him lots of medicine to cool him down. Very effective, he recovered very fast, and did not pass the virus to my 4mth old child.

Unfortunately, my hubby got infected and spread all over his head to feet. Recovered fully only after one month. During this period, I restricted him from touching the baby, doing housechores, and he needs to wear socks. Prevention is also better right?

I guess kids can really recover very much faster than adults. :roll:

[ChiefKiasu]

zachziv:

...Unfortunately, my hubby got infected and spread all over his head to feet. Recovered fully only after one month. During this period, I restricted him from touching the baby, doing housechores, and he needs to wear socks. Prevention is also better right? ...

Sounds like we are so much less forgiving to daddies getting HFMD. Kids get ice-cream while adults get socks! :lol:

[kiasulang]

My younger son has just been infected with HFMD. He has ulcers in his mouth. When he moves his lips, he will cry. He can only drink milk and take porridge. His hands and feet have some less noticeable red dots. Hope he will recover soon.

[tamarind]

kiasulang:

My younger son has just been infected with HFMD. He has ulcers in his mouth. When he moves his lips, he will cry. He can only drink milk and take porridge. His hands and feet have some less noticeable red dots. Hope he will recover soon.

Oh dear hope that your son gets well soon. Make sure that he is taking in enough fluids. Children really suffer when having HFMD