All About HFMD

[ChiefKiasu]

tamarind:

Hi all,

Do you have any cases of HFMD in your kindergarten/nursery recently ?

My kids' PCF have 7 cases last week !

Yuh... my daughter kanna in June. Almost all the kids in her class in Kinderland got it. I heard that even 1 or 2 of the teachers were also victims :shock: . Recently, there were rumors that a kid got HFMD in Schoolhouse by the bay... but touch wood, my daughter seems to be ok so far.

[tamarind]

How come nothing in the news about HFMD now ? I think they should give us constant report. Very worrying.

[jedamum]

tamarind:

How come nothing in the news about HFMD now ? I think they should give us constant report. Very worrying.

I guess because HFMD is always around, that's why the papers will only report if the number of cases is adnormally high.
PCF's holiday coming up next week, so at least you can relax a while, while the school tries to clean up the place.

[ChiefKiasu]

tamarind:

How come nothing in the news about HFMD now ? I think they should give us constant report. Very worrying.

MOH publishes the weekly stats http://www.moh.gov.sg/mohcorp/statisticsweeklybulletins.aspx. But unless it is picked up by the media or highlighted by the ministry due to an abnormally high rates, I don't think the public will pay much attention.

[tamarind]

Thanks ChiefKiasu and Jedamum I am a paranoid mommy.


Anyone thinking of withdrawing their kids from kindergarten/childcare ?

[scoobydoo]

With HFMD, I think it is alright to be paranoid, this is one disease that as parents, we worry about the most. Partly because of the pain the child has to go thru and also because it is potentially fatal. On the work side, it also means 10 days away from work for parents, that’s a huge chunk of leave gone for the year. This year was bad for us, after dd had recovered and certified fit to return to her childcare, one week later, the childcare had to close for 2 weeks. It was a nightmare situation.

[ivon]

Hi,


Just to share my experience...my 11mth old baby caught the HFMD bug about a month ago. So poor thing...she had spots all over her body, not just hand foot and mouth. Thankfully she had only 1 ulcer in the mouth but a few spots on her lips. She could not eat/drink well nor crawl properly. Lasted about a week. It's really heartaching to see her suffer.

She got it from church. My fren's 8 year old daughter was carrying her in the morning and that afternoon, that girl started developing fever and the next day ulcers. My baby only started having fever on the following wednesday.

there's no telling when or how our kids might just catch the virus...cos we won't know whom they come into contact with who might already be carrying the virus...now i just try to make sure that no one else carries my baby except her caregivers.

[tamarind]

scoobydoo,

Yes that is really a nightmare I think childcare centres and kindergarten should do more to prevent HFMD. I read that HFMD is spread from person to person by direct contact with the nasal discharge, saliva, faeces and fluid from the rash of an infected person. For very young children, the teachers need to pay attention and make sure that they always wash their hands, and don't put their hands in their mouth. In most CC, it is 1 teacher to 8 or 15 children. It is very difficult for the teacher to pay attention to every child. So they should have a smaller teacher to children ratio.

Of course parents also must be responsible and don't send their sick kids to school.

ivon,
I feel sorry for what your baby has to suffer The only thing we can do is to keep our babies/children at home at all times. But that may not be possible.

Nowadays when I bring my kids out, I carry a big packet of anti-bacterial wet tissue. Once we sit down to eat outside, the first thing I do is wipe the table top with the tissue to disinfect it. Then also disinfect my kids' hands. Quite scared.

[tamarind]

My 4 year old boy got HFMD He has ulcers in his throat and gums, too painful to drink anything. He is now hospitalized.


The strange thing is that he shows no symptoms on his tongue, hands, feet at all. His nursery school only checks these, so it is useless

I would advise all parents to check the throat and gums of the child as well.

[ChiefKiasu]

tamarind:

My 4 year old boy got HFMD He has ulcers in his throat and gums, too painful to drink anything. He is now hospitalized.


The strange thing is that he shows no symptoms on his tongue, hands, feet at all. His nursery school only checks these, so it is useless

I would advise all parents to check the throat and gums of the child as well.

Yes... that's exactly what happened to my daughter. No visible external symptoms... only maybe one or two bumps on one leg. But it is all deep in the throat. And nothing much the doctor can do except to recommend lots of water and paracetamol. I recommend cold yogurt, which is cold and can numb the throat while consuming. Watch out for the temperature, which can swing quite wildly over a 10 day period.

HFMD problems can be harder on the parents than the kids especially if they are working fulltime. Take lots of supplements and water yourself while looking after the sick child. And no matter how we try to prevent it, as long as we send our children to playgroups and childcare, there is no guarantee against HFMD.