Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

One of the many things we parents treasure a LOT is our children’s health, isn’t it?

We want to see smiles and hear giggles, not little ones feeling cranky and irritable.

We want to see them gobbling up their food, and not vomits or loss of appetite.

We want to see them sleeping all comfortably, not feeling feverish and all.

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Good health is something that I particularly treasure, even more so now that I’m here in Jakarta.

Because compared to when we lived in Singapore, all my kids fall sick much more often now.

Fever. Runny nose. Cough. Phlegms. Diarrhea. Vomiting.

Runny nose *again*.

Fever *again*.

(And they say, it’s very most likely caused by the higher level of pollution, viral and bacterial infections that are going around here?)

[Feverish and cranky]

Now, the thing with Brie and her health?

She’s been the one who’s most prone to being unwell so far. And I guess it’s because she’s the littlest and is still building up her body immune system?

And the interesting thing is, EVERY TIME she’s about to fall sick, she’ll have double eyelids!

Really!

And the double eyelids would go away when she’s all well again!

Just very recently, Brie had this condition known as false measles.

(Also commonly referred to as Roseola Infantum or Sixth Disease)

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These were the symptoms she had:

– Runny nose
– Vomiting during mealtimes (seems like she’s coughing out the phlegms too)
– Diarrhea (more like, watery stools around 5-6x a day)
– High fever throughout the day, for 4 days.
– Temperature was around 39 deg on average, and on the fourth day, it was close to 40 deg at around 3am!
– On day 4 : pink dots that looked like rashes started to appear on her chest and back. Fever was gone.
– On day 5 : MORE pink dots!  On the arms, face, chest, neck, back, abdomen!
– On day 6 : Rashes started to slowly go away.
– On day 7 : Nearly all rashes were gone. All clear, finally!

I’m somewhat glad that this is our THIRD baby because I’m no longer shocked when I saw all this happening.

Both Anya and Vai had false measles too when they were close to turning one year old.

(We’re most worried when it happened to Anya! Being first-time parents faced with a baby with such a high temperature, we took her to KK Hospital at 3am!)

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Note:
– I knew this is NOT measles for sure because Brie was feverish BEFORE the rashes appeared, and the fever was gone AFTER the rashes appeared)
– Compared to Anya and Vai, Brie had the most rashes appearing all over her body though!

[Day 4 : Rashes started to appear on the chest]

So, we chose to treat her at home.

– When the fever was high, we gave her paracetamol and kept her cool (especially at night time) by dabbing her forehead and body with a towel (soaked in slightly cool water)

– We kept her hydrated as best as we can (ie. Water and frequent breastfeeding)

Oh, those were tough days when she’s down with false measles

She’d cry a lot throughout the day.

She’d wake up frequently (like, more than 10 times!) at night and would ask to be breastfed (well, at least she’s hydrated this way)

She refused to eat, and even when she managed to eat something soft (eg. Porridge), she’d most likely vomit it all out.

She lost quite a lot of weight.

(And during the week when Brie was unwell, it was Anya’s exam week! Man. Thank God for the strength He gave to me everyday. It was tough!)

By now, she still has runny nose … but neh, to me what’s more important is that she’s eating well again, and is back to being a giggly and happy baby! =)

(Note: She STILL wakes up 2-3x at night)

Anyway, for more info on false measles (ie. What it is, What’s the cause, How to Treat, etc), check out these useful links :

– Childhood infection : Roseola Infantum, by betterhealth.vic.gov.au

– Roseola, by DrGreene

– Roseola, by patient.co.uk

Here’s to good health for the whole family and an even better appreciation for the many blessings we’ve received all this time!

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How’s your family experience with false measles?