School Holidays with.... Coxsackie

(Updated : pictures of spots on hands and feet as I've been asked to show how HFM disease looks like...)

Last week on Monday, my Hasya came to me and showed a blister on her tongue.
“Sakitlah Ibu”, she complained.

“Maybe Hasya tergigit kot. It’s ok, it will go away in 2-3 days”, I said. So Oral Aid came to the rescue that night.

Then my Haifa showed me some red dots on the soles of her feet.
“Ibu, sakit sangatlah. Haifa tak boleh pijak. Haifa rasa Haifa pijak batu masa swimming semalam. Boleh tak Haifa pakai sandal pergi sekolah esok?”

“You might as well wear your Nike, it will hurt less I think”, that was my reply. And I put some ointment on her feet before she went to sleep that night.

When I came home the next day, Haifa showed me the palms of her hands. There were around ten red dots on her palms. Right there and then I knew that this was something serious.

Dear Hubby brought them to their pediatrician and after paying RM250, it was confirmed that they were infected with a mild Coxsackie disease. And they were to be house-quarantined until the rashes disappear.

I wasn’t completely satisfied with that, so I called Sime Darby Medical Center (f.k.a SJMC) and told the doctor of my worries. She confirmed with the first pediatrician’s advice. “Only come to the ER if they didn’t eat or drink, since it will be soreness in the throat or mouth.”

Thursday came, and my Hanis got it too. Her rashes were more - on her hands, legs and in the mouth. Went to the pediatrician again. And Hanis was to be house-quarantined like her two sisters.

So there goes our plan of watching Night at the Museum 2. (Lucky I’d watched Angels and Demons on the weekend when it was first shown).

I tried to find the source of the disease, like who and where actually it all started. Later I found out that :
1) Hasya’s tuition-mate just came back from 2-week absence due to Coxsackie
2) Haifa’s Sekolah Agama classmate had it last two weeks
3) Hanis’s kindy has reported a few cases prior to this
So, it’s actually everywhere. It’s easily spread especially to children below ten. The younger the child is, the worse it will become.

We brought Hanis and Haifa to the ER when they started having high fever and Hanis refusing to drink. And they were admitted to the wards.

So here I am, typing away in a double-bedded room in SDMC where my two girls are sleeping soundly at the moment. The girls are getting better, Alhamdulillah. The fever’s gone, and Hanis’s beginning to eat and drink. She lost a few pounds, I can see by the look of it. And my Haifa? She doesn’t look like she’s ill. Hah, that chubby girl, all excited with the hospital gadgets!

Pity them, school holidays and they gotta spend it in a hospital!