Muzafar and HFMD...

Muzafar had HFMD! How the heck did he get it when he is not in school yet and does not even play outdoor that often? Well, from a neighbour's kid who stays with Kak Jah when the mother is out for work.

May 25, Muzafar started having a fever and we could see rashes developing on his palms and his feet. We took him to the clinic immediately but the doctor said that it was a normal fever and that the rashes were caused by the high body temperature and that they will fade away when the body has cooled down. He prescribed some medication for the fever.

May 26, Muzafar was still having a mild fever but now started complaining about his mouth. To my horror, he had more than a dozen of blisters on his gums and on the insides of his cheeks. God, it was so hard for me as he refused to drink, eat, or put anything near his mouth. I was really worried so we brought him to another doctor in Mantin. Again, this doctor also said that it was a normal fever and that the rashes were caused by an allergic reaction. This doctor gave some ointment and antibiotics for the blisters.

May 28, the past 3-4 days, every once in a while I had to force Muzafar to gulp down water and milk just to make sure that he wouldn't dehydrate. Even that was really, really hard. We then decided to take him to see Dr Altaf, a pediatrician in Taman Tun for a third opinion. Wow, he's really good. I was just about to start explaining about Muzafar when he saw Muzafar's palms and feet. He immediately looked up at Naz and me and said it's Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. That was a big blow to me as I hear about how dangerous this disease is all the time. As if he knew we were extremely worried, he immediately assured us that the virus here in KL is not as dangerous/strong as the one which started the breakout in Sarawak and to date has killed many children.

Dr Altaf also said there are no treatments available to cure the disease. Only medications to decrease the pain so that a child could at least eat and drink and would not dehydrate. He also said that a child would usually get better within about a week of the start of the illness. Syukur Alhamdulillah...

If you are a parent and would like to find more about HFMD, visit:
http://www.bookrags.com/Hand,_foot_and_mouth_disease
or
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/common/standard/transform.jsp?requestURI=/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/hand-foot-and-mouth_disease.jsp

This was taken on June 1, a few days after he had fully recovered. I think he had lost approximately 2 Kg!