HFMD sage...

My worst fear of Xavier contacting Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) from his infant care has finally come. He was the fourth kid to contact it, coming down with fever on Tuesday. To date there are 6 known cases of HFMD in his class and a 7th unconfirmed case. While I can be angry about it, I understand there is only so much the center could do to prevent the spread.

You see, the incubation period of HFMD is about 3 to 7 days. This means the kid can be infected and show no symptoms (such as fever, red spots, blisters, sore throats, etc) for like 3 days. And probably already spreading it via direct contact of mucus and saliva with other kids.

Although kids below 5 years old are more likely to get it, adults are not spare. Lilian had it earlier this year and strangely (but thankfully) Xavier did not catch it. Anyway you can read more about it in the wikipedia site or the health promotion board online. Below records Xavier's HFMD saga...

Day -1 (Mon) - We were told of two gals having HFMD over the weekend. Their last day at school was Friday.

Day 0 (Tues) - Xavier was ok in the morning with no signs of HFMD. However, he develop fever in the afternoon and the teacher from his center called us to pick him up. He had very few suspicious spots. Bought him to see Dr. Chee at night. This was the first time he didn't ask for biscuit from Dr. Chee. The verdict was its likely HFMD but not confirm. That night, his fever yoyo up and down, at one point was 39.3°C.

Day 1 - In the morning, the signs were clearer. He had more spots and the yoyo fever continues. He had really lose his appetite and had only 120ml of milk and some small bites of food the whole day. He was also in a foul mood and lethargic.

Day 2 - Today's spots were the worse (see photo at the top of the post). His appetite is better than yesterday but still very low from his usual standard. He was also beginning to scratch the spots. Poor boy. Fever seems to be gone which is good news.

Day 3 to 6 - Recovery seems to be in place as his fever is gone and he has no new spots. The old spots began to heal and are not as clustered as before.

Day 7 - Got the green light from Dr. Chee to go back to infant care. And on this visit, he did ask for the biscuit.

Day 9 - Bad news, my dad seems to show signs of HFMD too with the yoyo fever. No spots yet. Let's hope its not.

Get well soon Xavier

This week hasn't been too well for little Xavier. Having fall off our bed and ended with a "baluku" on his forehead on Sunday to now having yo-yo fever and a suspect for hand foot mouth disease (HFMD), it has indeed been a tough week.

Actually falling off our bed is not all a bad thing if the fall didn't result in anything serious like this time. He actually grew wary of the edge of the bed now. If you have asked him where he fell, he would point to you the area. And if you asked if he wants to go there and play, he will reply "no no". But he had also become clumsier recently as he keeps bumping his head into places like reversing into the wall and door frame and dropping our cordless phone onto his own foot.

His infant care center is slowly becoming a HFMD hotspot this week. We were told of two cases reported over the weekend and today Xavier and another boy were sent back home in the afternoon for having fever. He is now having yo-yo fever and there were some suspicious spots on his hand and lip. But a visit to our PD this evening yield a "likely but not firm" answer as it could also be a viral infection since he is still having cough and phlegm from last week. So our task now is to observe him over the next three days for more observe signs like multiple red blister spots and ulcers.

Below are two videos of him taken when he was feeling better today. Hope you get well soon my boy.

Barcook Bakery

Something has been causing long queues in Raffles Place, something that never fails to embrace me with a warm feeling of happiness every time I eat it. If you still not sure what I'm talking about, let me point you to Barcook Bakery.

They have been churning out trays and trays of their best seller, Raisin Cream Cheeze Bun, or what I call the Happiness Bun. These bun are almost always gone as soon as they are out of oven, with people buying them in sixes and tens to give to their friends and colleagues (and spread the happiness).

You would know why even before biting into them. The wonderful aroma of freshly baked bun surrounds you as you queue to buy them. And the best time to eat them is when they are right out of the oven. The bun is both warm and soft and once you bite into it, the soft, smooth cream cheese warms your heart. The feeling of warmth and happiness will surely bring a smile to your face.

The raisins pair perfectly with the cream cheese, making resisting having a second bun a challenge. I tried to take a photo of the filling inside the bun but it didn't turn out too well. Anyway this is one bun worth queuing for. Try it, you must!

Address: 1 Raffles Place, OUB Centre, #B1-09, Singapore 048616.

They also have two other outlets at Hong Lim Complex and The Central.