Baby Measles: Things You Should Know!

So yesterday baby A's fever already subsided but this afternoon we took her back to the Hospital. No not because of fever but because while we were changing her diaper I noticed that there were few rashes on her torso. I immediately thought of measles, chicken pox or any of the kind. Though I am a nurse I was actually confused, you know since I graduated and passed the Nursing Licensure Exam I wasn't able to put my profession into practice (Nakaka-kalawang ng utak pag nasa bahay lang lol). So I just Googled it up based on the signs and symptoms that baby A manifested and it turns out to be Baby Measles. Although we already knew what it was, we still decided to take her to the Hospital so that this would be noted on her records. Her Pediatrician is no longer available so we went to see a different Pediatrician instead. Upon assessment, she confirmed that it's just Baby Measles. There isn't a treatment for this, the rashes usually heal after 2-3 days, though she prescribed Cetirizine an anti-histamine because the rashes could be itchy and might make her irritable.

Anyways let me just squeeze in some photos :)

Picture-picture before we left

Kuya Tantan striking a pose. 

Baby Athena's OOTD. No rashes on her face yet.

Photos were taken at the hospital while waiting for our turn.

As you can see on the photos above baby Athena's face doesn't have any rashes yet, it was still around her torso. But all through the day, the rashes continue to spread out until it reaches her face.

Photos were taken just this evening.

Poor baby A, this rashes could last for 3 days. Hopefully, by Sunday it will all be gone because that's her 1st birthday.

It's my first time to encounter this with my kid. Kuya Tantan didn't have this before. It's nothing really serious but still knowing my baby is sick makes me feel sad. Besides, since it's viral and we live in the same household it could be transmitted to Kuya Tantan and me. Good thing I am already on my third trimester so I don't have to worry about the congenital anomaly. Though it could cause infection to me and it might be transmitted to the baby, so on my next Prenatal, I should inform my OB that I was exposed to Roseola virus/Baby measles.

Alright, so I just wanna raise awareness about this disease, Here are things you should know about Baby Measles. Read on... 

Baby Measles

Roseola infantum is mostly called baby measles. It is a contagious viral baby illness, a bit like the other contagious childhood illnesses, and is often mistaken for either measles (Rubeola) or German measles (Rubella). Babies usually contract it between six months and two years (more commonly in the first year). Roseola is harmless and parents don't have to be concerned.

Symptoms 

Roseola starts quite suddenly with a high temperature which usually lasts for about three days. Strangely though, there seems to be nothing really wrong with the baby. Baby's temperature peaks to very high levels with Roseola, often tipping the mercury at 39C and 39.5C. After about three days, the fever suddenly breaks and at about the same time, a fine pink rash erupts over baby's torso and just encroaches onto the upper arms and thighs. During this time, the baby is usually very irritable and his behavior and appetite are far more likely to be disturbed than during the fever stage. All symptoms of the rash and irritability should clear within about five to seven days of the eruption of the rash 

Treatment

There is no real treatment for Roseola, but use these tips to keep the fever under con­trol: 

• Undress baby and keep only his vest and nappy on. 
• Cool the room by opening all the windows and switching on a fan. Don't put your little one in a draught though. 
• Wrap cool wet linen cloths around your baby's legs and arms, changing them every couple of minutes. 
• Place a face flannel with ice blocks on the nape of baby's neck or forehead. 
• Bath baby in tepid water - not cold. 
• Increase your baby's liquid intake. 
• Use a homoeopathic fever support treat­ment like Fever drops or the tissue salt remedy Ferrum phos during the day. This will not break his fever but will help the body deal with the underlying infection more rapidly and often prevents the need for other medicine. 
• Avoid giving small babies and children aspirin. Paracetamol-based medi­cation is safer. 
• To help baby through the itchy phase, add a pot of rooibos tea and a handful of bicarbonate of soda to his bathwater and apply a calendula-based cream to soothe the itch. Keep up baby's fluid intake but don't force him, to eat if he doesn't want to. 

The difference between Rubella, Rubeola and Roseola

Rubella (German measles)

Rubella is a highly infectious viral disease which mostly affects children, adoles­cents and young adults, and is spread by airborne droplets. It is a fairly mild disease and only a slight risk of secon­dary encephalitis exists. Your child will feel a bit under the weather for 10 days to two weeks before the rash appears. Many outbreaks are so mild as to go unnoticed. 

The tiny pinkish-red spots of Rubella look more like a patch than individual spots, and they can first be detected behind the ears and on the forehead, thereafter spreading to the rest of the body. The rash passes after two to three days. Swollen lymph glands can be de­tec­ted in the nape of the neck. A rise in temperature of up to 38¡C is common, but consult your doctor should it in­crease. Be on the lookout for signs of a headache and a stiff neck, then seek medical help immediately. 

Rubeola (Measles)

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease, mostly without serious compli­cations. The measles virus spreads by small droplets from the nose, throat or mouth of an infected person. 

Symptoms like a runny nose and coughs occur during the incubation period, which is between eight and 12 days. Your child's temperature can rise to 40C, and he might complain of a headache at this stage. Small, white spots on the inside of the cheeks, called Koplik spots, will confirm the diagnosis of measles. Your child will probably also experience sensitivity to bright light and the eyes will be painful and red. After about three days, a brownish-red rash begins behind the ears, which soon spreads to cover the face and the whole trunk.

Special Delivery: My Haul for Today

Hey there, how's your Wednesday? Mine is pretty good, everything seems to fall in to place.
Right I told you we were supposed to bring baby A back to her Pediatrician for a follow up check up? We didn't, it's because her fever already subsided this morning. She was a bit feverish the afternoon but subsided after a dose of her Paracetamol and until now she is okay, no fever. And knowing my baby is okay now makes me feel better.

But you know what made this day extra better? A Special Delivery! Maybe Kuya Guard is already curious as to why we always have parcels (since we live in a condominium all parcels are handed over to the Guards then to be handed over to our Unit).
It was almost night time when Kuya Guard came knocking on our door, first I thought he is just giving out a memo but what he handed to J(my husband) was a shiny light blue plastic package and I got excited when he read out my name! I kinda had an idea as to what the package contains, but still I was very excited. So as usual, I took a photo of the package first before I opened it up.

The Packaging 

And I was right! The other night I was tagged on Instagram that the bags will be shipped the next day.

A Checkered Satchel Bag and The Body Shop BB Cream =)

I won these awesome prizes last August from Bonjour Bella and was sponsored by Sunny Side Up. Actually I'm supposed to get the UK design satchel bag however I believe there was a mix up and this checkered bag was the one shipped to me instead. But that's not a biggy, they both look good anyways. So yey, I got a new bag! It's been a while since I bought a bag, it was way back 2011 when I was still working and have the money haha!
As for the BB Cream since I don't get to go out I wont be able to use it yet and besides I don't put on any make up when I go out. I'm the loose powder and just lipstick kind of girl and i'm good to go. But using it wont hurt me right, maybe I'm gonna give it a try!

This is why I love joining contests, getting free stuff yay! =)

Special Delivery + Athena's Visit To Her Pedia + Pig Out Day

Yes! I am able to blog again, 2 days in a row. Lucky me, J's off to work so the computer's mine! (lol)
By the way right I told you that my baby Athena got better during the dawn of Monday? Well it was only for a few hours so Monday morning we went to Perpetual Help Medical Center to visit her Pedia.

There were no laboratory exam ordered, just a physical examination since Athena doesn't show any signs and symptoms aside from fever so it could be just her body's response after she has been exposed to the pool water and in an open area. So I just have to continue her Paracetamol, Sponge bath and monitor her and if the fever doesn't subside after 2-3 days bring her back in. It was past 11am when we finished, it was already hot so we went straight to Mcdonald's it was just beside the hospital. We ordered fries and coke float for snack, then went home after. Since we just had our snack we were all full so we decided not to cook lunch anymore. We're used to eating rice every meal but since we didn't that day we ended up eating and eating, as in kung anu-ano na lang. We ate bread, there were some left over boiled bananas from breakfast and pancit canton (te he). So I just decided to cook something good for dinner, our favorite Sinigang na Hipon, yum!

Yum! I'll be making a Recipe Post for this :)

This is J's all time favorite kaya ayun nagbaon pa sya sa work hehe (he works night shift). Later that night when I left the computer on, siguro kinalikot ni Kuya Tantan na pasaway ayun na-virus po ang PC! A message is appearing asking for a payment and a code then automatically restarts tapos ganun ulit. Kaya Monday night I wasn't able to go online na except on my mobile.

I woke up early this morning for my baby's medicine, yes she's still sick :(

Tempra Paracetamol, Thermometer, Fever Patch and Towelette for Sponge bath 

I checked on the computer hoping it's ok na pero ganun pa rin. So I just ate breakfast with the kids.

Here's what I ate; Itlog na Maalat with rice and Hot choco

Right after breakfast, there came a knock on our door. Si Kuya Guard with a Special delivery for me, yey! Since I recently won in a few contests I was guessing what could this be, so I immediately opened it up. Hehe who am I to kid around, syempre I took a photo of it muna :)

The packaging. Can you guess what it is?

Tada! Godiva Products.

I won this from 

Green Home Elements one of the many bloggers who hosted a Pasko sa Agosto Giveaway. What I like about these products is that they are all Whitening and it indicated there it's best for discolorations caused by pregnancy. Nice right?

Then J arrived home ate breakfast then immediately fixed the computer, good thing he's an IT :) but it was only fixed later that day na because he slept pa.
So finally, I'm able to go online to check updates and blog. Though I can't stay online that long coz I need to attend to my baby girl coz she's still sick. Tomorrow we'll be taking her back to her pedia. I'm really hoping and praying she gets all better in no time, it's her 1st birthday na this coming Sunday, Sept. 08. The venue has been reserved na, everything's almost set oh except her dress pa pala. Hay basta all I want right now is for her to get well.
Alright enough said, i'll be hitting the sack now. Till next post. Good night!

How We Spent Our First of September

It's September! Start of the Christmas countdown and it's the birth month of my 2 baby loves, oh how time flies so fast. For the past days I've been meaning to blog, I had a lot of ideas to blog about but unfortunately a lot of things had happened which hinders me to do so. During the weekends, J's rest day so he gets to use the computer the most. I refuse to use the laptop because it's just to slow, as in sasakit lang ulo ko! So it left me with a lot of pending posts.

Well anyway to start off, I just wanna make kwento about my transition from August to September. 

I ended August with a drama. The night of August 31st right before it struck 12 midnight I was announced as 1 of the 5 winners of Avon Brassiere, so I felt really great. But just right after that, J and I had a petty fight, but throw in a pregnancy and a little bit of raging hormones even the smallest of things could be a big deal. And guess what I did, I locked the room and took the key with me. Since my in laws were sleeping in the other room J slept on the living room (te he). 

But the next morning which is the 1st of September, seems like nothing happened we were again okay, I told ya it's the hormones lol. We should have gone to the church but I actually woke up a bit late so just decided to go to the market.Then after we had lunch since it wasn't that hot we decided to go swimming, yes all of us.

Emo (hihi)

I don't know why, but Kuya Tantan is so scared, grabe maka-sigaw pag dinala sa tubig

:)

Enjoying the water with Daddy

She's lovin' it!

It was fun! Afterwards we then headed to church but left baby A with my in laws since she fell asleep. We went to Las Pinas Bamboo Organ Church, it's the closest church to where we live and the only church I know so far. I felt great that we were able to complete the mass, it's been a while since we were able to then we went home right away as soon as the mass ended.

Here's what I wore to church. A maxi dress given by my in law and yellow flats by Chelsea which I bought from SM Department Store

And the boys..

We're all in stripes and shade of blue! 

It was a great day until we found out when we arrived home that my baby Athena is sick, she has fever. I felt guilty that I even took her swimming, maybe she wasn't already feeling better and the swim made it worst.

My sick but pretty baby Athena.

So I became her nurse all night. Although with fever she's still so makulit and very active, she still has the appetite to feed and most of all I didn't have a hard time giving her medicine. She's such a brave baby girl that's why her fever subsided right away during the dawn.

Typhoon Preparedness Tips

Recently Philippines was battered by typhoon Maring, which left some of our fellow Filipinos homeless and some have lost loved ones. Some however are already starting anew and moving on after all life goes on.

Before I went MIA for a week I posted 

here about our experience during the said typhoon. It isn't the worst experience of all however, there's a lesson learned since we weren't really prepared during that time. It's rainy season once again so we could expect more episodes of raining or if worse comes to worst another typhoon. So I personally created a Guideline on the things that needs to be done during emergency situation such as typhoons. It's always best to be prepared than sorry.

Be updated!
Before and during the typhoon it's best to keep yourself updated with the latest weather report.

Food and Water:
Store adequate supply of water. At home we have 2 (5 gallon) water container we are actually planning on adding another one. Since we have a baby we also store about 2-3 (6 liters) of Wilkins water just to be safe.
As for the food, we do our grocery/market shopping bi-monthly. So aside from our 2 weeks supply of food, we have to prepare foods that could last at least a week for emergency. This foods should be non perishable and easy to prepare.
Cerelac, Gerber or any baby foods that are easy to prepare if you have a baby.

First Aid Kit
Should anything happen it's best to have this. Alcohol, Cotton, Bandage and so on.

Medication:
If you are on maintenance, taking daily vitamins/supplement store at least a month supply or more.

Emergency Kit:
If the electricity shuts down you should have candles, match/lighter, Flashlight, Emergency Light, radio to stay updated and mobile phones.
Avoid making unnecessary calls to avoid network congestion. Have extra batteries if possible.

Emergency Hotline Numbers:
Make sure to store all the Emergency Hotline numbers on your phone, have it written as a back up or try to memorize them.

Extra Clothing:
and blanket if possible. It's gonna be cold the children would need it.

All of these should be stored where they would be easily accessible. And try not to panic during emergency situations as this could lead you disoriented. You have to stay calm and focused.

Try to create an emergency/disaster plan especially if your place is prone to massive flooding and there's a need to evacuate. Try to assign task to each family members, it's best to have everyone involved with your emergency plan.

So that's what I have thought about, it's shortlisted and based on my family structure.Have I missed out on anything? Feel free to share your own tips, would love to hear them!

Be safe everyone!