My 14-month old son has this bad habit of scratching himself and when I check his skin, there often is nothing. But that is his way of communicating in a non-verbal way that a spot itches.
In fact, most children are not able to string full, coherent sentences together until they are out of diapers. Some children can say a few words here and there but usually not enough to vocalise what is going on.
So as parents, we always have to read into their non-verbal cues to know what is going on with them.
Besides observation, like noting that a spot itches, parents should also identify other telltale signs of something more serious by knowing what these various spots and markings mean.
Especially with dengue season around the corner again, there is concern that parents might not know if their kids are experiencing symptoms because some kids may not be able to tell their kids when something is wrong at such a young age.
In that case, it’s also good to know the symptoms off the top of your head so you might be able to identify it easily if you spot them.
A symptom of dengue parents might miss out
1. Rashes
At this young age, many children still suffer from sporadic skin outbreaks, so one of the most common symptoms of dengue that parents might miss out is rashes.
Rashes are a clear indication that something is wrong with your child - whether it is an allergy or something deeper like dengue, rashes is a symptom of dengue parents tend to miss out on sometimes, thinking it might just be contact dermatitis.
This is a symptom often missed out or disregarded if a child doesn’t present with a fever in the beginnings.
2. Fever
True to its name, dengue fever tends to come with high recorded body temperature. Most often, children who suffer from dengue fever will have temperatures as high as 40 degrees celsius.
3. A severe headache
If your child looks like they are in pain and they are clutching their head and crying, they might be experiencing a headache. This is one of the common symptoms of dengue.
4. Severe aches and pains
Dengue fever, unfortunately, also causes really bad aches and pains in the body. Children will typically display a loss of appetite, loss of mood and a general lethargic outlook because of this.
This pain can even happen around or behind the eyes, which is really uncomfortable for the child.
5. Mild bleeding from the gums or nose
It is possible for a child who is suffering from dengue fever to also experience this symptom.
6. Bruising easily
This symptom is also another hard one to identify because children, especially toddlers, tend to fall down and bruise a lot. But if you find that your child has more bruises than normal and they are not banging into things or falling down anymore, then it might be a symptom of dengue fever.
7. Dehydration
If dengue fever is left untreated professionally fast enough, it is possible that the child might also experience dehydration. It is best not to even let it get to this point as dengue can be life-threatening.
A symptom of dengue can start anywhere from the fourth day of being infected all the way up to 2 weeks, and the effects usually typically last up to a week.
If you suspect your child is having dengue fever, it would be best to take them to see a doctor immediately.
Can you prevent dengue fever?
Despite there being a wide range of vaccines available in the market, there is yet to be one for dengue fever.
Though it is easily treatable, many parents would rather not have their children contract the virus in the first place.
Since there is no surefire way to prevent dengue fever, the best practice for parents is to keep their children away from mosquito-ridden areas.
That is why you often see many accessories to prevent mosquitoes from entering the house, such as mosquito nets, installed in homes. Besides that, some parents also buy mosquito coils to burn or spray the house with mosquito repellent.
However, the smell and particles in the air can be quite strong and may end up being more harmful to a young child’s developing lungs.
World’s first anti-mosquito diaper
To address this increasingly common problem that parents face, Mamypoko has introduced their new MamyPoko Extra Dry Protect diaper which comes with Japanese patented technology, integrating the natural mosquito repellent - lemongrass - into their diapers.
The lemongrass extract is cleverly stored in microcapsules at the tapes, which is released when you rub the tape, so it never comes into contact with your child’s skin.
This diaper has been tested and proven to keep mosquitoes away from your little ones and to test its effectiveness, we got a packet to try out and here’s what we found.
MamyPoko Extra Dry Protect diaper review
Having just turned 14 months old, my baby LOVES going out. We have taken him to parks, to the beach, to the zoo and to many more outdoor places.
But my main concern when taking him to these places is of course, mosquitos. Being quite the mosquito-bait myself (thanks to my O-positive blood type!), I never wanted my son to experience the awful discomfort of being bitten mosquitos every time he goes out.
So I did what any overly-concerned parent would do - I bought mosquito repellent patches for him and wrapped his stroller up in mosquito nets. He would tear off the patches and swat away the mosquito nets almost instantly and he would be left vulnerable to those bloodsucking predators!
Then I noticed that he would come home with one or two bites on him and he would claw at the itchy spots all night, which is absolutely heartbreaking for any mum to see.
Since we tried the MamyPoko Extra Dry Protect anti-mosquito diapers, we noticed that his outings have been a lot less worrisome, for one. And secondly, he would come home without a single bite.
We started using it at home and at night too, especially on those nights we choose not to have the air-conditioner on and we crack open his room door for ventilation.
I also don’t have to turn on the noisy mosquito killer machine which tends to disturb his sleep.
Besides just repelling mosquitos, the MamyPoko Extra Dry Protect diaper also promises a good night sleep to the little ones and I noticed that wearing this diaper, my son slept easily through the night and woke up still feeling fresh.
One point to note as well here is that despite being an effective mosquito repelling diaper, the lemongrass smell is not overpowering at all and is actually quite pleasant. Even after rubbing the tape part of the diaper, my fingers don’t have any lingering smell of lemongrass on it.
All in all, it is quite the all-rounder diaper that is very functional even as it offers extra advantages like being anti-mosquito.
It is something I would recommend to parents living in this tropical climate who want to ease their worries.
For more information on MamyPoko Extra Dry Protect, visit the MamyPoko website here or get a packet from Shopee or Lazada now.