Some weeks back Ryan was ill for a long time. He had high fever off and on and it was by far the scariest time of my life. I couldn’t sleep at night because I was worried about his fever. Even during the times when he was awake, active and seemed okay or just having a slight fever, the endless worries just don’t go away.
At that time, we had many scares running through our minds wondering what was wrong with him since he wasn’t getting any better from the prescribed medication.
To cut a long story short, we eventually found out from his blood test results that he had contracted typhoid fever! Typhoid is contracted from faeces contamination in food and drinks.
Typhoid fever, also commonly known as salmonella infection, is actually more rampant in places like India and Africa, according to what we were told by the paediatrician as well as from reading materials on the internet.
It’s very rare here in Malaysia but it still happens. We don’t know how it happened to Ryan but it did. So now I’m very, very careful now when handling the preparation of his food, water and milk.
During the period when he was having typhoid, the paediatrician told us that one other patient of his also recently contracted the illness so Ryan’s case wasn’t that remote. At the same time, I also happen to hear on radio some community messages that warned of typhoid fever and that people should take extra care.
Hearing this, it made me wonder if there was a sudden outburst of typhoid cases without us knowing or it was just a coincidence that it all happened at the same time. We found out from other sources that many other kids were also suffering the same symptoms during the same period and not just in Klang Valley itself. Coincidence? I’m not so sure…
In any case, Ryan is alright now after he was given antibiotics to take care of the problem. I just wanted to share this with the rest of the parents out there so that you don’t take things for granted, even for such a rare illness.
At the point when Ryan was recovering, I suffered from some stomach discomfort and was purging every once in a while. When I finally went to see the doctor, she recommended that I too go for a check to see if I had typhoid too. But I decided to wait it out another day to see how my condition goes and luckily, I was fine the day after. Maybe it was just something I ate. Maybe one of these days I should find out the best colon cleanse system there is to do a detox.
These days I wash my hands a lot more often and I only hope that this episode of typhoid does not come back to haunt any of us. From what I read from internet sources, sometimes there can be a relapse. But I hope it never happens and that the medication had properly taken care of the problem for good.
Typhoid fever is not a fatal disease but there is a very small percentage of cases where people die from it due to complications. So better don’t take the risk and just do whatever it takes to keep good hygiene levels at all times. Ask others who also care for your kids to do the same.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
GOsh.. thank God Ryan is ok now. No wonder he needed the blood test. That was indeed very scary.
You are so right, sometimes we just take things for granted. But sometimes we can only do so much as we also rely on external parties to look after our babies and they too will need to co-operate.
Yes thank goodness he has recovered. It’s very important that everyone keeps good hygiene not only for the sake of the kids but themselves too.
Hi i just came across yr blog & i had the same case with typhoid but worst i had to go for surgery for food poison and typhoid as well as it caused my intestine to obstruct. even adults can get it. we are all vulnerable. i urge your family to get typhoid injections as ill b getting mine soon. its scary to know a developed country like malaysia will have such diseases. all thanks to the influx of foreign labor frm developing countries who never got their medical check up to save cost.
Thanks for sharing with us, Eileen. And those pictures post-surgery look very painful! Hope you are recovering well.
Hi Penny,
We are travelling to Malaysia and Thailand soon for our vacation with our one year old son. He is too young to get the typhoid vaccination and the doctor also didnt want to give him the hep A one either. I didnt do enough research on this before booking the vacation to this part of the world.
Im wondering if you have any tips on bathing the baby when you are not sure about the quality of the water supply? Ive got an image in my head of bathing him in bottled/boiled water but there has to be an easier way? You just cant keep him from sticking his hands in his mouth which I think is the main problem.
Hi Mark, actually typhoid is not a common disease here, as my paed assured me. I guess the way to keep your baby healthy is to let him have access to clean drinking water and maybe you want to stay away from outside food for him. As for bathing in boiled water, I think it’s not necessary