Vulnerable To Sickness And Infectious Diseases, This Is A Tip To Maintain Your Little One's Health During A Holiday

Children's illustration (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - From infectious diseases such as chickenpox and gondongan, it is very vulnerable to children during holidays. Child specialist consultant consultant child doctor and child tropical disease Dr. dr. Anggraini Alam, Sp.A (K) distributes tips to prevent children.

As quoted in a press release received in Jakarta, Monday, he said that increasing people's mobility during the holiday season has the potential to increase the risk of transmission of various diseases.

"One of the diseases that need to be watched out for is chickenpox and gondonggan, which are currently endemic in several regions in Indonesia, such as in Cilegon, South Tangerang, and Situbondo," he said as reported by ANTARA.

He said that chickenpox and gondongan can be transmitted through saliva. Waterpox can also be transmitted through contact with the patient's skin lesion.

Therefore, parents need to teach their children to keep their distance and avoid direct physical contact with people who show symptoms of illness when in crowded centers such as tourist attractions.

It is also important for parents to get used to children wearing masks when interacting with people with symptoms of illness.

In addition, doctor Anggraini reminded the importance of parents getting used to their children implementing a clean and healthy lifestyle, such as washing their hands with soap and running water and covering their mouths when coughing or sneezing, in order to avoid disease transmission.

In order to increase the child's resistance to disease attacks, doctor Anggraini said, parents should try to get immunizations forcarpage, gondongan, and rubella (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella/MMR) and Varicella before traveling.

According to the 2024 Children's Immunization Schedule update, he explained, MMR vaccines are recommended to be given as primary doses for children aged two and over who have not been vaccinated MR/MMR and Varicella as well as as boosters for children under the age of two who have received the MR/MMR or Varicella vaccine.

Vaccination can help prevent serious complications such as meningitis due to inflammation or widespread skin infections caused by chickenpox.

Doctor Anggraini advised parents to keep their children eating and resting regularly during long trips during holidays.

Parents need to make sure that during their vacation children can regularly eat balanced nutritious foods and have enough time to rest.

School-age children need to sleep at night nine to 11 hours a day to maintain physical and mental health.

Doctor Anggraini reminded parents to bring basic medicines such as fever-reducing drugs and vitamins when taking their children on vacation with their families.

In addition, parents are advised to understand the signs of disease.

Waterpox disease can begin with symptoms such as fever, headache, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle aches, and excessive fatigue before itching contains water.

While gondonggan, which occurs due to viral infection, was characterized, among other things, by swelling of the cheeks and jaw.

If you find these symptoms in your child, parents are advised to immediately consult a doctor.

"Thus, parents can prevent disease from developing further and break the chain of transmission," said doctor Anggraini.