H1N1 Vaccine is now approved for kids from 6 months of age

MOH has just approved the use of the H1N1 vaccine for children from 6 months onwards.

Children from 6 months to 3 years of age will need 2 half doses one month apart.

Those from 3 yrs to 10 years will need 2 full doses one month apart.

We currently have stock of the Panvax H1N1 vaccine which is the individual shots that do not contain mercury. These are $30 nett. The Panvax H1N1 vaccine is the one that the MOH has approved for use in children as they are satisfied with the safety of the vaccine.

You can read more about the announcement on Channel News Asia.

H1N1 Vaccine: New Stock has arrived

By now you would have heard that the H1N1 vaccine has been approved for 10 year olds and above and the good news is that our new stock of vaccines have just arrived so we have enough for walk in patients.

There has been some concern about the safety of the vaccines. This pertains to the older 10 doses per vial vaccine. The vaccine we stock is Panvax from CSL labs which is the individual vaccine that does not contain mercury. So far, we have received little complaints from our patients. I personally have administered the vaccine to my own left arm and all I had was a bit of pain over the injection site for 2 days. (Yes, I did it Rambo style and injected myself)

The other question that often gets asked is whether you should take the seasonal flu vaccine or the H1N1 vaccine. The best answer is that you should take both. Both vaccines can be given at the same time. If you have to choose one, I would advise young adults to take the H1N1 vaccine because there has been some concern that the H1N1 virus is somehow more virulent amongst young adults with several deaths occurring amongst otherwise fit young adults.

Our price for the Panvax is $30. Do ring up first to check for stock availability.

Hari Raya Haji Opening Times:

We wish all our muslim friends a very good Hari Raya Haji.

Our clinic will be opened on Hari Raya Haji from 8.30am to 12.30pm.  The night clinic will be closed.

The opening hours on Saturday and Sunday are unchanged.

H1N1 Vaccine: Individual Vaccines Now Available

Thank you for your patience.

We have received our batch of H1N1 vaccines today.

These are the Panvax H1N1 Vaccine manufactured by CSL Ltd and as previously discussed, these individual vaccines do not contain the preservative thiomersal.

The vaccines are $30 nett and includes the vaccination fees.

If you have booked your vaccine, please call in to confirmed that you are still coming for the vaccine.  If you don't claim the vaccines by 30 Nov, we will release them to the other patients.

Submit a photo of your baby and win a set of Baby IQ DVDs!

I am running a competition to give away 10 Baby IQ DVD sets. Every set comprise of 5 DVDs designed to encourage talk naturally in an interactive learning experience for parent and child. The DVDs are filmed in HD and the music is performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Each set is worth $100 and more information about Baby IQ can be found here.

In order to win a set of this DVD, all you have to do is to submit a photo of your baby and tell us why you and your family choose Karri Family Clinic to look after your family's healthcare needs.

Here are the competition details:

1. Submit a photo of your baby resized to 1000 pixels

2. Write in 100 - 150 words why you choose Karri Family Clinic

3. Send your entry to leslie.tay@gmail.com

4. In the title write "Baby IQ contest"

5. The closing date is 6 Dec 2009

6. The ten winners will be notified by email

7. Winners will collect their DVD sets at the clinic.

8. The photos of the babies and the comments may be subsequently published on this website

9. This competition is opened to all patients of the clinic with young children. The photo can be one taken when your child was a baby.

I look forward to seeing your photos!

This competition has been made possible through sponsorship by Abbott.

The seasonal flu vaccines are now available

We have just received our latest batch of flu vaccines. This is not the H1N1, but the normal flu shots. So if you wish to take your flu shots before you leave for your vacation, please drop by the clinic.

H1N1 Vaccines: Single Dose vs 10 Dose Vials

We have many inquiries about the H1N1 vaccine and it is understandable that everyone is quite anxious about taking the vaccination as early as possible especially since the school holidays are just around the corner.

Currently, the only ones that are available in the market are the 10 dose vials. The single dose vaccines will only be available later in the month. Our clinic does not stock the 10 dose vials because I feel that it is better to wait for the single dose vaccines.

The main difference between the 10 dose vials and the single dose vaccine is that the 10 dose vials contain Thimerosal which is a substance containing mercury. The US FDA assures us that it is safe to use but I know that there are many people who will not want to take the vaccine if it contains mercury. So I have decided not to order the 10 dose vials and wait for the single dose vaccines to become available.

If you really need the H1N1 vaccine urgently, please go to the polyclinic and have your vaccination. But if you can wait for another 2 weeks or so, the single dose vaccines should be available. If you have already booked your vaccines with us and wish to cancel, just give us a call to cancel your order.

The H1N1 Vaccine

The H1N1 Vaccine will be available soon at our clinic.

The H1N1 vaccine will offer protection against the H1N1 virus but not the seasonal flu. It is highly recommended for high risk groups like the elderly or those who suffer from chronic diseases. It is also recommended for pregnant women in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters.

Currently, they are still doing the trials for children so the vaccine is not approved for kids yet.

Since it is based on the same technology as the flu vaccine, it has the same safety profile as the flu jab. People who have egg allergies or have reaction to the flu vaccines should not take the jab.

The price of the vaccine is $30 nett and includes the consultation fee.

Because stocks are limited, please ring up to place your orders with our staff. Tel: 67850311. Please leave your name and contact number so that we can inform you when stocks come in. I will also update the website when stocks arrive.

For more information on the H1N1 vaccine, please click here.

IMFed: Help for kids who don't want to eat

One of the most common concerns amongst parents is that their child is not eating well. Parents do have a natural instinct that senses that something is wrong when a child is not eating or putting on weight. This is a good thing as the inability to eat is sometimes a sign that something is wrong.

On the other hand, some parents are overly concerned just because their child is not as chubby as the neighbour's kid. I often have parents coming into the clinic asking for their child to be weighed and measured. I have to say that most of the time, after checking the growth charts, I reassure the parents that the child is OK.

However, there are occasions when there is something wrong and the important thing is to make a correct diagnosis of the problem. Sometimes the child is simply picky while at other times the child might actually have a fear of eating. Some kids might be sensitive to certain foods, while others actually have something more sinister, like an underlying disease which is is causing the child to be unable to eat.


IMFed Kit found in the waiting room

Now there is a new tool available at our clinic called the "IMFed" which stands for Identification and Management of feeding difficulties. (It's pronounced "I am Fed") This is essentially a simple questionaire where you as the parent can identify the set of problems that you face when trying to feed your child. Once the form is completed, it is fed into another tool where the doctor can help to explain the problem and advise on the appropriate management of the problem.

So for example, you might find that your child refuses to eat because of the smell, taste or texture of the food and eats only very limited number of foods. Using the tool, the diagnosis of Sensory Food Aversion is made. Sensory Food Aversion is basically a heightened sensory sensitivity in kids and the way to handle the situation is to use a strategies like trying to eat "new foods" in the presence of the child without offering any. The tool makes it very easy for the doctor, together with the parent, to identify and help manage eating difficulties.

So, if you think your child has difficulty eating, do look for the IMFed box at our counter and just fill it up and we can look at the management options together.

Dr Tay to be featured on Channel U

There will be a TV program featuring Dr Tay, the clinic and his food blog on Channel U on 20 October at 9.30pm and 11.30pm. So do remember to tune in and watch what your familiy doctor gets up to in his free time!

Pneumococcal Vaccine slated to be in the National Immunization Program

You might have read in the news that the Pneumococcal Vaccine will be added into the National Immunization program soon. Health Minister Khaw made this surprise announcement in Parliament last month.

I say "surprise" because having been part of a group of doctors that have been rallying for its inclusion, this announcement still seemed quite far off at the beginning of this year. And when Minister Khaw made the announcement in response to MP Fatimah Latiff, everyone was quite taken aback. But whatever it may be, we are all happy that the Ministry of Health has eventually made the decision to join a long list of developed nations around the world to include this into their immunization program.

So why is this vaccine important? Well, in short, pneumococcal disease forms the biggest proportion of vaccine preventable disease in the world. Despite the introduction of the vaccine, there are still proportionately more people suffering from this disease compared to other vaccine preventable diseases.

However, rather than providing it free for Singaporean children, the minister has announced that he will be allowing parents to pay for it from their Medisave account. Currently, these vaccines can also be paid from the Baby Bonus account.

But please don't wait for the govenment to make it compulsory before vaccinating your child. Pneumococcal disease is most devastating in babies less than 2 years of age. I have written about one mother's ordeal in an earlier post, so this is not something that you should allow price or government legislation to dictate whether you give the vaccine to your child. It is recommended that babies start the vaccination at 2 months of age in order to gain the most benefit from the vaccine. By starting the vaccine early, you have the opportunity to prevent the bug from colonizing the child's nose and throat. Some of us already carry the bugs in our nose and throat and most of the time it lies domant. However, one day it might just become aggressive and start attacking the body's organs. So preventing the bug from colonizing the nose and throat is an important aspect of preventing the disease.

I just returned from giving a talk on Pnuemococcal disease prevention to the Polyclinic Doctors and Nurses and found out that the retail price for the vaccine at the Polyclinic is $170 plus a $4 injection fee. Because I feel strongly that all babies should get the vaccination, our clinic has packages which work out to $155 per jab for babies in their first year of life who require 3 to 4 jabs. For those in the 2nd year of life, the jabs are $170 nett and we waive any consultation or injection fees. At the present moment these can be paid with the Baby Bonus card. I have been asked many times why we are able to charge less than the polyclinic and the answer is simply that we want to encourage parents to give the jabs early so we lower our margins to make it easier for families to protect their children.

So since it is going to be compulsory to protect your child from Pneumococcal Disease, do consider to do it now rather than wait for MOH to announce it later. Early prevention is very important.

Link to news article on the announcement by Minister Khaw
Link to my previous articles on Pneumococcal Disease

Get rid of Body Odour once and for all!

I am going to share with you a little secret that the manufacturers of deodorants would never want you to know.

You can get rid of body odour once and for all rather than having to use roll ons and sprays everyday.

This is how it works. Body odour is often caused by bacteria residing in your armpits. Because the armpit is a moist environment, bacteria thrive and cause that smell which make people shift seats in the MRT.

So the trick is to get rid of the bacteria.

This is what you do. Go to the pharmacy and pick up a bottle of iodine. Then go pick up a soft brush, the type that you buy to scrub the toilet floor, but a soft one. Then the next time you shower, apply the iodine to your armpit and scrub away! Leave the iodine for a few minutes and carry on with your shower. Do it for a few days and very soon, you can throw your roll on and sprays away!

So if you have a friend or a colleague at work who has BO, but you have never struck up the courage to tell him, perhaps you can send him this post as a subtle way of saying: "Hey, its time to do something about your BO!" Soon the air in the office would smell like the meadows during springtime.

Good luck!

Latest Developments in the prevention of Pneumococcal Disease

I recently attended an Asia Pacific conference highlighting new developments in the prevention of Pneumococcal Disease.

Pneumococcal Disease remains the most common preventable deadly disease in children. Every year, 1.6 million die from it. Yet, there is a vaccine available and a large proportion of these deaths could have been avoided.

One of the take home message is that Pneumococcal Disease affects kids most severely under the age of 2. Therefore it is important to start the vaccination regime from birth. By doing this, you have the added advantage of preventing nasal carriage in the child. The bacteria normally resides in the nose of individuals and by 6 months, a lot of unvaccinated babies would have this bug residing in their noses. Most of the time the bugs are law abiding citizens who cause no problems. But once in a while some become terrorists and wreak havoc by invading the brain, ears, lungs, blood, bones and some eventually get severe enough to cause death.

Although there are antibiotics against Pneumococcal Disease, there is recently been a rise in antibiotic resistance and so there is no guarantee that antibiotics are effective against the disease. The best way is still to prevent the child from getting the disease through vaccination.

Another advantage of vaccinating your child is that it also protects the rest of the family from getting the disease. The research has shown that since the introduction of the pneumococcal vaccine in year 2000, not only has the death rate from the disease been reduced in the infants being vaccinated, there has also been a corresponding decrease in the number of elderly being affected by the disease. This demonstrates what is known as the "herd effect" which basically means that by vaccinating babies, we decrease the number of persons affected by the bug in the general population because there is a higher level of immunity in the population.

Many exciting things are happening in vaccine development which we should see next year in Singapore. There are going to be new and more effective vaccines being introduced which means better protection for your loved ones.

However, you should not wait to vaccinate your child from Pneumococcal Disease. The best time to vaccinate is now because vaccinations are like insurance. The earlier you buy the better and you hope you never have to use it.

Dr Tay's National Day Message

Aiyah, PM got National Day Message, so I thought I also can give my own National Day Message.

Actually the message is very simple.

Our opening hours during the National Day Long Weekend are as follows:

Saturday 8 Aug, 8.30am to 12.30pm
Sunday 9 Aug, CLOSED
Monday 10 Aug, 8.30am to 12.30pm

Have a very good Long Weekend and don't forget to catch "Buzzing Cashier" on Channel 8 on 10 Aug at 8pm. I will be taking off my stethoscope and assume my role as a food critic in the TV series.

Flu Kits and Tamiflu now available in our clinic

There has been a recent surge in the number of cases of flu like illnesses in our clinic which is reflective of what is happening around us.

As a result we have brought in the Influenza A and B test kit. With this test kit, we can take a sample from your nose and be able to determine if you have Influenza A or B within 15 minutes. The test is not specific for H1N1, but since H1N1 is a subtype of Influenza A which is now the predominant strain, we can say that anyone who is tested positive for Influenza A has a high chance of having H1N1. The test kit is just a convenient way for our patients to know their condition on the spot instead of having to wait for the results if we have to send it to the lab.

If you are diagnosed with Influenza A or B, our patients can now have the option of taking Tamiflu. Tamiflu should be used only in the more serious cases so not everyone will be given Tamiflu if they are tested positive.

As an additional precaution, our staff are masked and patients will be required to wear masks and wait outside the clinic if they are having a fever and/or flulike symptoms.

These are measures that we need to put in place during this time. We hope that you will bear with us as it might be a little uncomfortable and the waiting times will be a little longer than usual.