Soothing drink

Rain started to fall after a long dry spell. The atmosphere is cooling down and the same goes to the mood. Occasionally, brought kids for a dip in the pool.


the penguin float suits the younger one most...


My right eye was very irritating for the past two weeks. It had frequent itchiness which comes from behind the eyeball and experienced some swollen eye. I have a pair of troublesome eyes and they are irritable, uncomfortable from time to time. Really don't know what went wrong. I can only apply a warm towel onto it to soothe it besides taking some chinese medication for lungs heatiness. The lime essence tea definitely helps to get rid of body heat.

Don't be a Bargain Hunter

I read with horror an article on "Black Friday". This also reminded me of a Chinese Medicine practitioner whom I used to frequented his medicine shop. I still go to his shop...

We used to called him "uncle King Kong". One day, as usual I visited to his shop to seek for some medical advise on my kids' petty health issue. He was not in at that moment. Out of curiosity, I asked his wife who attended to me by saying: "where is uncle King Kong, is he in?"
His wife: "He is not in."
I said again: "He went out for wedding dinner is it?" To me, when he is not in, that means only dinner invitation that will make him leaves his shophouse. Then,
the wife said again: "You didn't know?"
I said: "Know what?"
The wife told his daughter: "Girl, you tell aunty where is papa"...
The daughter: "He was dead."
The wife: "That was exactly 1-month ago."....

I could not believed what I heard. Once reached home, I burst into tears when I relate the incident to my husband. This uncle was a indirect victim of holiday-bargain-hunter. He died of heart attack when the car that he and his family were traveled in was caught in a 1hr massive traffic jam under the hot sun nearby a brandnew shopping mall during our National Day celebration holiday on 31Aug.

His wife advice me this:
It's better not to go to shopping complexes in crowded seasons!

It is just Not Worthwhile to cause a loss of a precious life in spite of a few bucks saved.

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease Early Symptoms

Lately there's a spread of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFM) in the country. It's in worrying spreading rate in Perak especially with 4 fatality case reported.

When my kids were in pre-school last year, there too are not spared from being contaminated. I still remember that day when I picked him up from his pre-school, I spotted red spots on this foot. I immediately brought him to a nearby pharmacy in hoping to get the right prescription for his sensitive skin rashed - this is what I thought in the 1st place. Worst is, the pharmasist told me that you don't need any prescription for foot rash as it would heal by itself within a few days.

Being a mother, I don't just listen to a single opinion especially something affected their health. Later that night within the same day, I quickly brought him to a nearby clinic to see a medicine doctor and he confirmed that my son is contangious by HFM disease.

This disease could spread really fast. As far as I know, 6 out of 7 kids in his 3-yo class were down with the disease within 2 days. What's more for my another 2-yo, also got it. Thus, his school was ordered to close for 2 weeks to control the situation.

Parents, spots these very early symptoms that will occur even before fever arise:-

1. Mouth sore - a lot of sores on their lips, inner sides of mouth wall, even on and underneath tongue.
2. Sore on the most bottom of our backbone or side of anal opening. I mistakenly thought it was just skin rash.

If spotted all these symptoms, go to the doctor immediately to take early prescription. Give your kids fruits and fluids (eg: Yakult, yogurt, cold-milk etc) that are more appetizing for them. This is because they will resist from eating solid food.

My case, I gave my children chinese herbal medicine instead of western medicine. So, watch out very closely the daily progress of our children regardless of the weather is dry or wet. You can control the outspread.

Typical Wet Market

These are the common sight at Air Itam morning market. Typical wet market in Penang which its style still in 1980's, plus more busier nowadays. Traffic definitely moving slow when passing through this area.

Those time when my granfather was still around and able to drive, he frequently brought me to this market. That's why I still have fresh memory about this place. Although it is quite a distance from where I stay, occasionally I still visited to this market because there are a lot of fresh and rare to get green that the local home-grown.

I bought fresh 20 chicken eggs that the seller claimed to be are village chicken egg 'ayam kampung' as my family loves half boiled eggs for breakfast. It costs 40sen per piece. When I prepare this, I found out that it is not as claimed to be. As for village chicken's egg, the egg yolk supposed to be in deep orange colour instead of yellow colour yolk from commercial breed chicken, and the size usually the smallest size of commercialised chicken eggs. No issue with the size. That means I end up paying almost double for a piece of egg that normally cost only around 20sen. hmmm.....

Pegaga - Asian Pennywort

A senior also friend of mine is searching for herbal medical practitioner to cure her husband's diabetic foot sore.

As I'm a avid alternative medicine reader, herbs can be served as prevention as well as to cure a sickness. I always consume an asian herbs called 'pegaga'. It can be eaten raw as salad or blending it with water and added with sugar syrup to drink as juice - pegaga sugared syrup.

It is one of the most popular fold medicines in Asia. We believes it has 101 medicinal value in this plant, which grows wild throughout tropical and subtropical regions. A senior staying nearby our neighbourhood is harvesting pegaga to sell to wet-market to make a living.

Basically it has 2 differentiated leaves, one is with edgy shape leaves and the other is rounded shape leaves. The plant has been shown to be good in purifying the blood, if consume in large doses, it helps lower blood sugar levels.

Herbal Medicine

Met with a friend in my neigbourhood yesterday. She was asking when I'll be planning for the 3rd? That reminds me of the very early years in motherhood - "not easy" this is the word to describe all.

The worst part was during the confinement month I was suffering with overheat in the body. After I consumed the remedial soup with hi alcoholic content, it burnt off my throat. I could felt there was a cooked layer throughout my throat. The next morning, I almost lost my voice.

Went to see chinese traditional practitioners, some even say that's impossible. And I think of If I'm not feeling well most of the time, I'm not able to babysit my 2 babies whom they are only 1 year apart. Thus, I kept searching for the right practitioner for my sickness without giving up.

At last, I really met one and he is the best so far. Once I found his place, that gave me the 'Ahh..." feeling. You forever wouldn't know it if no one recommend it to you.

I followed the medication that he prescribed for a year to get rid of the heatiness and at the same time to heal my throat. After another year of follow up medication, it goes off completely.

I like traditional herbal practitioner because it really could cure the sickness completely. The dosage is high in the beginning, eventually lesser and lesser after you are getting better.

I could see there are herbal medicine for cholesterol, diabetics, black spots on face, knee pain, breast discomfort and etc. There is medicine for every sickness - he tells me.

Penang island has treasure.