How Drugs Affect Our Society

Illegal drugs have so much impact in my life. Well, what you think is not really the real reason behind of it though. I don’t use illegal drugs, ever since! Although I became the rebellious daughter of my parents, drugs have never influenced me and never been part of my teenage life.

image source: www.theguardian.com

Perhaps, you’re wondering why. For some reason this particular stupid stuff almost torn apart the relationship of my family. But nevertheless, God is good for keeping it intact still. This is also one of the reasons why the relationship of my kids’ father and I had gone.

Just today, I read a news- article about two girls killed in Caloocan. It was really a tragic incident. And what’s worst? There are no suspects yet, but then the people in the said place are suspecting those drug users in their village.

I wonder if our government has ever noticed these practices since it’s getting rampant these days. What does their reaction about this? How about some plans or actions towards this problem? Does this particular problem will ever be solved? I wonder when they will ever work on this.

How drugs can affect our society?

It has really big impact to our society especially for those families of the victims and those innocents who will be influenced of these illegal drugs sooner. With that, our government and as well, citizens should act against with this plague in our society. There are varieties of drugs nowadays such as ecstasy, speed/crank or commonly known in its street name as “shabu”, marijuana (although this particular stuff is legalize in other country, still it is consider as illegal drugs for others) and so much more. And each of these has its own side effects towards human if being used.

These specific drugs and those I haven’t mention above, can ruin one’s life not just presently but in its future as well. It can also destroy one’s family.

Why do drugs are addictive?

Drugs contain chemicals that results to a person to become addictive on it. Since addiction is a form of abnormal functioning of one’s mind, chemicals that are drugs made of take advantage of it.

Disadvantage of using illegal drugs:

For some reasons, there are unexplainable feelings that mostly drug users why kept on using such thing- and that is the temporary pleasure. At the same time, it also affects one’s behavior. Taking drugs, slowly damaging one’s brain. Aside from the temporary pleasure a person could experience, there are other side effects also will surely one will be experiencing which will also lead to permanent. Side effects include anxiety, paranoia, headache, schizophrenia, panic attacks, confusion and a lot more- in short mental disability.

Aside from that, it is one of the reasons too why crimes are getting rampant. And what’s worse is that… more of the crimes nowadays are very brutal and drastic.

How one can avoid using Illegal drugs?

For users, getting a rehab is the best remedy to avoid using illegal drugs. It can also help one’s self from getting retardation and mental disability in the future. And aside from that, it is believe to help lessen the crimes that are getting bigger each year.

In other hand, it is very important too for parents to lead their child/children from possible circumstances especially when it comes to teenagers. Peer pressure occurs during this stage, and this is mostly the time teenagers are expose to drugs if mislead by parents/guardians. Thence, guidance and regular update of parents should be present all the time.

If we do not want to see our kids suffer from mental disability or see them behind the bars and become one of the killers of the future, better guide them. Be a parent!

Importance of Rotavirus Vaccination

I was happy to secure a slot for a health awareness conference (Rotavirus Vaccine, to be exact) which I just attended yesterday in Ayala Mall, Cebu City. It was a great event since I didn’t just learned a lot from the said topic but as well, I was also challenge to note things that should be done and those not to. Anyway, I’m going to share to you what we have tackled in there.

The event was emceed by Mr. Coby (actually, I forgot what is his complete name and neither I am sure of his name as well. Sorry for that though) and which was also organized by Mr. Jeff Tan (the Director for Strategic Marketing Communications of Idea Buffet). The said conference was discussed to us by Dr. Juliet Aguilar with the help of the other Doctor (sorry, I missed her name againL).

Since I am a mom of two, I didn’t hesitate to reserve a slot for the Rotavirus Vaccine event. And it was indeed worth my presence because I have missed a lot of things which are needed for me to note especially when it comes to my kids.

The topic comes with a theme of “Save our Children: Fight against Rotavirus Diarrhea”. The time I read this, it made me excite since a new lesson for me to learn wherein I could also share to my readers as well.

more photos of the event HERE.

Facts about Rotavirus

Diarrhea

• (WHO’s own definition) is the passage of 3 or more loose or liquid stools per day, or more frequently than is normal for the individual.
• A very serious and deadly disease.
• The second leading killer of children 5 years old below.

Rotavirus tops the leading cause of diarrhea in the Philippines and worldwide. According to the statistic, one child dies every minute. Imagine in an hour, there are 60 minutes. And in that 60 minute time, there are 60 children dying too. This also means that there are 1,500 children die each day annually, because of this disease.  In Philippines, it is stated that there are at least 13 children ages five below die every day which is equivalent to 12% of deaths among children under five in the country. That tremendous Rotavirus Diarrhea is.

How seriously this rotavirus disease to children?

Rotavirus Infection is a threat to every child ages 5 below. It is life threatening. They may suffer from Rotavirus Gastroenteritis (vomiting and abnormal stool loose) which will lead them to dehydration (loss of liquid in the body) and die if not rushed for help. 

Rotavirus infection is categorized into three. These are the following:

1^st infection- usually moderate to severe.

2^nd infection- considered mild.

3^rd to 5^th infection- asymptomatic (doesn’t show symptoms at all) or consider as immune to the body who gotten the infection for several times already.

Although, there are fortunate children survive from this drastic disease still they are not lucky enough. Rotavirus Diarrhea also leads to serious long term effects in a child’s development for ages 0-2 y/o.

• Height- Growth shortfalls of ranging from 3.6cm-8.2cm when a child reaches the age of 7

• Fitness- Physical fitness reduction by the age of 4-7 of 4-8%

• Cognitive function- This also has impact towards kids’ cognition. Repeated bouts of diarrhea in the first 2 years of life can lead to a loss of 10 IQ points and 12 mos. of schooling by the age of 9.

What causes Rotavirus Diarrhea/Disease?

Rotavirus disease is everywhere. It is a democratic disease affecting everyone no matter where you reside. Even if you belong to rural or progressive/developed area, rotavirus still occurs. 

According to WHO, infection is spread through contaminated food or drinking-water, or from person to person as a result of poor hygiene. To those pure breastfeeding moms, we can only protect our kids from this disease until in his/her first 6 months of life.

How to avoid this disease?

Proper sanitation and clean water supplies still, don’t give the people 100% assurance of safety against from this disease. As this virus is spread everywhere even inside our home.

Ways on how to prevent before it’s too late:

• Disease Awareness- Consulting our doctor about RV vaccine. It is best for us to consult our doctors before our kids can get this particular disease.
• Early protection as early as 6 weeks (Rotavirus Vaccination).

What is Rotavirus Vaccination and how important it is?

This was the whole event promoted about. Rotavirus Vaccine is the most effective way to prevent diarrhea related childhood deaths under 5 years of age. It is given orally to kids which is easy to give to them compare to other types of vaccines (injectable ones).

**Rotavirus Vaccination has been implemented in developed countries such as Australia, USA, Spain and UK.

List of the countries where **RV now part of EPI/UMV: USA, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Belgium, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, Germany, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, and GAVI eligible countries- Bolivia, Honduras. And in Asia, Philippines is the first country to promote rotavirus vaccine in *EPI. 

It has been announced as well in media that this particular vaccination is now part of the *Expanded Program for Immunization (EPI) in 2012. It is free for those people who can’t afford to pay for private doctor/pedia, those who can’t even afford to eat three times a day due to financial problems they encounter everyday- or commonly known as “poorest of the poor”.

There are 2 million newborn babies annually, yet out of it; only 700,000 (member of poorest of the poor) newborns are reserved to avail this vaccine for free through health centers.

The current status of Rotavirus Vaccination in Philippines:

• 1/10 is given a RV vaccine in private doctors (pediatrician)
• 3/10 are given RV vaccine for FREE (poorest of the poor)
• 6/10 remaining children are not given RV vaccines due to financial problems (yet not categorized as poorest of the poor), which are high risk for RV infection.

With that, our government is pleasing those who can afford to pay in private to give way in line to those poorest the poor in free RV vaccine in health centers.

Hopefully, by 2015 (WHO’s goal), Philippines could achieve 2/3 reduction in child’s mortality among 5 years old below. 

Why should a child be given a RV Vaccine?

Rotavirus Diarrhea is a serious disease. If a child gets this, low chances s/he is capable to survive. That’s why, children especially those infants should be given RV vaccine as early as 6 weeks in order to low his or her risk or prevent him or her to get the Rotavirus Disease in the future.

As a parent, why should I include this vaccine to his or her EPI?

There you have it. If you don’t want to lose your child, then give him RV vaccine. If you don’t want to face financial problems in the future, give him RV vaccine. If you don’t want to add problems in your stressful work, then give him RV vaccine.

Hospitalization due to acute gastroenteritis/diarrhea bears a very serious impact on the patient and parents’ quality of life as well as on their livelihood. Working caregivers had an average of PhP1,000 income loss per day. Amongst working caregivers, almost all missed 1-3 days of work or more. More than half of the caregivers had spent more than PhP5,000 (an average of Php7,870.00) for all the medical expenses.. 

How much does RV Vaccine cost in private doctors/pedia?

That varies. But as per estimation, (vaccine costs alone) it ranges from PhP2500-3500 excluding PF of your pediatrician.

And as per Dr. Juliet Aguilar, in her part she gives RV vaccine as early as 6 weeks of a child’s life. But in health centers, this is usually given to a child when s/he reaches 8 months of his life.

Why risk, if we can all prevent this deadly disease through giving our child RV vaccine before it’s too late.

Again, I would like to thank Mr. Tan and Mr. Coby (and the rest of the staff) for being so accommodating and of course, Dr. Aguilar and the other Doctor for taking time to be with us and discussed what RV is all about. 

Breastfeeding for Babies

Breastfeeding has been practiced for long already. Women apply this particular method to those mothers who have babies since bottle feeding has not existed before. Aside from that, even though bottle feeding would exist, breastfeeding is still the best feeding method for infants below 6 months old.

image source: en.wikipedia.org

There are important details and information why breastfeeding should be implemented. And today, I’m going to share to you what are those benefits and facts why every mom should apply this.

Advantage of Breastfeeding to infants:

“Breast milk is the best milk for babies”. Indeed, this saying is definitely true. Aside from scientific explanation, it is also one way of building “mom and child” bonding at early age of the child.

One of the benefits a child could get from the breast milk of his or her mom is the colostrum. This is the thick yellowish in color substance that is made during pregnancy and right after giving birth. This is the most important substance every infant should have. This is their very vitamins; it is rich in nutrients and anti-bodies which will protect their body until they grow up. That makes it really important.

Unlike formulated milk, breast milk provides natural vitamins and nutrients which are needed by infants. Aside from that, it also produces enough mixture of fat, sugar and water wherein formulated milks don’t have the capability to produce.

Not just that, breast milk also protects our infants from possible diseases.

Breastfeeding doesn’t harm our kids. Unlike formulated milk, mother’s breast milk is easy to digest especially for premature babies. It avoids them to get gas pain compare in consuming formulated milk. With that, it is really important for a woman- to be exact a mother to rely on her milk rather than formulated ones.

Advantage of Breastfeeding to mothers:

Breast milk helps every breastfeeding mom to save money. Instead of buying for formulated powdered milk which cost much and feeding bottles as well, breast feeding has the capability to do the things which those stuffs can do. Since breastfeeding is promoted worldwide; for sure it will no longer awkward to breastfeed our child whenever we go even in public places (just make sure to have baby sling or breastfeeding cover though).

Unlike from formulated milk, it’s easy to feed our babies. No need for mothers to wash bottles and sterile it to feed their babies. Indeed, saves time and effort.

It is also a good health practice for every mother. When a woman practices breastfeeding, she is low risk from possible diseases such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer and even from depression (postpartum depression to be exact) as well. With that, there’s no reason for a woman not to breastfeed her baby.

Those are just some of the advantages why should a woman practice breastfeeding. Because in this way, they don’t just help their kids to be strong but as well, help their selves to be far from getting sick in the future too.

Pure breastfeeding (no water, no food) is good up to 6 months old of the baby. And breastfeeding is good up to two years old and beyond. I hope this helps you, especially those expecting moms and new moms out there.

Source: http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/why-breastfeeding-is-important/index.html

What Makes a Kid a Bully?

Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of news about bullying. I thought this happens only in foreign countries. Unfortunately, it occurs in our country as well. Recently, I heard in the news about bullying incidents which took place in one of the schools in Metro Manila.

Photo courtesy of www.303trainingcenter.com

I wonder why school personnel and even teachers can’t control things such this. To think, they are the ones who are with our kids almost every day. And now, they can’t even manage to control commotions such as bullying? How inconsiderate do you think is that?

And now, I just read an article about how an 11 year old boy turned bully to murder. This is so alerting already. Our government should act something about bullying especially to kids below 15y/o. But let me ask you. What do you think why some kids (bullies) bully other kids?

We all have our views and opinions. And today, I’m going to share to you what are my insights towards this topic.

What are the common reasons why kids become bullies?

For sure, all of us are asking it to ourselves. But have you figured it out already? There are plenty of factors to consider yet the main reason why these attitudes occur in a person (in general) is the lack of guidance of parents towards them especially when they (kids) we’re still young. Definitely, it is. Most of them came from broken families. Although not all, but most of them. While for others, it’s the lack of knowledge of parents on how to raise their kids.

Let’s stick to this tagalog idiom- “Kung ano ang puno siya rin ang bunga” (Whatever the tree, so is the fruit). What we used to have when we’re still young will reflect on how we act when we grew up. It will also reflect on how we’re going to raise our kids.

For sure, if you’re parents raised you according to what they know is right… it will result though. It will only be called right if the outcome of it had success but if not, then there’s probably something wrong with it.

No one’s born perfect as to what the saying says. All of us don’t know exactly how to raise a good and obedient child; yet, we know exactly what things are right and wrong. As a parent, guiding them is really important. Thus, being responsible enough not just to them and so to your family but as well to yourself is really essential too. Because everything we do reflects to what we’re going to come up with.

All of us will become a parent, sooner-later… all of us will do. But not all are meant to be a good role model towards their kids. Do you see those kids in streets begging for foods? Do you see those news reports about hold-up, car-napping, bullying and so much more? They are mostly products of broken families.

Either your child is a product of a broken family; you can still raise him to become a better person in the future. Just by letting him feel he’s accepted in the society he’s into, he won’t be a bully neither a victim of bullying. And as well, being there with them physically and emotionally is also one should not forget.

To parents out there… let’s all make a new beginning. Let us guide our kids and support them no matter what. Let’s all start to be a parent to them. 

Being a Parent

You would never know exactly what it feels to be a mom until you, yourself become a parent.

I admit. I am rebellious daughter to my parents especially to my mom. It was never easy in her part since my dad is away to work overseas in order to raise us financially. Raising us physically is not an easy task. Even from the beginning, she chooses to raise us alone instead of getting “yaya” to help her in taking care of us. Although, we had one before but then… that’s just for a meantime since mom works as a reseller of known plastic products brand before.

Being a parent alone in raising 5 kids physically is not a joke at all, much more when the time I became a rebellious daughter of her. I don’t understand why she’s so strict to us in terms of allowing us go to our friends’ place or even strolling out from home. It started there.

When I reach my Highschool days, it gets worse. Although, I became rebellious during that time I never fail to attend my class and give mom failing grades at all. It’s just that, I get influenced much with “barkada” (friends).  I always go home late and sometimes, drunk. My mom, of course, gets angry with me every time I always do things like that. The time I reach 3^rd year level, I got pregnant. I didn’t see mom cried but according to our helper (who happens to take care of our adopted brother), she did. I don’t know how it feels in her part until I gave birth.

Now, I don’t know how much pain I gave her and so to my dad. I don’t know how to repay the love and acceptance they gave to me after all those bad things I’ve done to both of them. The trust I break. The unconditional love I’ve wasted. The acceptance I keep on untying. I just don’t know how to repay them.

But as a parent, nothing else’s they asked for. Instead, they want me to become a responsible parent towards my kids despite of having no partner neither father for them. You see, it’s very painful in their part. I know, because I just can’t imagine if things I’ve done unto them will happen to me soon. That’s running through my brain now, since the time I gave birth to my youngest.

I may not have the power to restore the trust I’ve broken into pieces, but I know in their hearts they’ve forgiven me for I am their child. And as child, I should learn from my mistakes. And I promise this day, I’ll provide them the love they deserve.