In the sixties, most Chinese mothers in my neighbourhood who had children with chickenpox knew the importance of quarantining them from the healthy ones. It was simply by keeping the infected ones in their bedrooms as much as possible.
When I had chickenpox at the age of 5 or 6, I was not supposed to be exposed to any wind and that was the main reason really that I was kept in confinement. I suppose it was to avoid getting a chill when my body was burning hot due to the high fever.
My mother did not know anything about microbes in the air and that they were the culprits in causing the spread of the disease. It was the same with the other Chinese mothers living in the neighbourhood. However, fortunately they knew that chickenpox was not a disease to be taken lightly and it was contagious, but only to those who had never had it before. The manner of how it would be spread was not known. They were not educated and most of them were either housewives or rubber tappers. I had thought of how they would have looked if they were told about these 'invisible' dangers lurking around them.
I had a 'taste' of the disease that my elder sister so proudly talked about. She had came through it with the slightest scarring. I could not remember who it was that contracted it first that year, but my childhood friend and favourite playmate, Ah Peng, had to be kept away from me and vice versa.
We did not see each other for a couple of days and that was enough to almost kill us. It was also a real agony for both my mother and myself. Every now and then throughout those few days had me groaning and moaning, not because of the itchiness or of the fever that came with the disease, but of the sheer boredom of staying in a hot and stuffy bedroom.
No fanning, no bath, except for the sponging that my mother observed every late evening. Like any other active and normal child, I tried several times to venture out of the bedroom. Every attempt to walk out of the door was doused by the sudden appearance of either my mother or grandma. Iwas watched closely. All of a sudden, I was guarded like a precious princess.
Threats like getting rheumatism and all kinds of body aches long before old age were hurled at me. I was advised to take care and to exercise discipline. Of course I did not understand one bit what they were talking about, but I was sure that they were firm in keeping me indoors.
When I had chickenpox at the age of 5 or 6, I was not supposed to be exposed to any wind and that was the main reason really that I was kept in confinement. I suppose it was to avoid getting a chill when my body was burning hot due to the high fever.
My mother did not know anything about microbes in the air and that they were the culprits in causing the spread of the disease. It was the same with the other Chinese mothers living in the neighbourhood. However, fortunately they knew that chickenpox was not a disease to be taken lightly and it was contagious, but only to those who had never had it before. The manner of how it would be spread was not known. They were not educated and most of them were either housewives or rubber tappers. I had thought of how they would have looked if they were told about these 'invisible' dangers lurking around them.
I had a 'taste' of the disease that my elder sister so proudly talked about. She had came through it with the slightest scarring. I could not remember who it was that contracted it first that year, but my childhood friend and favourite playmate, Ah Peng, had to be kept away from me and vice versa.
We did not see each other for a couple of days and that was enough to almost kill us. It was also a real agony for both my mother and myself. Every now and then throughout those few days had me groaning and moaning, not because of the itchiness or of the fever that came with the disease, but of the sheer boredom of staying in a hot and stuffy bedroom.
No fanning, no bath, except for the sponging that my mother observed every late evening. Like any other active and normal child, I tried several times to venture out of the bedroom. Every attempt to walk out of the door was doused by the sudden appearance of either my mother or grandma. Iwas watched closely. All of a sudden, I was guarded like a precious princess.
Threats like getting rheumatism and all kinds of body aches long before old age were hurled at me. I was advised to take care and to exercise discipline. Of course I did not understand one bit what they were talking about, but I was sure that they were firm in keeping me indoors.
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