Grandma sunning baby with Jaundice

I was on my way to my usual Sunday morning Tai Chi class at Clementi Community Club when I caught sight of this lady sunning her grandchild at the foot of a HDB flat nearby. It was 9.30am and out in the open. I was concerned that baby may be over exposed to the sunlight, so have I to kaypoh (singlish for busybody) as I always am. I casually remarked "baby having Jaundice huh?". And then I asked the lady if she may be over-exposing baby avoiding sounding too intrusive. She replied that because of overcast sky earlier in the morning the sun wasn't shinning.

It common practice among many Singaporeans to sun baby with Jaundice. In fact our elders recommends a little morning sun helps keep Jaundice away; and that what we did for our daughter when she was a baby. We took care to exposed only very short duration in early morning sun that shine through the window. I read with great surprise when I goggled on this subject to find on SingHealth website (http://www.singhealth.com.sg/PatientCare/ConditionsAndTreatments/Pages/Jaundice%28Baby%29.aspx) that such a practice is NOT recommended.

What's your experience with your children?

Walking half an hour a day helps keep cancer at bay

According to World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) breast and bowel cancer could be prevented through people being more physically active. WCRF recommends being physically active for at least half an hour a day. “By taking up walking as a hobby or even walking to the shops instead of taking the bus or car, people can make a real difference to their health. People who are regularly active are less likely to be overweight, which is an important cancer risk factor",

So those of you who have a dog, how about taking your beloved K9 out for daily walks if you haven't been doing it. Now there's a reason to do it. No dog? Take your spouse after dinner for a romantic evening stroll.

Dog pulling while walking?

Mum caught the travelling bug!

You know ladies just love shopping. They can shop till you drop lol. On our many shopping stops I observed something rather fascinating. Mum was either shy or slow to decide or perhaps still retaining the thrifty habits of the older generation, not to spent unnecessarily. My wife and her sister would be extremely enthusiastic as if trying to make a sale, more so than the sales person present. They were trying so hard to pick the design/color which they think was nice but mum just wasn't interested. After a few days of shopping I found out that mum have a mind of her own. In their excitement to push their choice selection the girls were oblivious to this. On one occasion after all the usual suggestions by the girls and mum turning down all of them and the frenzy have died down; mum pointed to a particular piece from her wheelchair and said she liked that one lol.

All in all I'd say mum had a "Rolling Good Time" on this Shanghai holiday trip. She discovered that with the wheelchair it's possible to travel, Osteoarthritis of the knees not withstanding. She have became more cheerful and now without hesitation she would ask when is our next holiday.

Toddler's Split Pants

Disposable Diapers? What disposable diapers? In China the Toddler's split pants 开档裤 kāi dàng kù allows babies and toddlers to answer nature's call with neither hindrance nor hassle. This great Chinese invention allows little kids to do their business anywhere. At first sight it may seem bizarre, perhaps a little embarrassing to foreigners, particularly Westerners to see baby's little Willy or naked butt exposed. I was surprised to have spotted a number of these toddlers in a modern city like Shanghai in this day and age. The Split Pants isn't totally alien to me. I remember when I was young, one of my younger brothers wore them. Not everyone of us wore them. I believe those who were hard to "potty train" were made to wear them. And I remember it's only a small slit at the front for peeing only, not all the way to the back.

Chiropractor for Knee OA (Osteoarthritis)?

The TCM treatment in Shanghai have produced a slight improvement for my wife's knee OA (Osteoarthritis). I noticed her posture have improved somewhat. The pain in her knee is still there though. She only experience some relieve the morning immediately after the treatment. We are thankful for that. I know the fact is we have to be realistic about it. For anything to work it's got to be a fairly long term follow-up. My search for a cure for her continues...

I am very tempted to let my wife consult a Chiropractor but at the same time there is doubt about it's efficacy. I have yet to hear solid evidence of people who have had their ailments cured through Chiropractic treatment.
Have you been to a Chiropractor or know someone who have? What was you experience like? Have Chiropractic help you? Please share your experience if you have been to one or share any other treatment that have produced good results for knee pain.

I have also been reading with great interest Prolotherapy (Reconstructive therapy). Injections of simple solutions such as dextrose, glycerin, and phenol is used to stimulate the growth of connective tissue. Other more advance technique involve the injection of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP).This is supposed to strengthen the weak or damaged joints, cartilage, ligaments and tendons. However there are still very little information to confirm it's effectiveness, rate of success and side effects if any; and it seems this is still unavailable in Singapore.

Other options we may explore are Yoga and Pilates. Any practitioner out there who previously have knee problem? Have Yoga or Pilates helped?  I would really love to hear from anyone out there who may have had their knee pain healed or know of someone who have.

Food Glorious Food

How can a blog not talk about food? And undeniably one of the most exciting experience in travel is to taste the food of the country one visits. For you foodies out there waiting in anticipation, here goes...

The most memorable dish and the one I liked most during our trip was the Famous Wan San Pork Knuckle at Zhou Zhuang. Super tender and rich in flavor. We were all going wow wow.. yum yum... as we savour the juicy meat which melts in your mouth. It was the biggest pork knuckle I've ever ordered and the best I've tasted. For a bunch of us who are pretty health conscious we were attacking the fatty pork knuckle without a care. I was zooming in on the skin, minus the fat underneath and passing some to my wife as we were told by Western Doctors that the skin can be beneficial to the musculoskeletal joints and the skin elasticity. "The proof is in the eating" We ended up ordering another piece. I just couldn't believe it!

Shops selling take-away local Tim Sum (snacks) can be found in most neighborhood in Shanghai. Duck parts are local favourite - head, neck, webs, wings, heart, gizzard and liver.... and yes even tongues. Those crazy about tongues can consume a plateful of it in one sitting.

This local salad which I believe is made from garlic chive (known as ku chye in Singapore) and peanut is very popular among locals and is commonly served in restaurants. I did not particularly liked it, tasted rather bland.

Generally, we found the food there tend to be slightly more salty and oily than what we have in Singapore. The meat buns (we call it Pau in Singapore, they call it Mun Tuo) are thick skinned. It is very oily inside and have very little fillings. Our meat buns here in Singapore are the opposite.

TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) knee osteoarthritis treatment

A large part of our visit to Shanghai were spent on visiting the TCM doctor to seek treatment for my wife's and my mother-in-law's knee pain. We made 9 visits in the 10 days we were there. The doctor recommended daily treatment without break. This resulted in Hangzhou being dropped from our planned itinerary.

Treatment entails Acupuncture, Moxibustion, Cupping Therapy and Massage and then finishing off with a herbal patch to the treated area.

Indirect moxibustion. An acupuncture針灸 needle is inserted into an acupoint and the tip of the needle is then wrapped in moxa and ignited, generating heat to the point and the surrounding area. The moxa is a Chinese herb Artemisia Mug wort, a type of Chrysanthemum. The leaf of the Artemisia is bitter, pungent and considered to be thermal and warming in nature. Moxibustion is known for providing relief to stubborn musculoskeletal pains. In ancient times a small, cone-shaped amount of moxa is placed on top of an acupoint and burned. Another method is holding a cigar like stick over the acupoint to deliver the heat.

Fire cupping facilitate improved blood-flow and generate qi movement in the patient. Specially made bulb-shaped glass cups are heated, creating a vacuum and applied against the patient’s skin. The suction is so strong that the skin is pulled out creating what looks like "extra large nipples" lol, and we really had a good laugh.

I decided to have a go myself, just for the experience so I told the doctor about my occasional numbness down my right arm to the fingers and stiff neck. In my case the doctor did not apply burned moxa to the needles but held a lighted flame to the tip of the needle. It was quite an experience and spectacle : )

Tai Chi for Wellness 2010

My wife and I attended the Taichi for Wellness event 2010 at PAHQ (People's Association Headquarters) Saturday morning. The event started at 7.30am so it was an effort to wake up earlier that we are used to. Nevertheless we were really enthusiastic and excited because Dr Paul Lam the person responsible for creating the Tai Chi for Health Programs - Tai Chi for Artthritis, Tai Chi for Osteoporosis and Tai Chi for Diabites will be present to give a talk.

Around 1800 people, mostly seniors participated in the event with a mass Tai chi workout session. There were booths on Healthy Cooking, Health Food Sampling and Free Osteoporosis Risk Assessment. During the talk, PA instructors gave a demonstration of the different forms of Taichi that the TaiChi for Health programs were adapted from; namely the Chen, Yang and Sun styles which are already popular in Singapore. While Tai chi  is typified by exceedingly slow movement, some parts of the Chen and Yang styles have a faster pace. I understand that there are still other schools of Tai Chi, namely Wu, Lee, Guan Ping and Eight Diamonds.

With Dr Paul Lam

With our teacher Mr Yap Cheng Ho

Wheel Chair and Push Chair

For quite some time now I've been recommending the wheelchair for mother-in-law since her knees are not too good as well, but you know seniors can be self-conscious. There is this reluctance to be seen on a wheelchair in public. The last couple of weeks we've brought old lady out to the shopping centres and discovered that her knees are not taking it too well. This becomes an opportune time to push for that wheelchair ahead of the Shanghai trip.

Upon checking around I discovered that there are actually two type of Wheelchairs - Mobility Wheelchair with 24" wheels which is self-propelled by the occupant and is for people with walking disability and then there is the Push Wheelchair (or Push Chair). with smaller wheels which is attendant-propelled; meaning someone else have to do the pushing.

We found out that there is a charitable organisation, Kampong Senang Charity & Education Foundation  (http://www.kg-senang.org.sg) that lets out used wheelchair at a low cost under it's project "Wheel-of Hope" at the Mobility Aids Services & Training Centre. These wheelchairs are donations from the public. The scheme goes like this; the amount you pay (which is a fraction of the original price) is considered a donation and you get to keep the wheelchair for as long as you like.

Last Sunday we took mother-in-law to Parkway Parade Shopping Centre for a good 3 hours on the Push Wheelchair and old lady was very pleased very thankful. Mission success!

History of Shanghai Expo

With a bit of digging around I've found out that what we are talking about is actually "World Expo". It's referred to as Shanghai Expo simply because it's held in Shanghai this time round.  The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, in 1851 under the title “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations”. It was the idea of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, and was the first international exhibition of manufactured products. At that time it was called "World Fair" or "World's Fair". Since then it has been held in cities around the globe.

In the 1960's the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE; English: International Exhibitions Bureau) started calling World's Fairs "Expo's". From the year 1933 World Expo in Chicago each expo carries a theme. The theme for Shanghai Expo is "Better City, Better Life"

 

Everything you need to know about the Singapore Pavilion is on this website.

http://www.yoursingapore.com/worldexpo/en/index.html

Haha cute, our mascot is Little Durian Star.

Shanghai Expo Count Down

Countdown to Shanghai Expo, 10 days to go. For me it's 30 days count down to our Shanghai trip. Certainly we will set aside some time to visit the Expo when we are there. I am however not quite sure what this exhibition is really about. Perhaps we will at least visit the China Pavilion as well as our own Singapore Pavilion. I am proud that our famous Singapore singers Stefanie Sun, JJ Lin, Tanya Chua and Ah Du will feature in a video clip during the expo.
 
Singapore Pavilion Theme Song - "Every Touching Moment" 感 動每一刻
Composition : JJ Lin
Lyricists: 林秋離 許環良 Venus
Vocalists: JJ Lin 林 俊傑 , Stefanie 孫 燕姿, Tanya 蔡 健雅, Ado 阿 杜 


Interview with the designer


The Singapore Pavilion