Oats > Dre loves organic rolled oats for its pulpy texture which you can throw 1/2 a fistful into a saucepan and stir till soft (takes about 5mins). Most organic stores, NTUC Finest etc sells them. One pack around $7..lasts a long long time. Most days Dre takes oats for supper. Try not to get too much "instant" food..they are processed food regardless.
Astro > Did you see Dr Jane Yap the other time? If you did, you would have noticed her (impressive) Honeywell purifier.
KD Mummy > Light at the end of the tunnel. If the meds spill, estimated amt have to be returned to him..esp antibiotics :s - if your gut feel says the water is a problem..go get a filter. (cham...xoxo is instigating plenty of big ticket purchases). i think some of these companies actually "test" the water for you. the rest of the folks bar KD have been staying at that location for a long time, maybe they are "immune" to the effects? air, water, sleep, food...it's a tough job playing health cop. hang in there..soon you'd be having fun exploring all these options and making your living environment healthful (though quirky)..ha.
The Need for a Purifier > It's one of those things: best to get when you are still healthy. It's a nightmare scrambling for it when you are down sick and wondering if you've done enough. It's also a personal choice. Any way, my wallet is open to splurging on preventive health tools - or so I think. I think I posted before...I bought the purifier only because I came down with mycoplasma pneumonia during my pregnancy. As I was still considered "infectious" post-discharge, my respiratory specialist (Dr Jane Yap) had a chat with me and the subject came up abt purifiers. These are not hoodwink science. They are proven to work by interfering with the protein cell membranes of a variety of known pathogens (viruses & bacteria), and in certain models, actually destroying its DNA. Therefore, if a purifier is present at home, you are essentially adding a barrier in cases when one member of the family is sick and you don't want airborne diseases to spread etc etc etc. Depending on where you obtain the review of specific models, you're going to be persuaded this, that or everywhere. Since Sharp Plasmacluster didn't pay me to do any marketing
- I won't comment too much except to say for a chronic asthma and sinus sufferer - it has worked its magic, despite its apparent lack of a peer review. Maybe it's a placebo effect, but I don't think so cos I was the sneering, doubtful one and it was SF who insisted we get it. You know what...ever since then, if I am working in any work environment (even my car) - has a purifier or at the very least, some eucalyptus diffuser going on somewhere. With the Seventh Month coming up, this becomes more essential with all the joss paper being burnt.
But buying an air purifier on its own wouldn't do. My home shutters its windows 24/7 simply because, there is that darn lift upgrading going on and "throwing open the windows for fresh air" only invites more evil dust particles in. Dre shares my nasal sensitivities...you can't imagine how much gunk I clear from her nose when she goes outside to play vs home. Thus, with shut windows..the airconditioning goes on..and u can only imagine my electricity bill. Chemical clean together with my (expensive) Rainbow cleaner which I get my help to fix to the vents and aircon pipes twice a week does the trick for the aircon. Use bleach to scrub the aircon filters. Again, just do it and u would realise the amount of dust and mold that builds up within the week.. :s In a Rainbow system, you can actually see what you've removed in the water each time.
And after doing all that, if the babe still shows signs of nose sensitivities, check the clothes detergent you are using, floor cleaner etc. Also, try not to have soft toys and encase all pillows/mattresses in dust-mite proof bedding.
We have become weaklings...sigh. But trust me, nett cost of doing all that (plasmacluster + rainbow + no soft toys + anti-dust mite bedding ) is still less than being warded in hospital (A1 ward) for 5 days, not to consider the suffering and inconvenience...