Nippon Paint raises profile of kids-friendly paint

KUALA LUMPUR: Paediatricians Dr Amir Hamzah and Associate Professor Dr Jessie Ann du Bryune recently played host to Nippon Paint’s Wellness for Children Expert Roundtable themed ‘ Mitigating common indoor household risk for children’, focusing on immunology and asthma in regards to indoor environments.

Dr Amir who is president of Malaysian Society of Allergy and Immunology, and Clinical Immunologist, Allergist and Paediatrician at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur pointed out that parents need to know the common indoor household risk that are present and also understand the ways to mitigate these risk as children spend more time indoors, be it at home or at childcare centres.

“Allergies can occur anywhere indoors! Your walls, toys, and even furniture can be a root of an allergy attack. It is important for parents to understand that if they suspect their children of having allergies, they need to have relevant allergy tests to determine the cause of these allergic diseases and thus ensuring that their home is free of such allergens,” he advised.

“One place parents often overlook are walls. Walls are usually not cleaned as often as other surfaces such as floors, thus it begins to harbour dust, mould, bacteria, and even viruses. It is these walls that children interact with and may lead to infections and/or allergies,” he added.

Dr Amir’s presentation on ‘Why is my child developing allergies indoors’ highlighted the various indoor aspects that parents need to understand in order to mitigate these allergy risk.

In addition to walls, parents should also look at the safety and quality of various ‘ touch points’ of children, such as the toys, the pacifier and various furniture at home. The session was then followed by Dr Jessie’s, who is the Consultant Paediatrician and Paediatric Respiratory Physician at UMMC, presentation on ‘Asthma: Indoor more detrimental than outdoor?’

According to Dr Jessie, asthma is more than just pollen and dust. It is also contributed by indoor factors such as dust mites, animal dander, cigarette smoke, volatile organic compounds and even mould.

“Play is essential to a child’s mental and physical development, almost as important to a child as his or her daily meal. Parents need to know that their children have safe environments for play.

“Safe environments may be even more necessary for children with asthma. Optimal settings can contribute to control of asthma. Control your asthma, don’t let your asthma control you,” she said.

The Wellness for Children Expert Roundtable was part of Nippon Paint’s Wellness for Children Campaign that aims to empower parents with the relevant knowledge to make informed decisions for their children’s health and wellness development.

Nippon Paint Malaysia Group general manager Gladys Goh shared that a survey conducted by them revealed that 88 per cent of parents do not know that walls can be a medium to transmit viruses and bacteria and a separate survey, 70 per cent of parents claim that their children spend 8-20 hours a day indoors.

“We all are parents ourselves, and we only want the best for our children. With limitless amount of information published online, in our favourite magazines, and even in the newspaper we read, how do parents decide what information is valid? Thus it is our aspiration for the Wellness for Children campaign to empower parents with the knowledge to make informed decision.

“We do this through partnerships with leading health experts like Dr Amir and Dr Jessie Ann to create relevant educational platform that answers the most burning questions from today’s parents. Previously we have also worked with Dr Chan Yoke Fun of University Malaya to conduct sessions on Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease ( HFMD) to educate the public on this disease as well as other health- focused public forums.”

Back in 2015 and during an outbreak of HFMD IN 2016, Associate Professor of the University Malaya Department of Medical Microbiology Dr Chan Yoke Fun delivered two sessions on HFMD’s outbreak pattern, the symptoms, and viruses responsible for it. This was the beginning of Nippon Paint’s Wellness for Children campaign that has since included larger events such as the BFM Health & Living Junior 2016 conference.

The conference hosted over 700 members of the public to hear what Malaysia’s leading paediatrics have to say about childhood allergy, diseases, and the importance of play.

Based on three principles - Importance of Indoor Air Quality, Protection Against Virus and Bacteria, and The Importance of Play, Nippon Paint’s Wellness for Children campaign was birthed with the intention of creating conducive indoor environments for children to play and learn.

Goh pointed out that play is an important aspect of childhood as it sets the foundation for a child’s cognitive and physical development.

“However from recent reports it seems that our little ones are playing less, and this is causing them to experience anxiety and stress at such a young age. With 70 per cent of children spending 8-20 hours indoors daily, we are engaging through the Wellness for Children Campaign, to raise the awareness that with a conducive indoor environment, our children can play and learn better.

“This is just the beginning of Nippon Paint’s efforts in raising the profile of green solutions and kids-friendly paint. Ultimately we are doing our part as citizens of this world to offer coatings that look good while helping to green the environment. We believe functional coatings that can reduce energy usage and increase indoor inhabitant safety and comfort will help propel us seamlessly into the green century,” she added.