Dr Rania Ayat Hawayek

17/05/2025

Best Paediatric Healthcare Provider!

What a win!

This award is pretty special as it’s purely driven by the public, from nomination, to voting, to the anticipation of the result on the night!

Thank you for all your votes! We strive on providing our patients and community with the very best healthcare services that we can offer.

Here’s to an even brighter future! We can’t wait to share it with you.

08/03/2024

What on honour to be featured here, amongst these successful and inspirational women, on Women’s Day.

The stories of the top 10 female leaders revolutionizing the Gulf region are a testament to their incredible achievements and dedication. As we celebrate

02/10/2023

PINKtober - a reminder for us ladies to get checked 🩷

23/05/2022

MONKEYPOX

What is it? And should we worry about this becoming endemic or pandemic? There is very little in the way of info about Monkeypox at the moment. I don't believe that this is in any way similar to covid or as transmissible.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic virus (originates in animals) and is well known and documents, usually limited to some regions within the African continent. It causes an illness similar to chicken pox but of a higher severity.

We are living in an age where medical news reaches us in real-time, with very accurate and detailed information. This, I believe, is causing people to panic more than necessary.

At the moment, there is a very small number of cases globally, and the nature of this illness makes it easier to diagnose and contain.

We are more than equipped to recognise, diagnose, quarantine, contact-trace and treat any cases which may arise - all thanks to COVID of course 😉

Watch this space for more news as it unfolds....

23/05/2022

MONKEYPOX?

Should we worry? Is this going to be labelled a pandemic just like Covid? It's still too early, with very little in the way of info, but I believe not.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic virus (originates in animals), which has been around for a while and has caused other infections or mini-outbreaks in the past. I believe that the difference now is in the quality, detail and accuracy of medical news which we receive: there's simply too much of it and it's all in real-time.

Monkeypox is not as transmissible as covid or influenza, in that it transmits mainly by direct contact with the vesicles (rash). This is an obvious symptom which is visible on those with Monkeypox, and hence they are relatively easy to avoid.

Direct household members are those at most risk, and are the ones subject to strict quarantines in some countries where there have been a few cases.

The global case count remains very low. Let's not panic at this stage, as we are more than prepared to recognise it, diagnose it, isolate and quarantine individuals effectively and hence, contain it - all thanks to Covid of course 😉

Watch this space for more info...

03/01/2022

COVID and Back to School!

It's the start of a new year, a new school term and a renewed fear in the virus and .

Many of you have your kids at schools who have chosen to be online, out of necessity due to staff shortages. Others have chosen to keep their kids at home for fear of what now seems is an inevitable infection.

The truth is that the schools, the regulating bodies and the authorities are all doing their best to keep our school environment and our children safe.

Schools are subject to very stringent safety protocols and their staff are just like us: some have tested positive, others have had delayed PCR test results and others are stuck in home countries due to one or the other. It will all settle in a week or two, as will this wave of new infections hopefully.

This new variant is very contagious, and seems to have a shorter incubation period, which means that we'll see its effects fairly rapidly over the next few weeks. Thankfully, it seems milder, perhaps because it's affecting a mainly vaccinated population and children (who have better outcomes with this virus anyways).

We must make sure that we, as parents, continue to act responsibly and prevent bringing covid home to our kids, through our dinners, maskless meetings and other events. We should try and limit play dates and other indoor interactions over the next couple of weeks to minimise the spread too.

Please keep your child (and/or yourself) at home if there is any evidence of any symptom, however mild (with or without a fever). COVID is variable and symptoms can change from person to person. The only way to truly know if you have Covid is to test, and perhaps test again. PCR testing is best.
Please isolate properly, including household contacts.

Our priority needs to be to , mainly for our children's and .

We'll get through this together 💪🏻

27/12/2021

COVID, Omicron - an Update

We all know so many who have COVID now. The number of cases has suddenly mushroomed over the past 2 weeks, and this is likely to continue into next month, especially when everyone's back from their holidays.

I anticipate that many, if not most kids, will be exposed to COVID now, but thankfully, cases so far have been mild and managed like a regular cold.

It's good news for those of us who are vaccinated, in that if we catch it, it's a mild illness. For those of us who have had a booster, it's even better news: we are unlikely to catch it or if we do, we're unlikely to notice.

So, get your booster if you can. And PLEASE get vaccinated if you haven't done so already (there can't be that many of you out there, but I still feel obliged to say this).

However, we must still and maintain practices in crowded and busy areas. We must avoid seeing others when we have any cold-like symptom, because nowadays, it's COVID unless proven otherwise, so please get tested when needed (a PCR test). The reason to be careful despite it being a mild illness, is that there are still many who are vulnerable (elderly and newborns), and many who may still be caught out by the complications of this strange virus.

One word of warning about recent cases (and maybe this is a feature of ), many initial tests are negative, and many only get a positive on repeat tests.

Also, lateral flow or rapid tests done at home are not often accurate, so if you have had contact with a known case, have funny symptoms or have viral symptoms and test negative on that, please don't assume that it's not COVID: isolate and test again.

I hope you're all enjoying the festive season, and wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Safe New Year 🎉 💥 😷 ❤️

29/11/2021

OMICRON: the new COVID variant

👉 What is OMICRON?

It is the new variant of COVID which has been genetically sequenced just this week.

👉 Why is it significant?

It has several mutations and this many number of new mutations has not been seen in previous variants.
We don't know their significance, but as has occurred in other variants, they are likely to have an impact on how contagious this strain is, the severity of its symptoms and more importantly, on how protective our current vaccines are against it.

👉 How does this affect us? Our travel plans? Etc.

If you have not been vaccinated yet, PLEASE GET YOUR VACCINE - I cannot stress this enough. This is more important now than ever!!

If you've had your second dose of Pfizer more than 6 months ago, you should get your booster now.

If you're travelling to a country which is experiencing a rising number of cases, you may be at risk of being stuck there with border closures: that may or may not have an impact on your decision, but it is worth thinking about.

everyone

especially if you're somewhere where others around you aren't wearing one (mainly indoors)

if you haven't done so already

if you can

may not have a massive impact, but it is definitely significant. Watch this space for more info as it unfolds...

17/11/2021

HFMD

Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease: that dreaded viral infection that has been making the rounds over the past few weeks. Here is a video to tell you all about it.

It's a collection of symptoms that can be caused by different viruses, so yes, your child can get it more than once.

It causes symptoms of a cold, with a fever and sometimes intestinal symptoms. The main concern is the severe pain on swallowing and eating, due to ulcer-like lesions and blisters inside the mouth and throat.

It causes a typical rash like the name suggests, on the hands, feet and around the mouth, and sometimes on the buttocks. This can spread upwards onto arms and legs but is hardly ever on the chest or back. It can range from almost no rash at all to widespread blisters, but the rash is usually not painful or uncomfortable.

HFMD is caused by viruses, so hence has no treatment. You just have to manage the symptoms of pain and fever.
Avoid foods that can "sting" or burn the ulcers such as acidic or citrusy foods. Keep your child well-hydrated, and treat their pain even if they don't have a fever.

It's best to keep them off school or nursery for one week from when the first symptom appeared as it's very contagious. They will need a back-to-school certificate.

One last point: HFMF can cause peeling and shedding of the nails a few weeks later. If your child gets that, please don't worry 😉

Stay tuned for more videos on viruses!

16/11/2021

RSV

Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Has your child or others you know had this in the past few months?

RSV causes a heavy prolonged cold with high fever, congestion and mainly a chesty cough. It is the major causes of bronchiolitis in infants (viral pneumonia) and increases the risk of secondary infections such as middle ear infections and bronchitis in children and adults.

In newborns and young infants, it can sometimes lead to the need for hospital admission and oxygen support/nebuliser treatment, but this is rare.

In the vast majority of cases, regular home remedies, fever control and guidance by your Paediatrician is all that is needed.

Watch this space for more info on other viruses.

What would you like to hear about next??

29/07/2021

Staying safe is the result of a collective effort made by every single member of the community - local, resident or visitor.

Here in the UAE, we have been witness to one of the safest and most effective responses to the pandemic in the entire world, but for this to continue, we each need to play our part by doing the following:


your hands


These three steps are our most important tools in keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe.

Follow Weqaya وقاية] for the latest info and guidance.

everyone !

كل فرد من أفراد المجتمع مسؤول لنبقى جميعنا بأمان - إن كان مواطن أو مقيم أو زائر.

نحن محظوظون بدولة الإمارات لكونها قامت بأقوى برامج الوقاية بالعالم ضد جائحة كورونا و أكثرها فعالية. و يجب علينا أن نتابع هذا البرنامج و نلعب دورنا المسؤول فيه باتباع الخطوات التالية:





هذه الخطوات الثلاثة تحمينا و تحمي من حولنا.

تابعوا Weqaya وقاية] لآخر المستجدات و النصائح.