Category: Auto Guid

After months of extreme heat, it’s a fact that sweltering hot weather conditions can trigger  cold symptoms. Additionally, the pollution that is perennial everywhere can also be a  potential trigger for this.

It wouldn’t be surprising then if children suddenly wake up with a clogged or runny nose, itchy  watery eyes, and sneezing. Unfortunately, what starts as a common cold symptom when not  treated and managed immediately, can progress to complications like otitis media and  pneumonia, to name a few. 

It is said that children, especially the younger ones can experience up to 8 episodes of the  common cold per year. The cold virus—which can be transmitted through airborne droplets  when an infected person coughs or sneezes and through direct contact with contaminated  surfaces—is widespread in children between 2 to 12 years old. For instance, kids are  frequently around a lot of people and spend most of their time in daycare or school and are  in close contact with their classmates who are infected can unknowingly catch the virus  through playing, and exchanging pencils, toys, and other things. 

Prevention is better than cure and here are ways to protect children from contracting the  virus: 

1. Wearing a mask when going to school or when simply going out will help protect or  shield them. 

2. When it comes to practical, doable measures to prevent colds, teaching children to  develop good hygiene habits is key. Encourage them to wash their hands as often as  possible. Washing with soap and water or using a hand sanitizer after playtime could  help curb the infection. Remind them to cover their mouth when they cough, sneeze,  and using a tissue when blowing their noses can help prevent the spread of the  common cold. 

3.  Adequate rest and quality sleep are essential for strengthening a child’s immunity,  helping them to prevent getting sick.

4. Keeping them hydrated by encouraging them to drink plenty of water, milk, or juices  is important. 

5. At home, household surfaces such as tables, countertops, toilets, and utensils  should be always disinfected and kept clean. 

6. Strengthen a child’s immune system with essential vitamins, a nutritious diet, and an active lifestyle. 

Parents should always be proactive in providing medications to help relieve the symptoms  of the common cold, such as nasal congestion and runny nose, while preventing further  progression and spread of infection; Thus, having quick relief that works in as fast as 15  minutes, readily available in the family medicine cabinet at the onset of a child’s colds is  essential.  

At the first sign of colds, Phenylephrine HCl + Chlorphenamine Maleate (Disudrin®) plays an  important role, as its two main ingredients work together to provide relief – combined with a  proper diet and a healthy lifestyle. Phenylephrine HCl helps clear nasal congestion for easier  breathing, while Chlorphenamine Maleate is an anti-allergy that helps ease runny nose,  sneezing, and itchy, watery eyes. 

The good news is, Phenylephrine HCl + Chlorphenamine Maleate (Disudrin®), the number  one and most pedia-prescribed colds medicine for kids, is an over-the-counter medicine  that brings quick relief at the first onset of colds, alleviating symptoms in as fast as 15  minutes, along with proper diet and exercise. 

Phenylephrine HCl + Chlorphenamine Maleate (Disudrin®) is available at leading local  drugstore chains nationwide, and can also be conveniently purchased on Lazada, Shopee,  and Tiktok Shop. 

To know more about Phenylephrine HCl + Chlorphenamine Maleate (Disudrin®), check out  its website, https://www.unilab.com.ph/products/disudrin, and  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DisudrinPH. 

If symptoms persist, consult your doctor. 

ASC Reference Code: U0199P102325D

* Source: PMDI, IQVIA SOLUTIONS PHILIPPINES, INC. reprinted with permission. Systemic  nasal preps in D – ORAL LIQUID ORDINARY with Patient Group = Less than 1 year old, 1 to 4  years, 5 to 11 years, 12 to 19 years among PEDIATRICIAN. MAT JUNE 2025 (July 2024 -June  2025). Systemic nasal preps in D – ORAL LIQUID ORDINARY in counting units, dosage units  and container units covering the period MAT JUNE 2025 (July 2024 -June 2025). Systemic  nasal preps in D – ORAL LIQUID ORDINARY in values covering the period MAT JUNE 2025 (July  2024 -June 2025) for both the most prescribed and No.1 claim.

References: 

• American Lung Association. (n.d.). Facts about the common cold. Retrieved June 3,  2025, from https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/facts about-the-common-cold 

• Monto, A. S., & Ullman, B. M. (1968). Acute respiratory illness in an American  community: The Tecumseh study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 87(2), 419–432.  https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a120616 • Unilab. (n.d.-a). Disudrin® FAQs. Retrieved June 3, 2025, from  https://www.unilab.com.ph/disudrin/faqs

• Unilab. (n.d.-b). Kids and colds: Symptoms and treatment. Retrieved June 3, 2025,  from https://www.unilab.com.ph/health-tips/kids-and-colds:-symptoms,-treatment 

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MANILA, Philippines — Philippine police and other law enforcement teams were deployed to arrest 18 suspects in a corruption scandal involving flood control projects that has sparked huge protests and forced implicated congressional leaders to step down, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other officials said Friday.

Marcos has been scrambling to quell public outrage over the massive corruption, which has been blamed for substandard, defective or non-existent flood control projects in a poverty-stricken country, long prone to deadly typhoons, floodings and extreme weather in tropical Asia.

The warrants were issued by the Sandiganbayan, a special anti-corruption court, against Zaldy Co, who has resigned from the House of Representatives and fled to an unspecified country, and 17 others, including government engineers and executives of Sunwest Corp., a construction firm, over irregularities in a flood control project in Oriental Mindoro province.

Government prosecutors have recommended no bail for the suspects because of the scope of the irregularities in the river dike project, worth P289 million ($4.8 million).

“They will be arrested, presented to the court and made to answer to the law,” Marcos said in a video message where he thanked the public for its patience. “There will be no special treatment, and nobody would be spared.”

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla and the National Bureau of Investigation said law enforcement teams have been deployed to arrest the suspects. The Interpol would be asked to help track and arrest Co through a Red Notice if he’s still out of the country, Remulla said, adding that the former lawmaker was last spotted in Japan a few days ago.

An immigration order has been issued to prevent the suspects in the Philippines from leaving the country, officials said.

Last week, Marcos said many of at least 37 powerful senators, members of Congress and wealthy construction executives implicated in the corruption scandal would be in jail by Christmas.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, a key prosecutor in charge of fighting government corruption, told The Associated Press that at least five former and incumbent senators were under investigation for allegedly pocketing huge kickbacks in the faulty flood control projects. Among them is former Senate President Chiz Escudero, who has strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Those implicated include lawmakers opposed to and allied with Marcos, including Rep. Martin Romualdez, the president’s cousin and key ally, who has denied any involvement but has stepped down as House of Representatives speaker. Sen. Bong Go, a key ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte, has also come under suspicion but has denied any wrongdoing.

Duterte was arrested in March and detained by the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands for alleged crimes against humanity over his deadly anti-drugs crackdowns.

He is a harsh critic of Marcos and father of the incumbent vice president, Sara Duterte, who has said that the president should also be held accountable and jailed for signing into law the 2025 national budget that carried appropriations for irregular infrastructure projects.

Aides have defended Marcos from allegations linking him to the irregularities, saying that he first raised alarm over them in July in his annual state of the nation address before Congress.

At least 9,855 flood control projects worth more than P545 billion ($9 billion) that were supposed to have been undertaken since Marcos took office in mid-2022 are under investigation. In September, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto told legislators that up to P118.5 billion ($2 billion) for flood control projects may have been lost to corruption since 2023.

MEXICO CITY — Fátima Bosch Fernández’s Miss Universe victory resounded across Mexico on Friday, framed as the vindication of a disrespected contestant from a country where women have pushed their way into positions of power and are increasingly calling out traditional chauvinism.

The 25-year-old from the Gulf coast state of Tabasco was scolded by the competition’s Thai director, Nawat Itsaragrisil, during a livestreamed sashing ceremony for the more than 100 contestants on Nov. 4. She allegedly did not follow his guidelines for taking part in local promotional activities. He called security when she spoke up to defend herself, and she responded by walking out with a number of other contestants following in solidarity.

The Miss Universe Organization president, Mexican business owner Raúl Rocha Cantú, had released a statement condemning Nawat’s conduct as “public aggression” and “serious abuse.”

Nawat later apologized for his actions, appearing both tearful and defiant at the same time.

The fireworks in Thailand earlier in the competition had already drawn Mexico’s attention, leading even President Claudia Sheinbaum to hail Bosch.

READ: Resigned Miss Universe 2025 judge calls Miss Mexico ‘fake winner,’ alleges rigging

So on Friday, Sheinbaum did not try to hide her pleasure that Mexico’s contestant ended up winning the crown.

“I like that she spoke up when she felt that was an injustice and that is an example,” Mexico’s first woman president said during her daily news briefing. “That thing they said about being prettier when you’re quiet has been left behind. Women are prettier when we speak and we participate.”

Patricia Bustamente, a 72-year-old retiree in Mexico City, shared the president’s enthusiasm.

“How good that she didn’t let it slide and how good that she fought to stay there,” Bustamente said, noting that Mexican women used to be “submissive.” She called Bosch “very brave.”

Briana González, a 40-year-old nurse, said in general she doesn’t like beauty pageants because “beauty goes beyond the physical,” but she saw Bosch standing up for herself as a positive example. “For some time now, Mexican women have come out to defend ourselves and fight inequality.”

When Bosch was announced as the winner, cheers and screams erupted from the audience, with Mexican flags waved by elated supporters.

Her home state of Tabasco, where thousands watched the competition from a local baseball stadium in southeast Mexico, partied into the night.

In Villahermosa, Tabasco’s capital, Gabriel Arcos, who sells eyeglasses, said Bosch had represented the state well.

“For us Tabasqueños, we’re proud that she has gone so far despite the setbacks Miss Bosch had,” said the 37-year-old.

NEW YORK, United States — US markets advanced Friday while European counterparts marked time. This was in response to sharp losses in Asia at the end of a week which saw heightened fears of a bursting AI bubble.

A blockbuster earnings report from chip bellwether Nvidia on Wednesday seemed to soothe concerns that vast investments in the artificial intelligence sector may have been overdone.

But Nvidia shares closed one percent lower on Wall Street as warnings grew that the tech-led rally may have run its course across equities. This had seen several markets hit record highs and companies clock eye-watering capitalizations.

READ: PSEi nears 6,000 level as bargain hunt persists

Adding to unease were mixed US September jobs data released Thursday. This raised the possibility that the Federal Reserve could decide against cutting interest rates in December.

That unease spread to Asia. Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai all ended the week down almost 2.5 percent at the close.

The clouds began to clear to a degree, however, as the Dow climbed 1.1 percent by end-Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.9 percent and the broader-based S&P 500 rose one percent.

“This week’s sharp sell-off in US stocks and cryptocurrencies briefly stalled as Fed December rate cut expectations increased from 41 percent to 73 percent after New York Fed President John Williams suggested the Fed may cut rates again soon,” said Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at IG.

But Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones added of the central bank: “The fact that we’re not going to get some key data does not make their job easier.”

Fed in a fog

This week, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said it would not publish full employment and consumer inflation reports for the month of October. Meanwhile November figures will only be released after the next central bank interest rate meeting.

This adds to the fog that Fed officials have to navigate as they mull their next rate decision.

Europe lacked direction as London ended just a sliver in the green. Paris was flat — although Ubisoft provided a glimmer of light — while Frankfurt lost 0.8 percent.

READ: Can Filipino creativity shine in games? Here’s what a game studio says about it

French video game company Ubisoft resumed trading in Paris. This was a week after stunning investors by postponing its results announcement without an explanation. This triggered speculation in the video gaming world.

The “Assassin’s Creed” maker said Friday the move was due to a simple “restatement” of its half-yearly results. This was after new auditors found problems with the way it had accounted for a partnership.

The rush from risk assets saw digital currency bitcoin hit a seven-month low at $81,569.79 before pulling back to around $84,490. This extended a sell-off suffered since its record high above $126,200 last month.

“The price action across markets has been prolific, and we’ve seen some truly impressive reversals in risk assets,” said analyst Chris Weston at broker Pepperstone.

“Sentiment in so many markets remains highly challenged, and we’ve seen new evidence that managers are dumping their 2025 winners — raising expectations that the path of least resistance is for risk to trade lower in the near-term,” he added. AFP

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia made its largest cocaine bust in a decade, authorities announced Friday, with 14 tons confiscated at its main Pacific port amid tensions with Washington, which has branded Bogota’s anti-drug policies insufficient.

The seizure in the world’s largest cocaine-producing country comes as the White House threatens President Gustavo Petro with financial sanctions and Colombia’s removal from the list of allies in the war on drugs.

The cocaine, stored in dozens of 50-kilogram (110-pound) sacks inside a warehouse, was “camouflaged” in a mixture with plaster, the Defense Ministry posted on X.

It was “the largest seizure by the Colombian police in the last decade,” said Petro, whose term ends in nine months.

READ: Colombia’s Petro in hot water as records reveal Lisbon strip club visit

The operation was carried out — “without a single death,” according to Petro — in the southwestern port of Buenaventura, a strategic departure point for Colombian cocaine.

Petro is critical of Donald Trump’s anti-drug strategy and has rejected as “extrajudicial executions” the bombings that the US president has authorized against boats suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Colombia regularly breaks its own annual record for coca leaf cultivation and powder cocaine production.

It has some 253,000 hectares (625,000 acres) under drug cultivation and produces at least 2,600 tons of cocaine, according to United Nations figures for 2023, the most recent available.

Petro considers Trump’s sanctions unfair and claims that record seizures have been made under his government.

MANILA, Philippines — Four weather systems will dump rain throughout the country on Saturday, according to the state weather bureau. 

In the 5 a.m. weather forecast of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), weather specialist Daniel Villamil said that the following weather systems will prevail in the following areas: shear line and northeast monsoon or amihan in Northern Luzon; easterlies in the eastern section of Central Luzon; and intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) in Palawan and portions of Mindanao. 

Villamil said that due to the effect of the shear line, or the convergence of warm and cold winds, high chances of rains and thunderstorms are expected over Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Apayao, and Kalinga. The northeast monsoon will bring cloudy skies and rains over Batanes and the rest of Cordillera Administrative Region. 

The easterlies, or the warm winds coming from the Pacific Ocean, will bring cloudy skies over Quezon and Aurora. 

Villamil also said that Metro Manila and most of Luzon will experience generally fair weather with chances of rainshowers throughout the day. He added that partly cloudy to cloudy skies will continue to prevail over these areas.

Meanwhile, the ITCZ or the convergence of winds from the northern and southern hemispheres, will cause cloudy skies and rains over Palawan, and Caraga, Northern Mindanao, and Davao Region.

Villamil noted that generally fair weather conditions will prevail over the whole Visayas and the rest of Mindanao with chances of isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms throughout the day.

He also said that while there is no gale warning raised in any seaboards of the country, the northern and western seaboards of Northern Luzon will experience moderate to rough sea conditions. 

Temperature forecast:

• Laoag, Ilocos Norte: 24°C to 32°C
• Baguio: 16°C to 25°C
• Metro Manila: 25°C to 31°C
• Tagaytay: 23°C to 29°C
• Tuguegarao: 23°C to 29°C
• Legazpi: 25°C to 31°C
• Kalayaan Islands: 25°C to 30°C
• Puerto Princesa: 24°C to 31°C
• Iloilo: 25°C to 31°C
• Cebu: 26°C to 31°C
• Tacloban: 25°C to 31°C
• Cagayan de Oro: 24°C to 31°C
• Zamboanga: 24°C to 33°C
• Davao: 23°C to 31°C

LPA monitoring

Villamil said that the agency is monitoring cloud clusters outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), which are associated with the ITCZ. 

“We are continuously monitoring because based on our analysis, there might be a formation of LPA in the next coming days and it might enter the [PAR] and affect the country in the coming weeks,” Villamil said. 

The Pagasa on Friday said that a LPA is “highly likely” to form inside the PAR in the coming days and may start affecting the country by Sunday, November 23. 

Meanwhile, Villamil shared the four-day weather outlook from Sunday to Wednesday:

• Sunday to Monday: shear line will continue to affect the eastern section of Northern Luzon. ITCZ will bring scattered rains and thunderstorms over most Mindanao, Visayas, and Southern Luzon; and
• Tuesday to Wednesday: ITCZ/LPA will bring scattered rains and thunderstorms over Central and Southern Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Shear line and northeast monsoon will continue to prevail over Northern Luzon. /das