Ronan Kelly
Retired 2020
Increase in cases of viral fever, diarrhoea
TNN 15 December 2009, 05:47am IST
CHENNAI: For most doctors, particularly paediatricians, the last three months of the year in the city usually mean more patients with fever.
?It?s not unusual to have children and adults flocking to hospitals this time of the year. We are now in the peak season,? says Dr S Balasubramanian, paediatrician at the Kanchi Kamakoti Childs Trust Hospital. Indeed, the waiting time at the doctor?s clinic has also shot up.
The fever, cough and cold is usually accompanied by severe pain in the joints. Doctors say that the high grade fever lasts for about three days and joint pains for at least a week. The season also brings in stomach infection that causes severe stomach ache and loose stools.
Pediatricians across the city say they have seen a 30% increase in outpatient cases and an equally high number of cases admitted. Nearly 60% of the total admissions in hospitals are due to viral fever or diahorrea, say doctors. Hospitals are overflowing with patients.
?I am waiting to get my seven-year-old admitted. She has severe diarrhoea and vomiting. I have been told that she will be started on drips. But there are no rooms available in the hospital now. We will have to wait for a patient to be discharged. They have given her a shot of antibiotics and ORS,? says Sharanya Kumar, waiting to admit her daughter in a private children?s hospital.
Adults, too, have been complaining of sore throat and severe cold and cough, accompanied by body ache and fatigue.
?We see a lot of viral fever cases among adults. It causes elevation in body temperature, cold, shivering, fatigue, vomiting, nausea and body ache. We are also seeing symptoms of chikunguniya,? says senior consultant physician, Dr TN Ravishankar.
?I prescribe drugs, including antibiotics and painkillers to my patients. I tell them they need rest and to have a lot of fluids, like fresh fruit juices, soup and tender coconut water,? he says.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...viral-fever-diarrhoea/articleshow/5338436.cms
TNN 15 December 2009, 05:47am IST
CHENNAI: For most doctors, particularly paediatricians, the last three months of the year in the city usually mean more patients with fever.
?It?s not unusual to have children and adults flocking to hospitals this time of the year. We are now in the peak season,? says Dr S Balasubramanian, paediatrician at the Kanchi Kamakoti Childs Trust Hospital. Indeed, the waiting time at the doctor?s clinic has also shot up.
The fever, cough and cold is usually accompanied by severe pain in the joints. Doctors say that the high grade fever lasts for about three days and joint pains for at least a week. The season also brings in stomach infection that causes severe stomach ache and loose stools.
Pediatricians across the city say they have seen a 30% increase in outpatient cases and an equally high number of cases admitted. Nearly 60% of the total admissions in hospitals are due to viral fever or diahorrea, say doctors. Hospitals are overflowing with patients.
?I am waiting to get my seven-year-old admitted. She has severe diarrhoea and vomiting. I have been told that she will be started on drips. But there are no rooms available in the hospital now. We will have to wait for a patient to be discharged. They have given her a shot of antibiotics and ORS,? says Sharanya Kumar, waiting to admit her daughter in a private children?s hospital.
Adults, too, have been complaining of sore throat and severe cold and cough, accompanied by body ache and fatigue.
?We see a lot of viral fever cases among adults. It causes elevation in body temperature, cold, shivering, fatigue, vomiting, nausea and body ache. We are also seeing symptoms of chikunguniya,? says senior consultant physician, Dr TN Ravishankar.
?I prescribe drugs, including antibiotics and painkillers to my patients. I tell them they need rest and to have a lot of fluids, like fresh fruit juices, soup and tender coconut water,? he says.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...viral-fever-diarrhoea/articleshow/5338436.cms