Midsummer ailments rampant

Doctors: avoid direct sunlight, take more fluids and fruits
People across the country are suffering from various midsummer ailments either because of exhaustion or because they have failed to get acclimatised to the oppressive heat, said physicians.
Health experts said that people generally suffer from diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, jaundice, typhoid, pneumonia, dehydration, fever, influenza and other viral diseases in the summer season.
M Abdul Khaleque, consultant of the paediatric department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, said that infection by water- and food-borne germs increases during this period.
He said that the people, especially the children, should avoid direct sunlight as far as possible. Heat stoke is caused by staying under the sun for a long time and also by excessive heat, he pointed out.
He suggested that more water and saline should be taken and the body should be sponged several times if anyone is afflicted by heat stroke.
AR Khan, director of Dhaka Shishu Hospital, said that people are taking street food and water that are not hygienic and as a result they are becoming sick.
‘On the other hand, the use of harmful chemicals and toxic pesticides in preserving vegetables and ripening fruits is causing more people to become victims of diarrhoea,’ said Abdul Khaleque.
Children and the old people are the worst victims of influenza and other seasonal ailments because their bodies do not have sufficient resistance, physicians observed.
AR khan suggested that people should not expose themselves to heat unnecessarily, should drink enough fresh and pure water along with saline if possible, should eat only fresh fruits and avoid street food.
AR Khan said that symptoms like watery stool, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain are found in many people in the summer, especially during heat waves.
He said that parents should bathe their children with fresh and pure water as there is a chance of intake of some water during bathing, which might cause water-borne diseases.
He suggested strict maintenance of personal hygiene, taking fresh food and pure drinking water, covering the food and taking care so that cooked foods do not become stale.
Physicians suggested that water should be boiled for more then 10 to 20 minutes for making it safe for drinking. Water filters cannot purify water properly as they cannot get rid of the various germs. They also suggested proper use of ‘hallo tab’ [water purifying tablets] to make water safe for drinking.
Menial workers, day labourers, particularly rickshaw pullers of the city commonly suffer from heat exhaustion which causes paleness, nausea, extreme fatigue, dizziness, light-headedness, vomiting, fainting and a cool clammy skin, said physicians.
Physicians of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases and Research Bangladesh suggested that diarrhoea patients should be given more fluid initially. If their condition deteriorates further, they should be admitted to nearby hospitals.

Courtesy of NewAge