SEASONAL RISE IN DIARRHOEA AND VIRAL INFECTIONS, CHILDREN MOST VUNERABLE

Kanpur, September 25: The post monsoon conditions are proving conducive for the spread of diarrhoea and viral infections resulting in long queues of patients in the hospitals and clinics. Children, unfortunately, are the worst affected by these problems. Paediatricians all over the city are busy handling the heavy influx of patients. The fact of the matter is that while it is very easy for children to catch such infections, the parents can protect their little ones from these infections by taking some very simple precautions.

According to one of the most senior paediatricians in the city, Dr. R. C. Gupta, most of the children brought to his clinic these days suffer from viral fever and diarrhoea. The number of Typhoid patients is also on a rise he said. He told that the rain, temperature, and relative humidity are the major and important climatic factors responsible for the spread of viral infections and diarrhoea. During this part of the year these diseases tend to raise their heads but simple precautions can prove to be very useful in protecting children against them. He explained that a viral infection is accompanied by certain symptoms. The most common symptoms in most of the viral infections are fever, cough, runny nose, and throat pain. Describing the precautions for Diarrhoea he said that children should be given only thoroughly boiled water. He gave great importance to sanitation. Children should properly wash their hands and faces with soap and water whenever they come back home from outside he said. He also said that children should eat food prepared at home only and should keep away from junk food and market food. Once affected by diarrhoea, the child should be given ORS intermittently and only light food like khichdi or dalia should be given which can be digested easily.

            Dr. D.K. Jetly, another leading paediatrician in the city also agreed with his senior colleague and said that these viral infections and diarrhoea posed a serious threat to the health of children in our city. Elucidating on symptoms of a viral infection he said that fever, cold, cough, runny nose, throat pain, body aches, and loss of appetite are the symptoms of a viral infection. He also said that people should not take a viral fever lightly as the symptoms of viral fever are similar to those of Swine flu. The treatment should be started immediately if the child demonstrates symptoms of a viral infection and the child should be tested for Swine flu if the treatment is unable to cure the infection within 4-5 days. Earlier the facility for testing Swine flu was only at SGPGI at Lucknow but now Paliwal pathology at Pandu Nagar also has this facility in Kanpur. A viral infection is a communicative disease and spreads by sneezing, coughing, and human saliva. The infected child should use a handkerchief to cover the nose and mouth while sneezing and coughing so that the infection does not spread to others. The fever rises rapidly in a viral infection. Parents should keep monitoring the temperature of the child and should wipe the body of the child with clean wet cloth continuously if the temperature is above 101 F. He cautioned against self medication and said that in case of a viral infection, parents should take the child immediately to a qualified doctor. He also said that an infected child should not be sent to the school to prevent the spread of the infection to other children. The infected child should be kept away from crowed places too he said.

 Regarding diarrhoea he emphasised the importance of sanitation and said that the people should inculcate the habit of washing hands frequently with soap in their children. In case of diarrhoea, the parents should give the child ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution) intermittently. An ORS packet should be used all at once for making the solution he said and not in small portions at a time. A made-up solution should be used within 24 hours as there is a risk of bacteriological contamination after it. Parents could also make ORS at their home by dissolving one teaspoon sugar and a pinch of salt in a glass of boiled and cooled water. The child should be given clean water to drink other than the ORS too. He also said that mother’s milk should not be stopped if the child depends on it. The child can also be given curd, lentils, khichdi, and dalia. Oily and spicy foods should not be given to the child having diarrhoea he said.

            A little cautiousness of the parents can protect children from getting infected by viral infections and diarrhoea. While self medication is strictly forbidden, the child should be taken immediately to a qualified doctor for proper treatment immediately.