40pc increase in respiratory infections owing to fog

[Naveed Yaseen]

THE ongoing wave of foggy and dry cold weather has increased the incidence of acute respiratory infections among children, the major killer of children below five years of age in Pakistan.

Registration and admissions of children to Children’s Hospital and OPD/emergency and paediatrics wards of other hospitals suffering from acute respiratory infections have increased up to 40 per cent.

Dr Ahsan Waheed Rathore, the medical director of Children’s Hospital and Professor of Paediatrics, said dry cold weather without rain and high pollution made children vulnerable to acute respiratory infections.

Respiratory infections were a major killer of children below five years of age in Pakistan. Viral infections due to overcrowding, malnutrition and putting on too many layers of clothing on children were the main causes of acute respiratory infections including bronchitis, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, asthma, etc.

He also noted 40 per cent increase in mortality rate due to pneumonia among malnourished children. Similarly, prematurely born children, underweight and weak children were also at high risk of mortality due to pneumonia, he said.

He said putting too many layers of clothing on children, particularly the newborns, increased their body temperature resulting in perspiration even in winter.

Such children easily contracted pneumonia as soon as they were unwrapped, undressed or exposed to cold, he said. He advised parents to take care of their children and contact a doctor when symptoms of illness appear.

He urged parents not to give medicines to their children without consulting a doctor, saying it not only risked the lives of children but also caused a huge financial loss. According to a recent study, injudicious use of cough syrups alone caused a financial loss of $8.7 million annually, whereas a sum of $1.2 million could be saved every year through judicious use of antibiotics for children. Dr AJA Samdani, a child specialist and AMS Coordination in Children’s Hospital, said hazy and overcast conditions had increased the prevalence viral and bacterial infections causing sore throat, running nose and fever. He urged parents to ensure vaccination of their children, saying it could reduce the occurrence of dangerous infections. Parents should be careful that their children were not exposed to cold on rising from beds and going to schools in the morning, he said.

He said there was a 40 per cent increase in the number of patients visiting both emergency and OPD wards, whereas the rate of admissions of seriously-ill children with breathing problems had also increased by up to 25 to 30 per cent. Such a condition required immediate nabulization to maintain the level of oxygen in lungs, he said. He observed that the ratio of sick children from periphery and rural areas was more than sick children in urban areas. Lack of awareness, malnutrition and non-compliance of proper dressing up of children in extremely cold weather in villages was to blame for this, he said.

He advised parents to dress up their children properly and ensure that they wear warm clothes, gloves, socks and shoes. Parents should also refrain from taking out children on motorbikes, he said. He also advised parents to maintain warm atmosphere in rooms and houses having proper ventilation, saying excessive gas and electricity cuts were worsening the situation. He said children should not be given cold drinks, ice creams, sweets, toffees, chips, etc.

He advised parents to take care of newborn children, whether born in summer or in winter, as they were more sensitive to cold and heat. “Due to less body fats and low resistance, newborns adopt environmental temperature,” he said. He also warned against self-medication and treatment from quacks, saying it might jeopardise the lives and health of children.

Dr Masood Akhtar Sheikh, a paediatrician, said exposure to dry cold weather caused flu and ready-made milk kept in refrigerators caused sore throat and loose motions among children. Besides, he said pollution containing moisturised dust was also one of the major causes of bronchitis among children as well as adults.

He said bronchitis with simple symptom of dry cough, if not properly taken care of, might convert into pneumonia or asthma, which sometimes proved fatal among children. He said excessive antibiotics should not be given to treat bronchitis especially without doctor’s prescription.

Antibiotics, however, have to be given for the treatment of pneumonia with doctor’s advice, he said.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=154932