Sultry weather leaves children with recurring cold, cough in Pune
With cloudy days and frequent temperature variations, many high-risk senior citizens and children are reporting regular cough and cold, doctors from Pune reported
With cloudy days and frequent temperature variations, many high-risk senior citizens and children are reporting regular cough and cold, doctors from Pune reported.
The lowest minimum temperature for September was reported on Saturday at 19.6 degrees Celsius as per India Meteorological Department (IMD). The fluctuations of day and night temperature during this month are caused because of cloudy days. As per IMD, day and night temperature are likely to increase in the next few days.
Dr Ganesh Badge, consultant- Pediatric Intensivist, Manipal Hospital said that there are children who have prolonged cough and cold due to the erratic weather.
“In the last three months, we have seen many children suffering from cough, cold and they are not able to recover from it. The infection subsides for some time but recurs again and it becomes very difficult to break this cycle. This can be due to the low immunity, as for the last two years, most people have been confined to their homes. As a result, their body is not exposed to external allergens and hence not able to develop immunity. Also, the combination of rise in asthma, an increase of new allergens and frequent change in the weather is also another reason for the rising hospitalisation,” said Dr Badge.
The weather department noted that the highest day temperature in Pune city for this month was reported on September 3 at 34 degrees Celsius. Since then, the day temperature has been on the cooler side.
In the past week alone, the day temperature dipped to as low as 24 degrees Celsius which was nearly five degrees cooler than normal.
Dr Reshu Aggarwal, Consultant Internal Medicine, Manipal Hospitals said that there has been a significant increase in the number of viral cases these days.
“Majority of the cases can be attributed to fluctuations in temperature and rainfall. Variation in weather from sunny/hot to extreme cold and rainy serves as a breeding ground for viruses. People are typically coming with fever/cough/cold, body pain, and headaches. Duration of illness is prolonged as compared to a typical viral which lasts for 3 to 4 days. Also, most people are having recurrent infections. A few important tips to protect oneself is maintaining hand hygiene, keeping yourself well hydrated, consuming fresh homemade food and avoiding direct contact with a sick person,” said Dr Aggarwal.
Anupam Kashyapi, head of weather forecasting department of IMD said that the day temperature is likely to increase till 30 degrees Celsius in the next few days.
“The minimum temperature for Pune city is likely to remain around 19 to 20 degrees Celsius with light rainfall forecasted till September 27,” said Kashyapi.