Children should stay cautious of common illnesses due to rains, say doctors
Besides the regular flu cases, there are risks of acute diarrhoea, typhoid, food poisoning and water borne diseases
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CHENNAI: Even as the state health department is taking all measures to prevent health outbreaks, health experts say that children are most easily affected and need to very cautious to prevent getting illnesses due to immediate rain impact and on a long term basis.
The government hospitals are seeing a large number of cases of acute diarrhoeal diseases in children, mainly because of children consuming contaminated water.
Dr Ram Kumar, senior paediatrician at a government hospital in the city says that the school going children are most commonly affected as they come in contact with rainwater. They can immediately get fever or flu, and Leptospirosis is also common as they come in contact with contaminated water. It is important to wash the hands and legs if going out.
He added that Typhoid is also common because of the consumption of contaminated food and water. Thus, it is advised to consume home cooked meals. Parents are advised to use boiling water and use of masks among children is encouraged to stop the cases of flu from spreading."
The Institute of Child Health is also seeing a large number of cases of flu and fever but a drop in the dengue cases is expected in case of heavy rainfall. Doctors say that if there is excess rainfall, vector borne diseases can even reduce because the breeding sites are washed away.
Dr Mohan Kumar, pediatrician at the Stanley Medical College and Hospital says that once the rain stops, the bacterias and viruses become more active and this leads to various illnesses. Besides the regular flu cases, there are risks of acute diarrhoea, typhoid, food poisoning and water borne diseases.
"Children are most likely to get affected by them and these cases can surge by about 30-40 percent. There can be cases of food poisoning because of contamination in the food, while cough and wheezing is also common. Respiratory illnesses witness a surge as the already existing respiratory problems will worsen. Children are put on inhalers and nebulizers to prevent severity," added Dr Mohan.
