After the rains, doctors in Chennai, especially in private hospitals, are seeing many children with various viral infections. Along with fever, cold-cough, diarrhea and vomiting, cases of dengue and conjunctivitis are also being reported in children.
A private pediatric consultant said he was mostly seeing children reporting viral illnesses such as cold, cough, conjunctivitis, diarrhea and vomiting as well as fever. “During the rains, the number of such cases goes down. But we can expect more cases after the rains. We can expect a rise in viral diseases like common cold, flu and diarrhea in the coming weeks.” He was also seeing cases of hand, foot and mouth disease.
Janani Shankar, deputy medical director of the Kanchi Kamakoti Child’s Trust Hospital, said there has been an increase in the number of children suffering from dengue. “The number of cases has increased in the last two weeks after the rains. Earlier, if we looked at 10 children, two were found positive for dengue. Now, six to seven out of 10 children in the hospital are diagnosed with dengue. They are all stable and reacting well to liquids,” she said.
He raised the need to keep the houses and surroundings free from mosquito breeding. Many children are also reporting symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. “These are cases of gastroenteritis and typhoid. It is important for children to have safe drinking water and avoid eating raw food outside,” she said.
Deepa Iso, Senior Consultant, Department of Pediatrics, MGM Healthcare, said that there has been a slight increase in the cases of diarrhoea. “If we look at 10 to 15 kids, five to six of them have diarrhea,” she said.
He said that there were several cases of conjunctivitis in children. “It is highly contagious. It spreads easily in homes when towels and sheets are shared. It is important to isolate children with symptoms such as red eyes, sticky discharge and keep them away from schools. One of the most important things One is to avoid self-medication like eye drops as it can be dangerous. It is important to consult a pediatrician or an ophthalmologist,” she said.
‘no increase’
At the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, doctors were not seeing any increase in infections. “We are seeing a general pattern of children having cold and cough. We do not have any spurt in cases and in fact a decline is being seen in dengue cases after the rains.
Public health officials said that the dengue cases are under control in the state. Till now, 5,182 dengue cases were reported in the state.