Bengaluru’s transition from winter to summer, apart from making residents feel the heat, has also brought about an onset of respiratory and gastroenterological illnesses. Hospitals across the city have noticed an uptick in the number of patients who are visiting the Out Patient Departments (OPD) in the last two weeks, while it has also been observed that some of the symptoms are taking over a week to subside.
Cough, cold, fever, sore throat, fatigue respiratory difficulty, bronchitis, vomiting, and diarrhoea are some of the symptoms seen largely among patients, doctors said.
“During the seasonal transition period, people are prone to infections and allergies. Primarily, viral infections are very common during this period. The transition months from December to March evokes many infections, particularly common flu. Gastroenteritis infection is seen at the onset of summer season,” said K.P. Balaraj, senior consultant, Internal Medicine, SPARSH Hospital.
The doctors also spoke about how construction work in the city could be a contributor to the allergies. “The weather suddenly got very dry. To add to it, most roads are not well laid and in bad condition and dusty. As it is also the onset of the spring season, fallen leaves and increase in pollen could also lead to allergies,” said Shylaja Shyamsundar, general physician, Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital.
She added that patients who had no respiratory problems before were reporting such symptoms the last few days. “For those who had prior conditions, like bronchitis, we have seen an exaggeration in symptoms. For many, symptoms like fever and severe tiredness subsides in a day or two, but cough and cold persists for 10 to 15 days.”
In children
The number of bacterial and viral infection cases among children has also increased, with even babies having symptoms like vomiting and diarrhoea in the last few days, according to the doctors. “The symptoms are being observed in the paediatric population which is school going. Schoolchildren are exposed to infections and the cycle continues in case they have a sibling at home. They can also pass it on to parents and other elders,” said Prachi Bhosle, consultant paediatrician, Apollo Cradle and Children’s Hospital, Marathahalli
