DHAKA, Dec 23, 2019 (BSS) – Health experts today urged people to take proper cautionary steps to be safe from cold-related-diseases as cold wave has been sweeping over the country for the last few days causing increasing number of patients.
“Around 739 people are hospitalized under 8 upazilas of Dhaka affecting different cold-related diseases in last 24 hours and the figure is higher on other divisions…So, people should take proper cautionary steps to get rid of these diseases,” Director General (DG) for health services Professor Dr Abul Kalam Azad told BSS.
The number of patients with cold-related diseases is increasing in upazila health complexes, too. Children, pregnant and lactating mothers and the older persons are more vulnerable in cold weather.
Hospitals and health centres are receiving large number of children affected by pneumonia, cold diarrhea, Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) and asthma, Dr Azad added.
“Cold, even in places where the temperatures are not at their lowest, can be harmful to people’s health in many ways. It can aggravate existing conditions and raise the risk of increased blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. Taking preventive action can help reduce the health impacts and risks,” he added.
To avoid winter illnesses, people have to take extra precautions. Get a flu shot (when it is needed), make sure people of 65 or older had the pneumococcal vaccine and wash hands before eating or touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. It is better to use hand sanitizer. Avoid close contact with people who’re sick.
People need to use sufficient warm cloths to keep their body warm and for homeless people, they need to keep themselves warm and they can do by wearing warm clothings and selecting warm place to stay, he said.
Addition Secretary of the Health and Family welfare minister A Hahibhur Rahman urged the country’s well-off society to come forward with the government to help the poor to cope up with the cold the by distributing blankets and warm cloths.
“When it comes to blanket distribution drives, it is crucial to make sure those blankets reach the most remote and poverty-stricken areas and that resources are not pocketed by unscrupulous middle-men,” he told BSS.
“In these days of cold wave sweeping over the district for the last few days, the number of patients, mostly children, with cold-related disease has increased at two times more here,” Duty doctor of Pijorpur Sadar Hospital Dr Sakil Sarwar told BSS.
The number of heart attacks and related deaths are higher in winter months. As the temperatures drop, it becomes difficult to retain heat inside body. The fall in our body’s internal temperature is too dangerous for people living with cardiovascular problems who may suffer from angina or chest pain when exposed to cold weather.
In fact, winter is the most vulnerable time for patients having a background history of heart diseases, cardio surgeon of National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) Dr Ashraful Hoque Sium told BSS.
Earlier, the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has urged people not to drink raw date juice as it has high possibility of getting infected by the Nipah virus. As the disease can pass from human to human, the IEDCR has suggested taking precautions such as washing hands after coming in contact with an infected person, Senior Scientist Dr ASM Alamgir told BSS.